Life history of the paintpot cuttlefish, Metasepia tullbergi appelloef, 1886 (Cephalopoda, Sepiidae) in Tosa bay, Pacific coast of central Japan
1997
Nomura, K. (Nansei National Fisheries Research Inst., Ono, Hiroshima (Japan)) | Sakaji, H. | Horikawa, H.
The life history of the paintpot cuttlefish, Metasepia tullbergi Appellof, 1886, a demersal species, was investigated on a sandy-mud bottom over a depth range of 10 to 80m in Tosa Bay, Pacific coast of central Japan. The research was made using a trawl net on a monthly basis over periods in 1983 to 1989, 1993 to 1994 and 1995 to 1996. the species is distributed in an area ranging from 20 to 80m deep. Young individuals first appear in August and increase their body weight until May. The distributions from October to February show a wide depth range (20-80m) although from March to May individuals were not found in an area ranging from 50-80m depth. No individuals were found in June and July. The life history of this species is concluded as follows. Eggs hatch out in summer at rocky areas at about 20m deep. Larvae migrate to sandy-mud areas ranging from 20 to 80m deep in August and/or September, and grow until May. Maturing individual start to migrate to shallower areas from March to May. As none were found in June and July and only young individuals appear in August in the sandy-mud areas, it seems that matured individuals die after mating and spawning in the shallow rocky areas
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