De Férussac, 1826
Description
Adult. Diagnosis. Mantle strongly projecting dorsally, posterior end of mantle with prominent tip between fin lobes. Tentacle club short with suckers in 5-6 rows, middle series with three to four greatly enlarged suckers. Sepion long-oval, with distinct lateral wings and very prominent spine.
Juvenile [Hatchlings in dorsal view Sepia spp.-y ]. Description not available. Hatchlings come out as miniature adults (see Lu et al., in Sweeney et al., 1992, p. 21.). The identification characters for juveniles are hence similar to those that are used for the identification of adults.
Remark
Sepia orbignyana is often confused with Sepia elegans.
Size
Adult mantle length up to 95 mm; juvenile sizes unknown.
Depth range
Adults usually from 150 to 300 m.
Distribution in the North Sea
A southern or lusitanian species, rare in the North Sea. Recently reported washed ashore on Texel (The Netherlands) (Cadée and Cadée-Coenen, 2002).
World distribution
Eastern Atlantic Ocean, from southern North Sea to northern Namibia (Africa); including Mediterranean Sea.