DOI: 10.1017/s0025315400023948. The Buoyancy of the Cuttlefish,<i>Sepia Officinalis</i>(L.)

The Buoyancy of the Cuttlefish,Sepia Officinalis(L.)

10.1017/s0025315400023948

Crossref journal-article

Cambridge University Press (CUP)

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (56)

Abstract

The excess weight in sea water of the living tissues ofSepia officinalis(L.) is approximately balanced by the cuttlebone, which accounts for about 9·3% of the animal's volume. The density of cuttlebone varies around 0·6. The cuttlefish without its cuttlebone would be about 4% denser than sea water.The chambers of the cuttlebone are independent of one another but liquids and gases are free to move within any one chamber.Animals caught and studied fresh aboard ship exhibited a much less wide range of cuttlebone densities than those kept in an aquarium.Specimens kept in aquaria vary greatly in buoyancy. These variations result from changes in density of the cuttlebone.Cuttlebones differ not in the weight of dry matter per unit volume, which is always close to 38%, but in the amount of liquid they contain. A cuttlebone of density 0·7 contains about 30% liquid whereas a cuttlebone of density 0·5 contains about 10% liquid. The remainder of the cuttlebone contains gas, but this gas is at less than atmospheric pressure. The pressure of gas varies around 0·8 atmosphere. Within the duration of the experiments described here, the mass of gas per unit volume of bone remained almost constant whatever the bone's density. The pressure of gas is lower the less dense the cuttlebone. There can be no question of an evolution of gas expelling liquid from a bone when it becomes lighter. The constancy of the mass of gas within the cuttlebone is explained in terms of the slowness of diffusion of gases into the bone.

Bibliography

Denton, E. J., & Gilpin-Brown, J. B. (1961). The Buoyancy of the Cuttlefish,Sepia Officinalis(L.). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 41(2), 319â342.

Authors 2

E. J. Denton (first)
J. B. Gilpin-Brown (additional)

References 17 Referenced 113

{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref004', 'first-page': '62', 'article-title': 'The inorganic constituents of marine invertebrates', 'volume': '124', 'author': 'Clarke', 'year': '1922', 'journal-title': 'Prof. Pap. U.S. geol. Surv.'} / Prof. Pap. U.S. geol. Surv. / The inorganic constituents of marine invertebrates by Clarke (1922)
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref002', 'first-page': '114', 'article-title': 'Mémoire sur la Physiologie de la Seiche', 'volume': '5', 'author': 'Bert', 'year': '1867', 'journal-title': 'Mém. Soc. Sci. phys. nat. Bordeaux'} / Mém. Soc. Sci. phys. nat. Bordeaux / Mémoire sur la Physiologie de la Seiche by Bert (1867)
10.1017/S0025315400023961
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref011', 'volume-title': 'Osmotic Regulation in Aquatic Animals', 'author': 'Krogh', 'year': '1939'} / Osmotic Regulation in Aquatic Animals by Krogh (1939)
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref001', 'first-page': '106', 'article-title': 'Die Schalen von Sepia, Spirula und Nautilus', 'volume': '7', 'author': 'Appellöf', 'year': '1893', 'journal-title': 'K. svenska VetenskAkad. Handl'} / K. svenska VetenskAkad. Handl / Die Schalen von Sepia, Spirula und Nautilus by Appellöf (1893)
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref013', 'volume-title': 'Molluscs', 'author': 'Morton', 'year': '1958'} / Molluscs by Morton (1958)
10.1017/S0025315400023973
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref003', 'first-page': '232', 'volume-title': 'Concerning the Nature of Things', 'author': 'Bragg', 'year': '1925'} / Concerning the Nature of Things by Bragg (1925)
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref005', 'first-page': '179', 'article-title': 'The buoyancy of fish and cephalopods', 'volume': '11', 'author': 'Denton', 'year': '1961', 'journal-title': 'Progr. Biophys.'} / Progr. Biophys. / The buoyancy of fish and cephalopods by Denton (1961)
10.1017/S002531540002395X
10.1111/j.1469-185X.1953.tb01370.x
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref012', 'first-page': '85', 'article-title': 'Recherches expérimentales sur les fonctions de la vessie natatoire', 'volume': '9', 'author': 'Moreau', 'year': '1876', 'journal-title': 'Ann. sci. nat. (Zool.)'} / Ann. sci. nat. (Zool.) / Recherches expérimentales sur les fonctions de la vessie natatoire by Moreau (1876)
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref010', 'first-page': '183', 'article-title': 'On the hydrostatic mechanism of the Corethra larva with an account of methods of microscopical gas analysis', 'volume': '25', 'author': 'Krogh', 'year': '1911', 'journal-title': 'Skand. Arch. Physiol.'} / Skand. Arch. Physiol. / On the hydrostatic mechanism of the Corethra larva with an account of methods of microscopical gas analysis by Krogh (1911)
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref014', 'first-page': '1', 'article-title': 'Die Cephalopoden', 'volume': '35', 'author': 'Naef', 'year': '1923', 'journal-title': 'Fauna u. Flora Neapel, Monogr.'} / Fauna u. Flora Neapel, Monogr. / Die Cephalopoden by Naef (1923)
10.5962/bhl.title.10096 / The Biology of Marine Animals by Nicol (1960)
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref016', 'first-page': '411', 'volume-title': 'The Integument of Arthropods', 'author': 'Richards', 'year': '1951'} / The Integument of Arthropods by Richards (1951)
{'key': 'S0025315400023948_ref017', 'first-page': '691', 'volume-title': "A. Willey's Zoological Results", 'author': 'Willey', 'year': '1902'} / A. Willey's Zoological Results by Willey (1902)

Dates

Type	When
Created	16 years, 3 months ago (May 12, 2009, 11:40 a.m.)
Deposited	2 years, 3 months ago (May 24, 2023, 11:08 p.m.)
Indexed	3 weeks, 3 days ago (Aug. 5, 2025, 8:57 a.m.)
Issued	64 years, 2 months ago (June 1, 1961)
Published	64 years, 2 months ago (June 1, 1961)
Published Online	16 years, 3 months ago (May 11, 2009)
Published Print	64 years, 2 months ago (June 1, 1961)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Denton_1961, title={The Buoyancy of the Cuttlefish,Sepia Officinalis(L.)}, volume={41}, ISSN={1469-7769}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400023948}, DOI={10.1017/s0025315400023948}, number={2}, journal={Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom}, publisher={Cambridge University Press (CUP)}, author={Denton, E. J. and Gilpin-Brown, J. B.}, year={1961}, month=jun, pages={319–342} }

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