Sepia prashadi

Sepia prashadi, common name hooded cuttlefish, is a widely distributed species of cuttlefish.[3] It has a thin, oval body and grows from 5 to 11 cm. The tips of the tentacles have a distinct club shape. S. prashadi is a migratory, demersal cuttlefish living in shallow waters at depths of approximately 40 to 50 metres. It is found in many locations including the east coast of Africa, around India, in the Red Sea, and Persian Gulf.

Sepia prashadi

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1][2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Sepiida
Family: Sepiidae
Genus: Sepia
Subgenus:
(Acanthosepion)
Species:
S. prashadi
Binomial name
Sepia prashadi

Description

The species was first reported in 1936 by Ronald Winckworth.[1][2][3]

The common mantle of this species grows from 5 to 11 cm.[4] It has an elongate, thin, oval body. It has tapering, subequal arms, and fins of medium width. At the end of the tentacles are broad, short, club shapes. There is a series of suckers on these clubs that are organized into eight oblique transverse rows. These suckers are of different sizes with three being enlarged on the third series. The dorsal surface of the cuttle bone is pink, making it highly distinct.[5] Off Mumbai, India, the dorsal mantle lengths measured from 55 to 95 mm.[5]

Distribution

Sepia prashadi is very widely distributed, chiefly in the Indian Ocean.[1][2][3] It is found all along the east coast of Africa, around Madagascar, the waters of India, the Bay of Bengal, in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and in the Andaman Sea.[1][6] It is native to almost two dozen countries.[upper-alpha 1]

Habitat

This is a demersal species that lives in shallow waters at depths of roughly 40 metres to 50 metres. It is migratory as evidenced by a very notable seasonal occurrence pattern.[5] In the waters of northeastern India the greatest numbers are seen between January and June. However, during some years it is most abundant between October and December. In more southern Indian waters such as those of Chennai, it occurs in greater numbers between January and April. It becomes abundant during times when there is an upwelling of deep water.[1][7]

Behaviour

Males exhibit various displays to attract females for coitus. While copulating, female is held by male, which puts his hectocotylus in the female's mantle cavity. Fertilization is the common outcome. Males die shortly after spawning. Females die after brooding.[4] Hooded cuttlefish may act more curious and confident around divers compared to the behavior of squid or octopus.[upper-alpha 2]

Diet

Analysis of specimens off the coast of Mumbai showed that they were feeding mainly on prawns.[5]

Human uses

This species is caught in the Red Sea and also in India off the northeast coast by trawlers.[1] It is also caught unintentionally as bycatch in comparatively small amounts off the northeast coast of India, which is not reflected independently in catch statistics.[1] In 2005 in the Gulf of Suez, stock assessment studies identified Sepia prashadi as an "under-exploited resource."[1] Population and density are unknown[9] as there have been no studies, and catch statistics are merely anecdotal and under reported.[1] Ideally, in some habitats fishing needs to be curtailed.

Threats

Increased carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere causes ocean acidification. This "is potentially a threat to all cuttlefish", which respond by having a "denser cuttlebone" likely to negatively affect buoyancy regulation.[1][10]

gollark: I mostly just rewrite stuff by components, it's much easier.
gollark: Why even rewrite then?
gollark: There's one known in-the-wild exploit, another alleged one, and one hypothetical one I thought of when working on some other components.
gollark: It might not, really, assuming I do most things the same.
gollark: I would lose out on so many of the accumulated bugfixes.

References

Notes
  1. "Bahrain; Comoros; Djibouti; Egypt (Egypt (African part), Sinai); Eritrea; India (Dadra-Nagar-Haveli, Daman, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu); Iran; Iraq; Kenya; Kuwait; Madagascar; Mauritius; Mozambique; Oman; Pakistan; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Somalia; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Tanzania; United Arab Emirates; Yemen (North Yemen, Socotra, South Yemen."[1]
  2. Hooded cuttlefish, Sepia prashadi: "This cuttlefish grows to about 1 5cm and is found over seagrass beds, where it preys on small fish. It's easy to tell cuttlefish apart from octopus or squid: they are much more confident and curious with divers."[8]

Citations
  1. Barratt, I & Allcock, L. (2012). "Sepia prashadi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T162556A915099. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T162556A915099.en. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. Jereb, P., Editor; Roper, Clyde F., Editor (July 28, 2006). Sepia prashadi Winckworth, 1936. Cephalopods of the World: Chambered nautiluses and sepioids: an annotated and illustrated catalogue of cephalopod species known to date. Rome: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. pp. 111–112. ISBN 9789251053836. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  3. "WoRMS – World Register of Marine Species – Sepia prashadi Winckworth, 1936". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  4. "Sepia prashadi Winckworth, 1936—hooded cuttlefish". sealifebase.org. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  5. Sundaram, Sujit; Sarang, J.D. (April–June 2004). "Occurrence of Sepia prashadi off Mumbai". Cochin, India: Marine Fisheries Information Service. no. 180. p. 1068. ISSN 0254-380X
  6. Anuwat Nateewathana (2008). "The sepiidae (cephalopoda) of Thailand". Phuket Mar. Biol. Cent. Res. Bull. 69: 25–41.
  7. "Species Fact Sheets—Sepia prashadi (Winckworth, 1936)". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  8. Rogerson, S.; McIntyre, J. (2006). Dive Red Sea. Ultimate Sports. p. 311.
  9. "Sepia prashadi—Overview Cuttlefish". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  10. Gutowska, Magdalena A (2010). "Seawater carbonate chemistry and biological processes of Sepia officinalis during experiment". doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.757991. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Supplement to Gutowska, Magdalena A; Melzner, Frank; Langenbuch, M; Bock, C; Claireaux, G; Pörtner, Hans-Otto (March 2010). "Acid-base regulatory ability of the cephalopod (Sepia officinalis) in response to environmental hypercapnia". Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 180 (3): 323–335. doi:10.1007/s00360-009-0412-y.

Further reading
  • Images – Koretz.net
  • Images showing tentacular club – Marinebio.org
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