Ken's Cuttlefish

Scientific name: Sepia grahami
Alternative name/s:
Ken's Cuttlefish
Similar species:
Sepia mestus, Sepia rozella
  • Author(s)
    Allison Runck
  • Updated
    29/09/21
  • Read time
    2 minutes

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Sepia
    Species
    grahami
    Family
    Sepiidae
    Super Family
    Sepioidea
    Suborder
    Sepiina
    Order
    Sepiida
    Superorder
    Decapodiformes
    Subclass
    Coleoidea
    Class
    Cephalopoda
    Phylum
    Mollusca
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    Males up to 66 mm in mantle length, females up to 82 mm in mantle length.

Sepia grahami is one of the most recently described cuttlefish species, and is thought it has previously been confused with both the Reaper and the Rosecone Cuttlefish, with who it occurs sympatrically.

Identification

Ken’s Cuttlefish is coloured pinkish brown, and has dorsal ‘eyespots’ on its mantle.
The cuttlebone is narrow with a thickened, raised, and yellowish-ochre inner core. In juvenile specimens, the dorsal surface of the cuttlebone is white.

Habitat

Sepia grahami is a shallow water species, occurring at depths of 2 to 84 metres.

Distribution

Ken’s Cuttlefish has only a small known distribution along the Australian NSW coastline from southeast of Yamba to off Tathra.

Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia

References

  • Norman, M., (2000) Cephalopods- A World Guide, ConchBooks, Germany (Hackenheim)
  • Norman, M & A. Reid., (2000) A Guide to Squid, Cuttlefish and Octopuses of Australasia, CSIRO Publishing, Victoria (Collingwood)
  • Reid, A (2001) A new cuttlefish, Sepia grahami, sp. Nov. (Cephalopoda: Sepiidae) from Eastern Australia, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 123: 159-172.