124 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 234 



head. The locking apparatus is simple, the funnel member consisting 

 of an elongate oval groove, narrow anteriorly, the mantle member a 

 short cartilaginous ridge crescentic in side view. The funnel organ 

 is an inverted V-shape with curved ventral pads. The valve is small 

 but well developed. 



The fins are large, less than half the mantle length, separate an- 

 teriorly but united posteriorly. Each fin is a half circle; united 

 they form a transverse oval outline with a notched posterior border. 

 The end of the body does not reach to the posterior border of the fins. 



The arms are subequal, III the largest, in the order 3.2.1.4. There 

 is a low web connecting the first three pairs of arms. The arms are 

 stout at their bases and taper gradually to a fine point distally. All 

 the arms bear two rows of small globular suckers on delicate peduncles. 

 The suckers of all the arms are bordered on either side by a low, 

 weakly supported protective membrane. There is no swimming 

 membrane on III as Sasaki (1929) reported for Meleagroteuthis 

 separata. This web also occurs in M. hoylei; its absence in this 

 specimen is probably due to the extensive damage of the skin on 

 both arms. The suckers are arranged basally and distaUy on the 

 arms in two distinct rows which are widely separated basaUy; in the 

 midportion of arms I-III the suckers are missing, but the peduncles 

 remain and here the suckers appear to have been in three to four rows. 

 The apertures are laterally placed and the chitinous rings are nearly 

 smooth on the proximal half but bear 8 to 11 low round teeth on the 

 distal half of the margin. The suckers of the ventral arms are 

 noticeably smaller than those of the others. On the aboral surface 

 of the first thi'ee pairs of arms is a row of tubercles extending from the 

 base of the arm outward for about half the arm's length. The rows 

 of the dorsal pair originate proximal to the base. These rows are 

 composed of cone-shaped tubercles topped by small round laiobs. 

 On I there are 26 tubercles, on II there are 21, and on III there are 12. 

 These tubercles are similar to the row on the dorsum of the mantle 

 described above. 



The tentacles are long and slender, strongly flattened, with smaU, 

 abruptly widened but distally attenuated clubs which are bordered 

 on either side by narrow protective membranes. Proximally there 

 is a series of about seven small connective suckers originating on the 

 ventral surface of the stalk and passing across the oral surface to the 

 dorsal side, ending about one-third up the hand. There are four 

 small pads or buttons on the left tentacle. On the hand are six or 

 seven rows of large suckers with short pedicels and large apertures. 

 The chitinous ring bears 25 to 30 small but long, square-tipped teeth 

 inside of a narrow bordering papillated area. Distally the suckers 

 become smaller and more regular and in seven distinct rows. There 



