CEPHALOPODA. — BERRY. 



203 



REPORT ON THE CEPHALOPODA. 



I. — Introduction. 



Through the kindness of Mr. R. Etheridge, Junr., Director 

 and Curator of the Austrahan Museum, I have had entrusted 

 to me for examination and report the considerable collection of 

 Cephalopods, about a kegful in all, taken by the F.I.S. 

 ^" Endeavour " on her various expeditions prior to her last 

 ill-fated voyage in 1914. 



The collection, which comprises one hundred and four 

 specimens, may be summarily outlined in the following 

 table : — 



On the whole the material is in good condition, though the 

 choice of formalin solution " as a preserving medium has 

 resulted in irreparable damage to many specimens, some of 

 which were of great value, while all have been rendered 

 correspondingly difficult and disagreeable to work with. It 

 is most curious how differently formalin seems to behave 

 toward the tissues of different groups of animals. While so 

 often satisfactory with some other groups, I can find little to 

 commend its use with most Cephalopods, or any of them, 

 unless it be with some of the more delicate and transparent 

 pelagic forms, or as a temporary fixing agent. 



Fortunately all except three of the species are represented 

 in the collection by a fair number of specimens, a circum- 

 stance which has made possible much more thorough and 

 satisfactorv work than would otherwise have been the case. 



II. — Synopsis of the Collection. 

 The following species of Cephalopods were obtained by the 

 Endeavour " and will be treated in the succeeding pages : — 



