Common Cuttlefish
Sepia officinalis
The common cuttlefish has a broad oval body with fins along its sides. It lives in shallow seas and offshore waters, with records from the North Sea region to southeastern Africa.[3]
Size and lifespan
- Mantle length
- Reported size 49 cm[4]
Appearance
The body is broadly oval, and the side fins reach forward to about the level of the rear of the eyes. Its arms have four rows of suckers.[3]
Life
It is common inshore in summer and has been recorded offshore to 250 m.[3]
After bacterial challenge of cuttlefish blood cells, researchers synthesized candidate peptides. GK28 inhibited several tested Vibrio species at 5 μM or lower, with no haemolysis in the human red-cell assay at the tested concentrations.[2]
Places
Native range · Northeastern Atlantic to southeastern Africa[3]
Published range records extend from Shetland and southern Norway to the Cape of Good Hope and the coast of Mozambique.
Sources
- Catalogue of Life 2026-09-25 XR
Catalogue of Life · 2026-10-13
- In-Depth In Silico Search for Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) Antimicrobial Peptides Following Bacterial Challenge of Haemocytes
Marine Drugs (MDPI) · 2026-10-25
- Macrobenthos of the North Sea - Mollusca: Sepia officinalis
Naturalis, Macrobenthos of the North Sea - Mollusca · 2026-10-25
- MOBS 2.0 (Magnapinna): explicitly identified invertebrate dimensions (McClain et al., 2026)
McClain et al. / Zenodo and MOBS_OPEN · 2026-10-27