Sepia
Katharina M. Mangold (1922-2003) and Richard E. Young
Introduction
This genus is probably the most speciose in the Cephalopoda. Because of the great variability among species, the genus is best defined by the other two genera; that is, Sepia is the sepiid that doesn't have the major characters that define Metasepia and Sepiella.
Brief diagnosis:
- without pore at posterior end of mantle.
- with cuttlebone length approximately the same as mantle length.
Characteristics
- Head
- Beaks: Representative descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.
- Beaks: Representative descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.
- Funnel
- Funnel component of locking apparatus without pit-like depression at midpoint of groove.
- Mantle
- Mantle without posterior gland and pore (see Sepiella).
- Shell
- Cuttlebone length approximately equals mantle length.
- Cuttlebone usually with posterior spine between fins.
References
Adam, W. and W. J. Rees. 1966. A review of the cephalopod family Sepiidae. Sci. Rep. John Murray Exped. 11: 1-165.
Khromov, D. N., C. C. Lu, A. Guerra, Zh. Dong and S. v. Boletzky. 1998. A synopsis of Sepiidae outside Australian waters. Smithson. Contr. Zool., 586: 77-156.
Lu, C. C. A synopsis of Sepiidae in Australian waters. 1998. Smithson. Contr. Zool., 586:159-190.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Sepia latimanus, Sepia latimanus (2) |
|---|---|
| Location | off Australia |
| Comments | mate guarding, female on left |
| Sex | f, m (2) |
| Copyright | © 1996 Mark Norman |
About This Page
Katharina M. Mangold (1922-2003)
Laboratoire Arago, Banyuls-Sur-Mer, France
Richard E. Young
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
Page copyright © 1996 Katharina M. Mangold (1922-2003) and Richard E. Young
Page: Tree of Life
Sepia .
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Katharina M. Mangold (1922-2003) and Richard E. Young.
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Citing this page:
Mangold (1922-2003), Katharina M. and Richard E. Young. 1996. Sepia . Version 01 January 1996 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Sepia/20009/1996.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
