Comparative Taxonomical Studies on the Egyptian Red Sea Cephalopods (Cephalopoda: Mollusca)

Abstract

Cephalopods are known to be commercially important around the world. Worth mentioning it constitutes a major part of the Egyptian fishing industry. Samples of cephalopods were collected from fishing boats in the Suez Gulf and Egyptian Red Sea. Cuttlefishes, squids, and octopuses had their club of the tentacle, arm IV hectocotylus, sucker of the club of the tentacle, sucker ring of the club of the tentacle, arm sucker, arm sucker ring, radula, gill, and shell. Various organs were photographed using a Canon G7X digital Camera. Eleven Egyptian Red Sea cephalopod species were encountered; three of them are cuttlefish species namely: Sepia dollfusi, Sepia pharaonis, and Sepia elongata. Three squid species namely: Loligo forbesii, Uroteuthis Photololigo duvaucelii, and Sepioteuthis lessoniana were also encountered. Five octopus species were also recorded namely: Octopus vulgaris, Callistoctopus macropus, Macrotritopus defilippi, Amphyoctopus aegina, and Amphyoctopus membranaceus. Aims of the current work are to differentiate between some Cephalopod species living in the Red Sea of Egypt and evaluate the status to achieve a reliable differentiation between these species.