Smith's Cuttlefish

Scientific name: Sepia smithi
Alternative name/s:
Smith's Cuttlefish
Similar species:
·Sepia whitleyana
  • Author(s)
    Allison Runck
  • Updated
    29/09/21
  • Read time
    2 minutes

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Sepia
    Species
    smithi
    Family
    Sepiidae
    Super Family
    Sepioidea
    Suborder
    Sepiina
    Order
    Sepiida
    Superorder
    Decapodiformes
    Subclass
    Coleoidea
    Class
    Cephalopoda
    Phylum
    Mollusca
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    Males up to 14 cm mantle length, Females up to 17 cm mantle length.

This species can be recognised by its pale body colour and numerous papillae scattered over its upper surfaces.

Identification

Sepia smithi can be pale buff pinkish brown, light brown, or greyish brown with white blotches and spots – which are sometimes joined to produce irregular transverse bands. Three pairs of arms have a band of orange-red colouring, while sucker rims are yellow brown. Paired dorsal ‘eye spots’ are present in both sexes, and the dorsal mantle often has pinkish or purplish scattered spots and blotches. The club has around 20 rows of small suckers.

The cuttlebone is oval with distinctive yellowish ridge at posterior end. The ventral surface is flat with a broad median groove in the striated zone. Dorsal surface is granulose with three distinct longitudinal ribs.

Habitat

S. smithi is often found on sandy and muddy substrates and is known from depths between 10 to 138 metres.

Distribution

Smith’s Cuttlefish is found in the Indo-Pacific region; northern Australian waters from Shark Bay in Western Australia around to Moreton Bay in Queensland, including the Timor and Arafura seas.

Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia

Other behaviours and adaptations

S. smithi thought to be a day-active species, being observed at night lying on the sea floor or burying into the sand.

Breeding behaviours

Male displays during courtship include irregular zebra stripes and a wide greenish band around the base of the fins.

References

  • Jereb, P., & C.F.E Roper (eds) (2005) Cephalopods of the World: Chambered Nautiluses and Sepioids, Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Catalogue for Fishery Purposes, Rome, No. 4, Vol. 1
  • Lu, C.C (1998) A Synopsis of Sepiidae in Australian waters (Cephalopoda: Sepiodiea). In: Voss, N.A., Vecchione, M., Toll, R.B. & Sweeney, M.J (Eds) Systematics and Biogeography of Cephalopods. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, Vol. 586, 159-190.
  • 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)