Sepia dollfusi

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Mollusca · Class: Cephalopoda · Order: Sepiida · Family: Sepiidae · Genus: Sepia.

Accepted name: Sepia dollfusi · Authority: Adam, 1941 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 220307.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=220307 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Sepia dollfusi. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 11 cm · Habitat zone: demersal · Vulnerability index: 10 of 100.

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 57595) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Sepia-dollfusi.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Sepia dollfusi Adam, 1941 as Data Deficient (code DD). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 162608) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/162608/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2290846) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2290846/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

A known type specimen was collected near Périm Island in the southern Red Sea and is deposited at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. The only other known related specimen is a bone with “no locality”, obtained from Adam himself, mentioned in a catalogue for the Collections of the Royal Scottish museum in Edinburgh.

Appearance

Sepia dollfusi grows to an average mantle length of ~110 mm. Notable physiological features include an oval shell (cuttlebone) about the same size of their mantle’s length, little distance between head and mantle, and short arms compared to other cuttlefish such as Acanthosepion pharaonis. They have a white underside with unique ventral bulging and a beige overside.

S. dollfusi has tentacular club suckers the get smaller towards the end of the club. Younger S. dollfusi grow faster than older members of their species. Both sexes are quite similar in appearance.

Species distribution

They are typically found in the West Indian Ocean with a depth range of 31°N - 30°N, and a distribution range of 32°E - 33°E. They are considered native to the Red Sea and southern part of the Suez Canal in Egypt, however, some suggest that they are not originally from the area. It has been recorded once in the Egyptian sector of the Mediterranean Sea, so it is potentially a Lessepsian migrant into the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal., along with various other invertebrate species that have also joined the area in recent decades. It is noted that they are also “widely distributed in the Indo Pacific”, with 2014 being the first documentation of their existence in the Mediterranean. This documentation notes “a small-sized cuttlefish”, with a mantle length of about “15 cm” and said to be present “in benthic habitats of the neritic zone”.

Reproduction

In regards to reproductive behavior, they are generally quite similar to other cuttlefish in the Sepiida Order. Typical fecundity (“by counting the number of maturing and mature ova”) is 30-273 and there is a typical breeding window of January to April. They are more difficult to find during the summer months after their regular spawning season, likely migrating elsewhere to deposit their eggs. Where their eggs are lay their eggs is currently mostly unknown.

Both males and females in the species follow a timeline for sexual maturation, with males beginning as early as November and females as early as December. However, sexual maturation affects the sexes’ physiology differently. In contrast to males, females typically show a decline in total body mass with sexual maturity.

Males only show decline in the viscera. As they progress through the cycle of sexual maturity, feeding lessens. Being unable to receive the nutrition and energy needed, this eventually leads to death shortly after breeding season.

Other info

Although, an important commercial species in the Suez Canal (used for human consumption), not a lot of in depth information is difficult to track. Most scientific journals utilize the exact same photographs and information from the same sources or specimen studies. Various platforms used by the public, such as iNaturalist and Animalia describe the species as “DD” or “data deficient”, a status placed by the IUCN Red List. The last known assessment took place on the 23rd of March, 2009.

Source: Wikipedia: Sepia dollfusi — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepia_dollfusi (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.