34 OMMATOSTREPHIDA. 
Famity OMMATOSTREPHID A. 
OMMATOSTREPHES, d’Orbigny, 1835. 
Sagittated Calamary. Omma, the eyes, and strepho, to turn. 
Syn.—Cycria, Leach. Todarodes, Steenst., 1880. Illex,Steenst., 
1880. 
Distr.—13 sp. Europe, N. Atlantic Coast of U.8., W. Indies, 
Cape of Good Hope, Antarctic Sea, Pacific Coast of America, 
Polynesia, Indian Ocean. O. sagittatus, Lam. (xxvil, 44, 45). 
Fossil: pens of 4 sp. in the Oxford clay, Solenhofen (liassic) ; 
1 sp. tertiary. 
Body long, cylindrical; arms short, with two rows of suckers ; 
tentacles short, not retractile, the clubs with four rows of suckers ; 
siphon valved, fastened to the head by bands. Shell small, lancet- 
form, with a hollow end-conus. 
These animals are gregarious, frequenting the open sea in all 
climates. Extensively used as bait in the Newfoundland cod- 
fishery ; they are also the principal food of the albatross, the 
larger petrels, the dolphins and the cachelots. They are called 
‘““sea-arrows”’ or “flying squids” by fisherman, on account of 
their habit of darting out of the water, often to such a height as 
to fall on the decks of vessels. The ege-masses are in large 
clusters, floating on the surface. 
Ommatostrephes, illecebrosa was observed among the wharves 
at Provincetown, Mass., during the month of July, engaged in 
capturing and devouring the young mackerel, which were swim- 
ming about in schools, and at that time were about four or five 
inches long. In attacking the mackerel they would suddenly 
dart backward among the fish, with the velocity of an arrow, 
and as suddenly turn obliquely to the right or left and seize a 
fish, which was almost instantly killed by a bite in the back of 
the neck, with the sharp beaks. The bite was always made in 
the same place, cutting out a triangular piece of flesh, and was 
deep enough to penetrate to the spinal cord. The attacks were 
not always successful, and were sometimes repeated a dozen 
times before one of these active and wary fishes could be caught. 
Sometimes, after making several unsuccessful attempts, one of 
the squids would suddenly drop to the bottom, and, resting upon 
the sand, change its color to that of the sand so perfectly, as to 
be almost invisible. In this way it would wait until the fishes 
came back, and when they were swimming close to or over the 
ambuscade, the squid, by a sudden dart, would be pretty sure to 
secure a fish. Ordinarily, when swimming, they were thickly 
spotted with red and brown, but when darting among the mack- 
erel, they appeared translucent and pale. The mackerel, however, 
seemed to have learned that the shallow water is the safest for 
them, and would hug the shore as closely as possible, so that in 
