Under Construction

Sepiola Leach, 1817

Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young
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Photograph by Peter Wirtz
Containing group: Sepiolinae

Introduction

Members of Sepiola are small, mostly less than 25 mm ML.

Brief diagnosis:

A sepiolin ...

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Arm suckers in two series.

    2. Hectocotylus typically with:
      • 3-4 suckers at the base of the hectocotylus (left arm I).
      • Stalks of the subsequent 4 suckers form tubercules of the copulatory apparatus which can be transformed into hooks or lobes.
      • Distally the arm is thickened and suckers and stalks of the two series are somewhat separated forming a basket; some suckers often enlarged.
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Oral views of arms I of mature males of S. aurantiaca (A), S. steenstrupiana (B), S. ligulata (C), S. robusta. Drawings from Naef (1921-23).

  2. Tentacles
    1. Tentacular clubs with suckers in 8 or fewer series.

  3. Head
    1. Beaks: Descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.

  4. Mantle
    1. Anterior margin of ventral mantle with narrow indentation for funnel and adjacent rounded projections.
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Ventral view of the mantle of S. aurantiaca, mature female, 13 mm ML . Compare with title illustration. Drawing modified from Naef (1921-23).

  5. Photophores.
    1. Pair of bean-shaped visceral photophores.

  6. Gladius
    1. Gladius present as a distinct rudiment

Comments

These characteristics are from Naef (1921-23). Naef places Inioteuthis as a subgenus of Sepiola.

Distribution

Along the eastern margin of the Atlantic Ocean from Norway to western Africa; along the western margin of the Pacific Ocean from Sakhalin and the South Kuril Islands off Russia, Japan, Philippines and Singapore (Nesis, 1982/87).

References

Naef, A. 1921-1923. Die Cephalopoden. Fauna e Flora del Golfo di Napoli, Monographie 35, Vol I, Parts I and II, Systematik, pp 1-863.

Nesis, K. N. 1982/87. Abridged key to the cephalopod mollusks of the world's ocean. 385+ii pp. Light and Food Industry Publishing House, Moscow. (In Russian.). Translated into English by B. S. Levitov, ed. by L. A. Burgess (1987), Cephalopods of the world. T. F. H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ, 351pp

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Sepiola atlantica
Location Off Cascais, Portugal
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By Peter Wirtz
View Side
Copyright © 2007 Peter Wirtz
Scientific Name Sepiola rondeleti
Location Mediterranean Sea
Reference Naef, A. 1921-1923. Die Cephalopoden. Fauna e Flora del Golfo di Napoli, Monographie 35, Vol I, Parts I and II, Systematik, pp 1-863.
View Dorsal, ventral
Size 17 mm, 23 mm ML
About This Page


National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

Page: Tree of Life Sepiola Leach, 1817. Authored by Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Vecchione, Michael and Richard E. Young. 2003. Sepiola Leach, 1817. Version 30 November 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Sepiola/20038/2003.11.30 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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