FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

748 Cephalopods
Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg, 1831
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Crumenasepia
hulliana Iredale, 1926;C. ursulae Adam, 1939;Sepia rouxii
Férussac and d’Orbigny, 1841; S. formosana Berry, 1912;
S. tigris Sasaki, 1929 / None.
FAO names: En - Pharaoh cuttlefish; Fr - Seiche
pharaon; Sp - Sepia faraónica.
Diagnostic characters: Mantle with a
row of elongated tubercles along
silvery stripe at base of fins, or
covered with numerous small
papillae. Head tubercles absent. Left
ventral arm (IV) of males hectocotylized:
10 rows of normal suckers
proximally, followed by 6 rows of
reduced suckers, then suckers
normal to arm tip; reduction marked,
2 dorsal series, smaller than 2
ventral serries, oral surface wide,
fleshy, with transversely grooved
ridges. Tentacular club long; sucker-
bearing face flattened; with 8suckers
in transverse rows, differing
markedly in size (5 or 6 median
suckers enlarged); dorsal and
ventral view
cuttlebone
dorsal view
ventral protective membranes not fused at base of club, joined to stalk at base of club,
not separated from stalk by a membrane. Buccal membrane with few, minute suckers.
Cuttlebone median rib present, distinct, wider anteriorly; lateral ribs indistinct; sulcus
extending entire length, flanked by rounded ribs; anterior striae inverted U-shape;
inner cone limbs thickened posteriorly, form a shiny swelling; outer cone narrow
anteriorly, broadens posteriorly; spine without keel. Colour: head with a vivid,
transverse striped pattern; dorsal mantle pale brownish with white blotches or spots,
or pale brown with transverse saddle mark (in females), or with vivid transverse striped
pattern (especially in males); fins with pale reflective line along base (sometimes
broken), line is blue in females; arms vivid with transverse stripes.
Size: Maximum mantle length 420 mm; maximum weight 5 kg. In the Gulf of
Carpentaria (Australia), the largest male and female collected in 1990 and 1991
surveys were 192 mm and 173 mm mantle length, respectively. In the Gulf of Thailand,
the maximum size of animals caught is for males 350 mm mantle length, and females
300 mm mantle length.
Habitat,biology,and fisheries: A neritic demersal species, at depths from 10 to 110 m.
In the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Seas, found from the coastal shallows to a
tentacular
club
(after Lu, in press)
depth of 100 m, with most caught between 10 and 40 m. In the Gulf of Thailand, spawning occurs all year
round, with peak months of January-February and July-September. Males mature at 13.7 mm mantle
length, females at 142 mm mantle length. Supports industrial or artisanal fisheries throughout its range.
With Sepia esculenta, the most abundant cuttlefish species caught in the Philippines. Also important to the
commercial squid fishery of Thailand. Contributes about 90% of the cuttlefish catch off Australia by Chinese
pair trawlers. This amounted to
some 1 000 t in 1979. Taken by
domestic fisheries as bycatch of
prawn and mixed species trawl
fisheries. The flesh is thick, tender
and excellent for human consumption.
Distribution: South and East
China seas, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, northern Australia, Gulf
of Suez, Zanzibar, Madagascar to
the Arabian Sea.
10 mm