Boone, Mollusca, Cruises of "Ara" and "Alva" 



335 



a 



Text figure 20. — Sepioteiithis mauritiana Quoy and Gaimard : a, two 

 views of a large sucker from the third sessile arm showing typical denti- 

 tion ; b, two views of a large sucker from the tentacular arm, showing 

 typical dentition; all X 5. 



in the waters of Mauritius (He de France) and is deposited in the 

 collections of the Paris Museum d'Histoire Naturelle. 



Distribution : Mauritius (Quoy and Gaimard, Tryon, Hoyle) ; 

 New Caledonia (Boone). 



Material examined : Four large specimens, taken at Noumea, 

 New Caledonia, September 19, 1931, by the "Alva" World Cruise. 



Colour : The colour of the living specimen is a pale flesh col- 

 our, abundantly tinted with thousands of large violaceous-red 

 chromatophores on the body, fins, head and arms. 



Technical description: This species is represented in the 

 present collection by specimens ranging from 1.5 to 2 feet total 

 length, exclusive of tentacular arms. 



The body is 10 inches, or 25 centimeters, long in the median 

 dorsal line, and is large, wide, subcylindrical, tapering posteriorly, 

 bluntly rounded distally ; anteriorly the free margin is produced 

 to a blunt triangular median point, on either side of which it tapers 

 toward the lateral margin ; on the ventral surface the free margin 

 is concave medially below the siphon and produced into a subacute 

 point on either side of this. The caudal fins occupy almost the 

 entire lateral margin of the body, beginning a very short distance 

 behind the free anterior margin, increasing gradually in width 

 posteriorly, attaining their maximum width 0.6 of the body length 

 from the anterior margin, thence gradually tapering posteriorly 

 on the hinder 0.4 of the squid, terminating at the posterior apex 

 of the body. These fins are broad, thick, fleshy, subrhomboidal, 

 when considered as a pair ; the outer margin of each fin forms a 

 wide, convex arc ; considered as a whole, the body and fins together 



