Zoology.-] ■ NATURAL HISTORY OF VICTORIA. \_MoUusca. 



Plates 188, 189, and 190. 



SEPIA APAMA (Gray). 



The Large Melbourne Sepia or Cuttle-fish. 



[Genus SEPIA (Lin., restricted). (Sulb-liingdom MoUusca. Class Cephalopoda. Sub-class 

 Antepedia. Order Sephinia. Family Sepiadas.) 



Gen. Char. — Body sliort, ovate or oblong, depressed, obtusely rounded behind ; front dorsal 

 edge of mantle with rounded angular projection forw.irds ; fins narrow,- along whole length of 

 sides of body, disconnected behind. Ventral inner surface of mantle with an oblique oblong 

 tubercle fitting corresponding hollow in sides of siphon ; cervical part, under front edge of 

 intern.al shell, with longitudinal central ridge fitting into groove on back. Head very large, 

 wider than long, without crests or cervical plaits. Eyes very large, lateral, with thick promi- 

 nent under-eyelid ; a lachrymal opening in front of folds of eyelid. Ear opening behind lower 

 part of globe of eye ; no auricular ridges ; buccal openings six, between bases of arms and lips ; 

 buccal membrane with seven lobes, tlie two ventral smaller. Sessile arms short, strong ; third 

 and fourth with crests or membranous fins on back. Sucker cups in four rows, subequal, 

 minutely fringed or toothed, spheroidal, obliquely pedunculated ; protecting membranes of cups 

 very short ; a web between bases of arras, nearly obsolete between bases of ventral pair. Ten- 

 tacular arms long, slender, retractile, with large termmal club, having an external fin and 

 several rows of suckers, the horny rings of vvliich are convex in middle of outer face, contrsicted 

 above and below, and upper edge usually divided into minute, blunt, fringe-like teeth. Siphon 

 large, with large internal valve, without suspensory band of attachment to head. Internal shell 

 calcareous, depressed, thick, oblong or oval, as long as back of mantle in which it is imbedded ; 

 back convex, hard, rugose, with horny tbin edge, and acute, often spinose, posterior end ; concave 

 underface filled with very oblique, cellular, calcareous layers, sometimes with posterior, small, 

 simple, conical cavity behind ; no siphuncle.] 



Description. — Body thick,, fleshy, moderately convex on back, more so on 

 ventral side, smooth, broad-ovate, narrowed behind. Lateral fins rising- a little above 

 the edge of mantle anteriorlj-, rounded at posterior end, leaving a small, angular, 

 obtusely-rounded notch or space with slightly convex, intervening portion of body at 

 posterior end. Sessile arms short, strong, moderately thick ; order of length — 

 4, 3, 2 = 1, or 4, 2 = 1,3, or 4, 3 = 2 = 1 ; each with four rows of subequal 

 suckers, the compressed horny rim of each of which is set with ver}' numerous, 

 compressed, truncated, fringe-like, short teeth; fin between arms about one-third 

 of their length to upper pairs of arms, and about half the length of ventral 

 pair between them and next pair, but nearly obsolete between the bases of two 

 ventral arms. Two tentacular arms reaching about twice the length of the club 

 beyond end of body ; club dilated abruptly, auriculate, extended inwards when 

 reflexed (outwards when directed forwards), and obtusely plicated transversely on 

 back, with a short narrow fin on outer (when turned back, inner when turned 

 forward) straight edge ; five rows of suckers, three outer rows smallest, inner row 

 larger and median rows largest, all with numerous, minute, truncated, fringe-like 

 teeth on compressed hornj'edge; seven or eight very large cups (counted' in the 

 longitudinal direction), with about three smaller at base and five at apex of same 

 row. Head large, transversely oblong, a little less than opening of mantle ; eyes 

 very large, with very thick underlid ; a group of three to five caruncles over each 

 eye, and two or three smaller ones below, behind middle ; anterior dorsal edge of 

 mantle broadly semioval ; ventral moderately concave. Buccal membrane with 

 seven lobes, one point between bases of dorsal arms, one on each side over bases of 

 next pairs of arms, one on each side between bases of next pair of arms (or over base 



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