Sepia officinalis

Introduction:

Sepia Officinalis, the common cuttle fish, is a marine species in the class Cephalopoda. They are closely related to squid, octopi, and nautiluses. They differ from these because they contain cuttlebone. The cuttlebone aids in the buoyancy of this species; this is beneficial to their movement by propulsion. When feeding, cuttlefish project out two long tentacles that capture their prey. If necessary they then use their eight arms to maneuver the prey. Like other cephalopods, they use a beak and radula to ingest. Another similarity between that of other cephalopods is the ability to use ink in an attempt to flee from a predator.

Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Mollusca

Class: Cephalopoda

Order: Sepiida

Family: Sepiidae

Genus: Sepia

Species: Sepia officinalis

Distribution:

S. Officinalis lives in the English Channel, south through the Mediterranean sea, along the west coast of Africa, and to the southern-most point of Africa. Some populations migrate from deep to shallow waters in the summer, (King 2015). No species of cuttlefish can be found in the Americas. It is reasoned that this may be due to the depth necessary to cross in order to migrate, they could not survive migration.