FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

754 Cephalopods
Sepia stellifera Homenko and Khromov, 1984
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: None / Sepia brevimana Steenstrup, 1875.
FAO names: En - Starry cuttlefish.
ventral view
cuttlebone
hectocotylus
(after Homenko and Khromov, 1984)
tentacular club
dorsal view
(after Homenko and Khromov, 1984)
Diagnostic characters: Tentacular club with 10 similar-sized suckers in transverse rows. Cuttlebone
outline oval; very angular, V-shaped anteriorly; spine present, long; keels present dorsally and ventrally;
inner cone forms a raised ridge posteriorly; sulcus extending along striated zone only; deep, wide, flanked
by rounded ribs.
Size: Maximum mantle length 120 mm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: At depths to 200 m. Fished commercially in India and the Gulf of Thailand
and may figure in statistical data with S. brevimana.
Distribution: Arabian Sea,
Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea,
Gulf of Thailand.
Remarks: This species is
?
similar to Sepia brevimana. It
differs in having 10 club
suckers in transverse rows, ?
rather than 6 to 8 in S.
brevimana. Also, the sulcus is
deep and wide, rather than
narrow and shallow, as seen in
S. brevimana.