M. Nixon et K. Mangold, THE EARLY-LIFE OF SEPIA-OFFICINALIS, AND THE CONTRAST WITH THAT OF OCTOPUS-VULGARIS (CEPHALOPODA), Journal of zoology, 245, 1998, pp. 407-421
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.