FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

742 Cephalopods
Sepia esculenta Hoyle, 1885
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None /
Sepia elliptica Hoyle, 1885.
FAO names: En - Golden cuttlefish; Fr - Seiche dorée;
Sp - Sepia dorada.
tentacular
club
(after Okutani et al., 1987)
10 mm
ventral view
cuttlebone
dorsal view
(after Okutani et al., 1987)
Diagnostic characters: Mantle with a row of 6 or 7 yellowish fleshy tubercles along silvery stripe at
base of each fin. Left ventral arm (IV) of males hectocotylized: 5 or 6 rows of normal suckers proximally,
followed by 6 rows of reduced suckers, then remaining suckers normal to tip of arm. Tentacular club
long; sucker-bearing face flattened, with 10 to 16 similar-sized, minute suckers in transverse rows;
dorsal and ventral protective membranes not fused at base of club. Buccal membrane without suckers.
Cuttlebone rounded anteriorly and posteriorly; spine present; sulcus deep, wide; anterior striae inverted
V-shape; inner cone limbs thickened posteriorly, forming a raised, rounded ledge. Colour: dorsal
mantle pale with transverse stripes, sometimes studded with yellow tubercles; fins with pale, golden
reflective line along base, visible dorsally, and ventrally; arms with pinkish bands along the aboral
surface.
Size: Maximum mantle length 175 mm; maximum weight 0.6 kg.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A demersal inner shelf species found on sandy bottoms between depths
of 10 and 100 m, sometimes burrowing into the substrate. After overwintering in deeper water, animals
migrate into shallower coastal waters where they spawn when the water temperature increases in spring
and summer.Eggs are deposited on macrophytes and other substrates.Supports localized and subsistence
fisheries in the Philippines and Hong Kong. Caught using otter trawls, pound nets, hoop nets and on
hook-and-line. The flesh is highly thought of as food.
Distribution: South and East
China seas. Japan, Hong Kong
(China), Viet Nam, northern
Philippines, and Indonesia.
Remarks: This species has
been confused with Sepia
elliptica. InS. elliptica,theinner
cone ledge of the cuttlebone is
thinner, flatter and directed
anteriorly, and the anterior striae
are inverted U-shaped. The
hectocotylus sucker arrangement
also differs.