88 Prof. J. Steenstrup on Hectocotylus-/or»ia/2on 



and furnished with papillae for a part of its length, in all the 

 species of the genus. 



The genus Sepioteuthis, Bl., stands so close to Loligo in every 

 respect, that, with many naturalists, it can hardly establish its 

 right to subsist as a distinct genus; it was therefore to be ex- 

 pected that it would also approach the species of Luligo in the 

 form of the reproductive organs. This, indeed, it appears to 

 do, so far as can be judged from the single species of which I 

 have had the opportunity of examining a great many specimens, 

 namely Sepioteuthis sepioidea, BL, from the Antilles*. As shown 

 by fig. 4, the left ventral arm is actually metamorphosed analo- 

 gously to that of the Loligines, but still with its peculiar cha- 

 racter, the peduncles in the outer row of suckers being trans- 

 formed into compressed leaf-like papillse, united by a mem- 

 branous bridge with the roots of the peduncles in the opposite 

 row, which are transformed into blunt elevations. The meta- 

 morphosis commences at about the thirtieth sucker, and embraces 

 about twenty-eight pairs of acetabula. It must also be indi- 

 cated that the right ventral arm of the male Sepioteuthis dif- 

 fers remarkably from that of the female, as its extreme third 

 is covered with acetabula so small as to be scarcely visible, and 

 it is therefore to be supposed that in the genus Sepioteuthis the 

 right arm assists the left in the part which it has to play. 



With the genera Loligo and Sepioteuthis, which, according to 

 • D^Orbigny, form a group by themselves, I associate another 

 genus, established upon two small Cephalopoda, which so strongly 

 resemble certain small Loligines (e. g. L. brevipinna, Les.) in 

 form, that I should not be surprised if they were nearly allied 

 forms which have been described under this name. They never- 

 theless form a very characteristic small genus, which, in my 

 opinion, must be placed close to Loligo, although it is destitute 

 of one of the characters hitherto regarded as essential to the 

 Loligo-group, namely muscular cords on the funnel ; and in this 

 respect the species approach the group of Sepiola and Rossia, 

 as also in the structure of the acetabula, as these have not the 

 small elevated band all i-ound the horny ring, which always 

 occurs in Loligo and Sepioteuthis. But in all other respects they 

 appear to me to be true Loligines. To keep this near relation- 

 ship in mind, I have formerly named this genus Loliolus ; this 

 name being a diminutive of " Lolius,^' from which, according to 

 Gaza, Loligo is derived. In both the species of Loliolus, the 



* Of the other species of the genus, which are all derived from the Indian 

 Ocean and its large gulfs, I have been unable to examine any males. I 

 may take this opportunity to remark, that 1 have not yet made use of any 

 of the material obtained by the expedition of the ' Galathea ' in this inves- 

 tigation. 



