Sepia latimanus Cuttlefish Mating

This is a pair of broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) mating. Having succeeded in gaining the female's acceptance, the male on the right has wrapped his arms around the female's head. He is in the process of deliverying a package of sperm with his hectocotylus (modified left tentacle). The male typically stays with the female while she deposits fertilized eggs, to guard against copulation by other males.

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Image Size: 7647x5098 / 111.8MB; https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license#rm; https://www.tony-wu.com/contact-tony-wu; Cephalopod Cuttlefish Animalia Mollusca Cephalopoda Sepiida Sepiidae Sepia latimanus Broadclub Cuttlefish Mating Reproduction Pacific Japan Kagoshima Prefecture
Contained in galleries: Marine Life Reproduction, Cephalopods, Marine Life | Japan

This is a pair of broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) mating. Having succeeded in gaining the female's acceptance, the male on the right has wrapped his arms around the female's head. He is in the process of deliverying a package of sperm with his hectocotylus (modified left tentacle). The male typically stays with the female while she deposits fertilized eggs, to guard against copulation by other males.