Sepia pulchra

Sepia pulchra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Sepiida
Family: Sepiidae
Genus: Sepia
Subgenus: Hemisepius
Species:
S. pulchra
Binomial name
Sepia pulchra
Roeleveld & Liltved, 1985[2]

Sepia pulchra is a species of cuttlefish native to the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, specifically off the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. It lives at depths of between 15 and 50 m.[3][4]

The type specimen was collected off Llandudno, Cape Peninsula. It is deposited at the South African Museum in Cape Town.[5]

Description

Sepia pulchra grows to a mantle length of 22 mm.[4] It has a warty mantle and is reddish-brown in colour with a large purple patch on the back. It has fins of variable width, which are usually fairly wide, beginning relatively far back on the body. There are three-pronged cirri over each eye.

Ecology

This cuttlefish is usually found on vertical surface, with its head facing downwards. It is seldom spotted because of its excellent camouflage.

References

  1. ^ Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2012). "Sepia pulchra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T162553A914520. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T162553A914520.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Finn, Julian (2016). "Sepia pulchra Roeleveld & Liltved, 1985". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  3. ^ Roeleveld, M.A.C. & W.R. Liltved 1985. A new species of Sepia (Cephalopoda: Sepiidae) from South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum 96(1): 1-18.
  4. ^ a b Reid, A., P. Jereb, & C.F.E. Roper 2005. Family Sepiidae. In: P. Jereb & C.F.E. Roper, eds. Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species known to date. Volume 1. Chambered nautiluses and sepioids (Nautilidae, Sepiidae, Sepiolidae, Sepiadariidae, Idiosepiidae and Spirulidae). FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. No. 4, Vol. 1. Rome, FAO. pp. 57–152.
  5. ^ Current Classification of Recent Cephalopoda


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