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Common cuttlefish
Species of cephalopod / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the European common cuttlefish. For the South African common cuttlefish, see Sepia vermiculata.
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 100–200 metres (330–660 ft) during autumn and winter.[2] They grow to 49 centimetres (19 in) in mantle length and 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) in weight.[3] Animals from subtropical seas are smaller and rarely exceed 30 centimetres (12 in) in mantle length.[4]
Quick Facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...
Common cuttlefish | |
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Common cuttlefish in Arrábida Natural Park, Portugal | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Cephalopoda |
Order: | Sepiida |
Family: | Sepiidae |
Genus: | Sepia |
Subgenus: | Sepia |
Species: | S. officinalis |
Binomial name | |
Sepia officinalis | |
Synonyms | |
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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.[5][6]