Searching for Cephalopods by Shawn Miller

Lately, I have been getting out a lot more on night dives. The conditions have been great for Scuba diving and underwater macro photography.  Diving at night is exciting because you never know what you will find. My last dive I stumbled upon a few new brightly colored nudibranchs and an undescribed pygmy cephalopod known as the pharaoh cuttlefish.

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Could this pygmy cuttlefish be an undescribed species or just a clever juvenile broadband cuttlefish resembling the sand?

  • Scientific name:  Sepia sp
  • Common Name: Pygmy or Pharaoh Cuttlefish
  • Found:  Kin bay, Okinawa
  • Habitat: Sand bottom @ night
  • Depth:  35feet 
  • Size:  17mm

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DSC_2082 DSC_2093 DSC_2104DSC_2111More than likely this pygmy cuttlefish is Sepiella inermis.  The pharaoh cuttlefish is absolutely stunning. I found this large specimen sand-dwelling during a night dive.

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If you have never been night diving I highly encourage you to try it. If you want to learn more about Cephalopods of Okinawa, check out my post on the beautiful Blue-ringed octopus. 

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