CEPHALOPODS OF WESTERN' NORTH AMERICA. 329 



APPENDIX. 



For the benefit of students without immediate access to large zoological libraries, 

 it has been thought serviceable to offer accurate reprints of several of the earlier and 

 more inaccessible papers having a direct bearing on the teuthology of the west American 

 region and containing the original descriptions of several of our species. 



[From Proceedings of the California Academy of Natural Sciences, vol. 11, 1862, p. 170-172] 



DESCRIPTION OF TWO SPECIES OF CEPHALOPODES IN THE MUSEUM OF THE CALIFORNIA 



ACADEMY OF N.\TURAL SCIENCES. 



By W. M. Gabb. 



Octopus punctatus. — Body ovate, rounded at the extremity. Head moderately large, without any 

 well-marked neck ; compressed above, about one-fifth as long as the body, abruptly tnincated in advance 

 of the eyes, so that the constriction below the arms is barely more than half as wide as the greatest 

 diameter of the head. Eyes of medium size; not prominent; color destroyed by alcohol. Abdominal 

 aperture wide, the ends being directly behind the eyes; lip simple and acute. Siphon broad at the 

 base, rapidly narrowing and extending a little beyond the origin of the arms. Arms subquadrate in 

 section, the largest about four times the length of the body; proportionate length beginning with the 

 dorsal side, 2, i, 4, 3, varying very little in length, and being of about the same thickness. Cupules 

 moderate, about half the diameter of the arms, largest just beyond the termination of the umbrella; 

 short, robust, tapering almost imperceptibly, and slightly constricted just below the top. Umbrella 

 small, not extending between the arms for one-fourth of tlieir length, but continued as a very narrow 

 membrane, for about one-half of their length along the side farthest from the dorsal side. Mouth very 

 small, surrounded by small lips. Surface smooth, flesh-colored, and profusely marked by vcr)' minute 

 reddish-brown, or chocolate-colored points. These points are so closely placed on the dorsal surface 

 of the body and arms as to produce a nearly imiform, dirt\'-brown appearance; on the inside of tlie 

 arras, the inner surface of the umbrella, and the whole ventral surface they are sparsely scattered. Length 

 of body and head to origin of the arms, 3.5 inches. Circumference of body, at its broadest part, 4.3 

 inches. Lengtli of body to the opening in tlie abdomen, 2.5 inches. Breadth of head, i.i inches. 

 Length of tlie longest arm, from the mouth, 10.8 inches. Length of shortest, 9.25 inches. Circum- 

 ference of one arm, 2 inches. Diameter of largest cupule, .3 in. Length of siphon, .7 in. Diameter at 

 base .7 in. Diameter at apex (flattened), .3 in. 



Locality. — Common in the neighborhood of San Francisco. Also found on the coast of Lower Cali- 

 fornia, having been brought from Scammon's Lagoon, in abundance, by Capt. C. M. Scammon. The 

 specimen from which the species is described is comparatively small. Dr. W. O. Ayres told me that 

 he had seen them several feet in length, and spoke of one in which the arms were seven feet long. 



It appears to approach most nearly to O. mcgalocyathus , Couthouy (Gould, Mollusca of Wilkes' 

 Expedition, p. 471), but differs in the absence of the lateral membrane, the size of the mouth, the size 

 of the cupules and the general coloration. There may be other differences, but I have not had an oppor- 

 tunity of examining the figures of Couthouy 's species. 



Onychoteuthis fusiformis. — Body slender, fusiform, prolonged and sharply acuminate posteriorly, 

 truncated sinuously above, having a slight projection in the median dorsal region, and being equally 



