FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

744 Cephalopods
Sepia latimanus Quoy and Gaimard, 1832
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications:
Ponderisepia eclogaria Iredale, 1926; Sepia rappiana
Férussac, 1835; S. mozambica Rochebrune, 1884; S.
hercules Pilsbry, 1894 / None.
FAO names: En - Broadclub cuttlefish; Fr -Seiche
grandes mains; Sp - Sepia mazuda.
tentacular club
(from Roper et al., 1984)
10 mm
ventral view
cuttlebone
dorsal view
(after Okutani et al., 1987)
Diagnostic characters: Head tubercles present, papilliform. Hectocotylus absent. Tentacular club
crescent-shaped, sucker-bearing face flattened; with 5 or 6 suckers in transverse rows, differing
markedly in size with a few median suckers enlarged; swimming keel extends beyond sucker-bearing face;
dorsal and ventral protective membranes fused at base of club, separated from stalk by membrane;
dorsal protective membrane forms a deep cleft at junction with stalk. Cuttlebone rounded anteriorly and
posteriorly; dorsal surface granulose, loosely following growth lines; spine present, short; keel(s) absent;
sulcus shallow, narrow, extending entire length of cuttlebone, flanked by rounded ribs; anterior
striae blunt inverted V-shape; inner cone limbs thickened posteriorly, form a rounded, shiny ridge; outer
cone deep, cup-like posteriorly. Colour: dorsal mantle dark purple/brown with white spots; fins with
white transverse stripes extending onto mantle; arms vivid with transverse stripes.
Size: Maximum mantle length 500 mm. Males up to 170 mm (0.5 kg) and females to 240 mm (1.3 kg)
mantle length in Alas Strait, Indonesia.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A shallow-water species inhabiting tropical coral reefs to a depth of 30 m.
Mating occurs on the west coast of Guam and off Okinawa in shallow waters from January to May and the
eggs hatch after 38 to 40 days. This species supports local fisheries in western Japan and the Philippines.
Caught with jigs, handlines, set nets, and spears and commonly taken as bycatch in Southeast Asian trawl
fisheries. Fished in small quantities in the Ryukyu Islands, China, near Taiwan Province of China, and in
the waters of Indochina. In the Philippines, the large cuttlefish, Sepia pharaonis and S. latimanus, are split
open, the cuttlebone and viscera removed and are dried in the sun without salt.
Distribution: Widespread in
the tropical Indo-West Pacific
from the Andaman Sea, South
and East China Seas, Japan,
the Philippines, Malaysia,
Indonesia to New Guinea,
northern Australia and east to
Palau, Guam, New Caledonia,
and Fiji. Westernmost record
Madagascar (doubtful).