Sepia is a genus of cuttlefish in the family Sepiidae encompassing some of the best known and most common species. The cuttlebone is ellipsoid in shape. The name of the genus is the Latinised form of the Ancient Greek (sēpía) "cuttlefish".
Anatomy All members of Sepia possess eight arms and two tentacles. Tentacles are retractable limbs used to target and latch onto prey, whereas arms are used for handling prey and producing patterns of light and dark to distract prey. Once a prey item has been caught, the tentacles detach from it and have no other function. The tentacles reside in sheaths that run below the eyes and behind the head, into the visceral mass, where they are reserved as coiled, spring-loaded appendages, waiting to be ejected towards a food target.
Classification A 2023 paper extensively revised the composition of genus Sepia; As a consequence, many species have been split out of genus Sepia, assigned to revived genera or elevated subgenera. Currently, the genus has 58 species, according to WoRMS. A number of these species need further verification, but they are listed below:
Sepia acuminata E. A. Smith, 1916 Sepia adami Roeleveld, 1972 Sepia appelloefi Wülker, 1910 Sepia aureomaculata Okutani & Horikawa, 1987 Sepia bathyalis Khromov, Nikitina & Nesis, 1991 Sepia bertheloti d'Orbigny, 1835, African cuttlefish Sepia bidhaia A. Reid, 2000 Sepia brevimana Steenstrup, 1875 Sepia burnupi Hoyle, 1904 Sepia carinata Sasaki, 1920 Sepia chirotrema S. S. Berry, 1918 Sepia confusa E. A. Smith, 1916 Sepia cottoni Adam, 1979 Sepia dollfusi Adam, 1941 Sepia elobyana Adam, 1941, Guinean cuttlefish Sepia elongata A. d'Orbigny, 1842 Sepia furcata Ho & Lu, 2005 Sepia gibba Ehrenberg, 1831 Sepia grahami A. Reid, 2001 Sepia hierredda Rang, 1835, giant African cuttlefish * Sepia hirunda Ho & Lu, 2005 Sepia incerta E. A. Smith, 1916 Sepia insignis E. A. Smith, 1916 Sepia irvingi W. T. Meyer, 1909 Sepia ivanovi Khromov, 1982 Sepia joubini Massy, 1927 Sepia kiensis Hoyle, 1885 Sepia koilados A. Reid, 2000 Sepia mascarensis Filippova & Khromov, 1991 Sepia mira (Cotton, 1932) Sepia mirabilis Khromov, 1988 Sepia murrayi Adam & Rees, 1966, frog cuttlefish Sepia officinalis Linnaeus, 1758, common cuttlefish * Sepia plana Lu & A. Reid, 1997 Sepia plathyconchalis Filippova & Khromov, 1991 Sepia prabahari Neethiselvan & Venkataramani, 2002 Sepia pulchra Roeleveld & Liltved, 1985 Sepia reesi Adam, 1979 Sepia rhoda (Iredale, 1954) Sepia savignyi Blainville, 1827 Sepia saya Khromov, Nikitina & Nesis, 1991 Sepia senta Lu & A. Reid, 1997 Sepia sewelli Adam & Rees, 1966 Sepia simoniana Thiele, 1920 Sepia sokotriensis Khromov, 1988 Sepia subplana Lu & Boucher-Rodoni, 2001 Sepia subtenuipes Okutani & Horikawa, 1987 Sepia sulcata Hoyle, 1885, grooved cuttlefish Sepia tala Khromov, Nikitina & Nesis, 1991 Sepia tanybracheia A. Reid, 2000 Sepia thurstoni Adam & Rees, 1966 Sepia tuberculata Lamarck, 1798 Sepia vecchioni Neethiselvan & Venkataramani, 2010 Sepia vercoi Adam, 1979 Sepia vermiculata Quoy & Gaimard, 1832 * Sepia vietnamica Khromov, 1987 Sepia vossi Khromov, 1996 Sepia zanzibarica Pfeffer, 1884
The species marked with an asterisk (*) were examined in the 2023 paper.
Extinct species
A number of extinct species have been described from the Neogene of Europe, though many of these are likely synonyms. They include: Sepia bertii Foresti, 1890 Sepia complanata Bellardi, 1872 Sepia craversii Gastaldi, 1868 Sepia gastaldii Bellardi, 1872 Sepia granosa Bellardi, 1872 Sepia harmati Szörenyi, 1933 Sepia hungarica Lörenthey, 1898 Sepia isseli Bellardi, 1872 Sepia michelotti Gastaldi, 1868 Sepia rugulosa Bellardi, 1872 Sepia stricta Bellardi, 1872 Sepia verrucosa Bellardi, 1872 Sepia vindobonensis Schloenbach, 1869
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