In the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, the ovary appears to be one of the main sources of regulatory peptides involved in the successive steps of egg-laying. Following the identification of the SepCRP-1, which is a peptide extracted from ovary and involved in egg capsule secretion, investigations were focused on the identification of related peptides. Seven related-Sepia Capsule Releasing Peptid...

Because visual predation occurs day and night, many predators must have good night vision. Prey therefore exhibit antipredator behaviours in very dim light. In the field, the giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) assumes camouflaged body patterns at night, each tailored to its immediate environment. However, the question of whether cuttlefish have the perceptual capability to change their c...

mRNA from two molluscs, the snail Levantina hierosolima and the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis, and one arthropod, the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus, were found to contain species that hybridize with an oligodeoxynucleotide sequence corresponding to the six-amino-acid sequence His-His-Trp-His-Trp-His postulated to carry binuclear copper in arthropod haemocyanins. The duplexes formed between th...

It is shown that ultrafiltration could be the first step in urine formation in Sepia officinalis and Octopus vulgaris. The organization of the podocytes indicates that ultrafiltration can occur through these cells. They have a thick basal lamina in contact with the peripheral blood lacunae, and the cell apices lie in infoldings of the lumen of the appendage. Comparison between the colloid-osmot...

Body patterning behavior in unshelled cephalopod molluscs such as squid, octopuses, and cuttlefish is the ability of these animals to create complex patterns on their skin. This behavior is generated primarily by chromatophores, pigment-containing organs that are directly innervated by central motoneurons. The present study focuses on innervation patterns and location of chromatophore motoneuro...