Cuttlefish

Marine cephalopod mollusc with mantle more than 2 times longer than wide, dorsal anterior mantle margin triangular, acute; ventral mantle margin emarginate. Tentacular club slender; protective membranes not united proximally and not extending proximally onto stalk; suckers small, not much larger than arm suckers, 8 suckers arranged in oblique, transverse rows, 3rd in series slightly enlarged. Left ventral arm (IV) (hectocotylus) with 2 to 5 normal suckers at its base and 9 to 13 rows of minute spaced suckers on its proximal third; dorsal protective membrane very broad, almost completely covering suckers. Colour: purplish brown. Arms have a transverse zebra-stripe pattern and a longitudinal orange-red pigmented stripe along their aboral surfaces. Dorsal mantle has small spots (predominantly posteriorly) and narrow, cream-coloured, broken transverse lines. Fins pale with narrow lustrous orange-pink band along base in males bordered by purplish band and 1 or 2 longitudinal rows of numerous short bars. Maximum mantle length 175 mm.