Reaper Cuttlefish
Ascarosepion mestus
- Usual depth142 m
- Water temperature14–28 °C
- Best monthsOctober and November
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Ascarosepion mestus, also known as the reaper cuttlefish or red cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean, specifically Escape Reef off Queensland to Murrays Beach off Jervis Bay. Reports of this species from China and Vietnam are now known to be misidentifications. A. mestus lives at a depth of between 0 and 22 m.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Ascarosepion mestus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 12 records
- February: 5 records
- March: 11 records
- April: 9 records
- May: 10 records
- June: 5 records
- July: 6 records
- August: 8 records
- September: 9 records
- October: 18 records
- November: 22 records
- December: 10 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 142 m · Deepest record: 142 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–28 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Reaper Cuttlefish, Red Cuttlefish
Names in 1 more languages
- Japanese
- ヒガシノコウイカ
Other scientific names: Ascarosepion verreauxi, Sepia mestus, Solitosepia liliana
Similar species
Broadclub CuttlefishAscarosepion latimanus
Flamboyant CuttlefishAscarosepion pfefferi
- Australian Giant Cuttlefish
Ascarosepion apama
- New Holland Cuttlefish
Ascarosepion novaehollandiae
- Papuan Cuttlefish
Ascarosepion papuense
- Mourning Cuttlefish
Ascarosepion plangon
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 375 open-data records from 1884 to 2014.
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