404 A. M Verrill — Mollusca of the 'New England Coast. 

 Cirrhoteuthis plena Verriu, sp. nov. 



Plate XLII, figure 3. 



Body 1)roa<l, thick and short, hroadly rounded posteriorly, with the 

 lateral fins inserted well forward, just behind the eyes, their front 

 edges a little behind the gill-opening. The fins are large, thin and 

 broad, with the edges nearly parallel to near the end, which is 

 broadly rounded. The head is as broad as the body and very short. 

 The eyes are relatively small, wide apart, situated in line with the 

 siphon transversely ; the lids, in alcohol, are slightly thickened and 

 surround a small elliptical opening. The siphon-tube is small, but 

 prominent and well-developed, expanding to the base. The gill- 

 opening is small and simple, in breadth only slightly exceeding the 

 breadth of the basal part of the siphon. 



The arms are long, rather stout, the four upper ones decidedly 

 longer than the four lower, the ventral ones shortest. They are 

 united by a thick, strong web, which, on the upper side between the 

 dorsal arms, extends about two-thirds the length of the arms. It 

 decreases in width between the lateral arms. Between the third and 

 fourth pairs it is about one-half the length of the ventral arms, and 

 between the veutrals about one-third their length. The suckers are 

 rather large for the group, largest at about the basal third, those near 

 the mouth becoming very small. They are arranged rather close 

 together in a single linear series, but sometimes show a slight tendency 

 to become alternate at the basal third of the lateral arms ; they are 

 usually separated along the center of the arms by spaces about equal 

 to their own diameter. There are about fifty-five suckers on the 

 dorsal arms, of which about thirty occupy the portion within the 

 web. The tips of the arms, when perfect, are rapidly tapered, rather 

 thin and not much elongated, and bear fifteen to twenty small suck- 

 ers, which are here nearly in contact. The cirri are rather short, 

 tapered, acute, and usually stand nearly opposite the suckers, forming 

 a row on each side, along the inner face of the arm. 



The color of the body and external surface of the web, in alcohol, 

 is a yellowish flesh-color, with a somewhat translucent, gelatinous 

 appearance, with the darker internal organs showing througli more 

 or less distinctly. The fins are deep brown, darker towards the tips^ 

 The inner surfaces of the arms and web with the cirri, are dark 

 purplish brown, while the suckers are dull brownish yellow. 



Total length, 185""" ; length of body to gill-opening, 57""" ; lengtli 

 to base of ventral arms, VO"""' ; breadth of body between bases of 



