page_title: Sepia orbignyana
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Sepia orbignyana / Description
caption_attribution_description: Sepia orbignyana Férussac, 1826
context_page_description: Sepia orbignyana, the pink cuttlefish, is a species of small cuttlefish from the family Sepiidae. It is occurs in the temperate and tropical waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
context_section_description: Sepia orbignyana is a fairly small cuttlefish, growing up to 12 cm in total length. with the females generally being larger than males, male mantle length up to 84mm and females' up to 120mm. It has a slim, oval body and relatively long arms each having four rows of suckers.  There is an obvious lobe of the dorsal mantle which projects between the eyes and there is a prominent tip at the posterior end of the mantlewhich lies in the gap between the posterior end s of the fins. The tentacular club is short and has its suckers arranged in 5-6 rows, with the middle series havong three to four greatly enlarged suckers. The hectocotylus is found on the left ventral arm and has 1 or 2 rows of suckers of normal size at the base, highly reduced suckers in the mid part and then normal size suckers towards the tip. The suckers on the hectocotylus are arranged in 2 dorsal and 2 ventral series each of which are laterally displaced to create a gap between them. Females have a single spermathecae situated medially on the ventral part of the buccal membrabe. It is often coloured rose or orange on the dorsal surface which has a faint ridge.
  The cuttlebone is long and thinly oblong in shape with a long posterior spine. having a width equal to one third of its length. and distinct lateral wings.
  This species is largely sympatric with Sepia elegans, another relatively small species of cuttlefish but S. orbignyana  can be identified from S. elegans by the fins almost reaching the very rear of the, and on having a higher number of suckers, over 100, on each tentacular club. The juveniles resemble tiny adults.
caption: Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.MOL.311404 - Sepia orbignyana Férussac, 1826 - Sepiidae - Mollusc shell
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