Mo. 77 . EGG MASS OF SEPIA ( Cuttlebone)

 

Phylum : Mollusca

Class    : Cephalopoda

Order  : Sepiida

Family  : Sepiidae

Genus  :  Sepia

 

DESCRIPTION

The common cuttlefish or European common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They grow to 49 cm in mantle length (ML) and 4 kg in weight. Animals from subtropical seas are smaller and rarely exceed 30 cm in ML. The common cuttlefish is native to at least the Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, and Baltic Sea, although subspecies have been proposed as far south as South Africa. It lives on sand and mud seabeds and it can tolerate brackish water conditions. The egg mass of sepia, commonly known as cuttlefish, consists of numerous small eggs enclosed within an oval- shaped, calcified structure often called the cuttlebone. These egg cases are rigid, resembling small seashells, and they provide buoyancy for the developing embryos. Cuttlefish eggs are typically arranged in rows within the cuttlebone, and they are often translucent or whitish in colour. The cuttlebone itself is light weight and chambered, allowing it to help control the cuttlefish’s buoyancy in the water.

IUCN Status: Least Concern.