Common cuttlefish
Scientific name: Sepia officinalis Linnaeus, 1758
Overview
The common cuttlefish or European common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100–200 metres (330–660 ft) during autumn and winter. They grow to 49 centimetres (19 in) in mantle length and 4 kilograms (8.8 lb) in weight. Animals from subtropical seas are smaller and rarely exceed 30 centimetres (12 in) in mantle length.
From the Wikipedia article “Common cuttlefish”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Common names
Also known in English as cuttlefish.
Names in other languages (9)
- Arabic
- خذاق
- French
- Casseron, Chakod, Chibia, Chubei, margade, seche
- German
- Gemeine Sepie, Gemeine Tintenschnecke, Gemeiner Tintenfisch, Gemeiner Tintenfish, gewöhnliche Tintenfisch, Gewöhnlicher Tintenfisch
- Japanese
- ko-ika, ma-ika, Mongo-ika, Yoroppa kouika, ヨーロッパコウイカ
- Persian
- سپیداج معمولی
- Portuguese
- checo, Choco, choco-vulgar, siba
- Russian
- Kora katitza, obiknovennaya karakatiza, sepia, Лекарственная каракатица
- Spanish
- Aluda, Choco, coca, Jibia, Jibión, Luda
- Turkish
- Sübye
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: MolluscaBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q756724, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Common cuttlefish”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026