COyClIOLOOY. 181 



described, together witli suiuliy other new and rare Cepliulopoda, by Prof. Owen, in 

 the Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, vol. xi. p. IGl, from which 

 I shall quote a few particulars. " A few weeks ago " (December, 1873) " two fisher- 

 men lying otF St. John's observed an object floating in the water which they took to 

 be a portion of a wreck. On reaching it, one of the men struck it with a boat-hook, 

 ■whereupon the supposed piece of wreck became alarmingly lively, ' rearing a parrot- 

 like beak, as big as a six-gallon keg, with which it smote the boat. Next it shot out 

 from its head two huge livid arms, and began to twine them about the boat.' Happily 

 an axe lay handy, and with it the boatman, recovering fi'om the surprise into which 

 this unexpected attack had thrown himself and his mate, cut off both the arms as they 

 lay over the gunwale, whereupon the fish backed off and ejected an immense cjuantity 

 of inky fluid that darkened tlie water for a great distance about." This account of 

 the llev. II. Harvey of St. John's was accompanied by photographs of the portions of 

 the monster thus obtained. The length of the arm cut ott was 19 feet and the entire 

 length was estimated at 39 feet. That this is not an extravagant estimate is rendered 

 proliahle by the size of Squid captured in Coomb's Cove, Fortune Bay, in 1872, and 

 measured by the Hon. T. K. Bennett, of Knglish Harbour, Newfoundland. The length 

 of the body, arm and tentacle of which was respectively 10, 6, and ■12 feet; and of 

 another of these monsters taken in Trinity Bay, 9-J-, 1 1 and 30 feet. Another 

 remarkable animal was stranded by a tidal wave in November, 1874, in the Isle of St. 

 Paul, during the residence there of the party of astronomers waiting to observe the 

 ' Transit of Venus,' and this monster was photographed as it lay on the rocks by the 

 artist attached to the expedition. This animal measured over 30 feet, and seems to 

 belong to a ditt'erent genus from the Newfoundland animal, and which M. Velain 

 proposes to name Mouchezis after Capt. llouchez, commandant of the expedition. 



a. Chondrophora. 

 Fani'dij Loliginidae. 



To this family belongs the commcm ' squid,' so valued as a bait for the Cod 

 fishery of Europe. The species of this and other allied families on the coast of Burma 

 have not been ascertained. 



b. Sepiophora. 



Fumi/i/ Sepiictae. 



Shell cellular, calcareous. 



Sepia, sp. Plin>/. 



A species on the coast is known as 'ye-jiet,' or ' water-hen,' by the Burmese. 



0. Bchmnopliora. 



Family Spirulidse. 



SpiKULA, Lamarck. 



Shell internal, spiral, chambered and siphuucled. 

 * ,, Peeoxii, Lam. 



Order OCTOPODA. 



Limbs (arms) eight. No internal shell. 



Family Octopodidse. 



Arms subulate. An ' ink bag' present, with which they render the water turbid 

 when alarmed and under cover of which they retreat. 



*Cisiopus iNDicns, Eupp. 



' Ye-myouk.' Water monkey of the Burmese. 



