Giant Australian Cuttlefish
Let’s explore Australian Marine Parks to discover the Giant Australian cuttlefish
South Australia is home to the world’s only mass gathering of mating cuttlefish. Thousands of these Giant Australian cuttlefish move to the top of the Spencer Gulf from May to August to mate for many weeks, eventually laying their eggs under the rocky reef. This mass reproductive event allows keen snorkellers and scuba divers to witness something quite surreal, it's almost magic...
This factsheet is part of the University of Adelaide's Fab Five project, focused on raising awareness of five fabulous species and the marine parks that help protect them. This 'Our Marine Parks Grants' project received grant funding from the Australian Government.
References
1 . Lu, C.C. A synopsis of Sepiidae in Australian waters (Cephalopoda; Sepioidea). in Systematics and Biogeography of Cephalopods Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 58 (I-II). 1998. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
2. Kassahn, K.S., et al., Molecular and morphological analyses of the cuttlefish Sepia apama indicate a complex population structure. Marine Biology, 2003. 143(5): pp. 947-962.
3. Gillanders, B.M., et al., Giant Australian cuttlefish in South Australian waters, F.R.a.D. Corporation, Editor. 2016, FRDC: Adelaide, Australia.
4. Gillanders, B.M. and N.L. Payne, Giant Australian cuttlefish, in Natural History of Spencer Gulf. 2014, Royal Society of South Australia, p. 288 - 301.
5. McIntosh, R., B. Page, and S. Goldsworthy, Dietary analysis of regurgitates and stomach samples from free-living Australian sea lions. CSIRO Wildlife Research, 2006. 33: p. 661-669.
6. Finn, J., T. Tregenza, and M. Norman, Preparing the perfect cuttlefish meal: complex prey handling by dolphins. PloS one, 2009. 4(1): p. e4217-e4217.
7. Hall, K. and R. Hanlon, Principal features of the mating system of a large spawning aggregation of the giant Australian cuttlefish Sepia apama (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Marine Biology, 2002. 140(3): p. 533-545.
8. Hanlon, R.T., et al., Transient sexual mimicry leads to fertilization. Nature, 2005. 433(7023): p. 212-212.
9. Hall, K. and A. Fowler, The fisheries biology of the cuttlefish Sepia apama gray, in South Australian waters 2003, Henley Beach, S. Aust: SARDI Aquatic Sciences.