Rhombosepion elegans, Elegant cuttlefish : fisheries

Rhombosepion elegans   (Blainville, 1827)

Elegant cuttlefish
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Rhombosepion elegans

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Cephalopoda | Sepiida | Sepiidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; brackish; depth range 16 - 500 m (Ref. 1695), usually 150 - 150 m (Ref. 1695).  Tropical; 60°N - 15°S, 21°W - 37°E (Ref. 1695)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean: from UK to Angola.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 7.2 cm ML male/unsexed; (Ref. 1695); 8.9 cm ML (female); max. published weight: 60.00 g (Ref. 1695)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Minimum depth range from Ref. 114857. Demersal (Ref. 1970). Sublittoral; most abundant at about 150 m depth, with sporadic records below 450 m (Ref. 1695). Found in the continental shelf and upper slope (Ref. 1970). Found in brackish waters of the Sea of Marmara, indicating its high degree of tolerance. Spends winter in deep waters between 200 to 400 m and migrates into shallow waters to spawn in spring and summer; optimally at water temperatures between 13° to 18°C (Ref. 1695). In the Gulf of Guinea, off west Africa, spawns in shallow inshore waters throughout the year (Refs. 417, 1695). Juveniles are found in an estuary (Ref. 122954). In the Mediterranean Sea, perennial presence of mature males and females suggest a continuous spawning period. Eggs (5 mm diameter) are laid in clusters of 12 to 25, on muddy substrates, attached to alcyonarians (sea fans), shells, etc. Hatched juveniles immediately assume a benthic lifestyle. Maturity at 1 year of age. Lifespan is at 12 to 18 months. Taken mainly as bycatch in the Mediterranean and west African trawl fisheries; a valuable local resource in the Mediterranean. Intensely fished in the Sicilian Channel. Marketed fresh and frozen (Ref. 1695).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the class Cephalopoda are gonochoric. Male and female adults usually die shortly after spawning and brooding, respectively. Mating behavior: Males perform various displays to attract potential females for copulation. During copulation, male grasp the female and inserts the hectocotylus into the female's mantle cavity where fertilization usually occurs. Life cycle: Embryos hatch into planktonic stage and live for some time before they grow larger and take up a benthic existence as adults.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Jereb, P. and C.F.E. Roper (eds.). 2005. (Ref. 1695)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

  Data deficient (DD) ; Date assessed: 13 March 2009

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
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Trophic Ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Physiology
Oxygen consumption
Human Related
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Taxonomy
References

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): High.