Sepia braggi

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Sepia braggi

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Sepiida
Family: Sepiidae
Genus: Sepia
Subgenus:
Doratosepion
Species:
S. braggi
Binomial name
Sepia braggi
Verco, 1907 [2]

Sepia braggi, the slender cuttlefish, is a species of

Doratosepion which contains to 41 species of cuttlefish in total.[6]

Description

Sepia braggi is a relatively small species of cuttlefish. Females of the species are larger than males and they grow to a

Sepia
genus, S. braggi is only species that does not have a darkened lateral band on the upper and lower beak. Also, on the upper beak, the fully darkened section is much smaller (2.6 mm) than other species of Sepia.

The head and mantle of Sepia braggi are a buff, pinkish brown in color.[8] The fins tend to be pale brown and the ridges along the mantle are orange-pink. What separates Sepia braggi from all other species of cuttlefish are the short purple bars and blotches on the arms.[6] This pigmentation is very distinctive and clearly visible, even on smaller or juvenile specimens.

Distribution

This image shows the cuttlebone that Sir Joseph Cooke Verco used to identify Sepia braggi as separate species.

Sepia braggi are located in Southern Australia, from southern New South Wales to Western Australia.[12] It is a demersal species, typically found in depth between 30 and 86 meters. One source does give a maximum depth for S. braggi of 176 m,[13] though it is possible that those from greater depths may have been misidentified and perhaps refer to the species of S. limata, S. rhoda or S. vercoi.[6] The Dorarosepion species from the from southern and eastern Australia are largely allopatric, though there is some overlap in the distribution of S. braggi and S. cottoni off south-western Australia. Sepia braggi is one of three species of cuttlefish known to inhabit Spencer Gulf in South Australia.[8] Specimens are rarely caught there by prawn trawlers.

Diet and ecology

Similar to other cuttlefish species, S. braggi feeds on small crabs, other crustaceans and fish.

Sepia apama and Sepia novaehollandiae are the main competitors of the Sepia braggi as both species are larger and more common.[8]

Fisheries

Sepia braggi are rarely encountered and are relatively small. Therefore, the species is classified by fisheries as low value and S. braggi is only caught as by-catch.[8]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T162629A932030.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Julian Finn (2016). "Sepia braggi Verco, 1907". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  3. ^
    OCLC 71193186.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  4. S2CID 146735067
    .
  5. OCLC 808676817
    .
  6. ^
    ISSN 1445-5226
    .
  7. ISSN 0081-0282
    .
  8. ^
    OCLC 911753565.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  9. ISSN 0085-2988
    .
  10. OCLC 12946074
    .
  11. ISSN 1833-0290
    .
  12. S2CID 88352601
    .
  13. ^ Khromov, D (1998). "Distribution Patterns of Sepiidae. In Systematics and Biogeography of Cephalopods". Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington D.C. I (586): 191–206.
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