THE EARLY-LIFE OF SEPIA-OFFICINALIS, AND THE CONTRAST WITH THAT OF OCTOPUS-VULGARIS (CEPHALOPODA)

The egg and hatchling of Sepia officinalis L. is relatively large, com pared with those of other cephalopods. We review the information on gr owth, chromatophores, behaviour, prey capture, colour and body pattern s of this sepiid, for correlation with changes in morphology and devel opment of its central nervous system. We compare the early life of S. officinalis with that of the common octopod, Octopus vulgaris, Cuvier 1797. Sepia officinalis is initially benthopelagic but subsequently is mostly benthic in habit. Octopus vulgaris enters the plankton immedia tely after hatching and spends several weeks there before it settles t o a life spent mostly on the bottom.