NOTES OK A GIGANTIC CEFHALOPOH. 4S> 



and the staifciiig point of the ridge froui the tip of the rostrum in the 

 lower mandible, — all these characters do not allow us to put the present 

 specimen in that species, although we believe it is perhaps closer to this 

 than to any other. The same characters exolnde it fvom A. pri7icep£ 

 also. Neither can it belong to Sthenoteuthis, as there is no such mera- 

 braiie, as is given by Veerill as characteristic of that genus. 



ArcJi/feiithis monaclms, Steenstrup as given by Tryox is made 

 by A'errii-l a synonym of A. Harvey i, A^ereill. 



Ommastrephes rohufitus, Dall has been placed by Verrill in 

 Ofti/chotciithis and seem to differ in many respects from our specimen. 



Arcliiteutliis dux, and A . titan are of too doubtfull a character to 

 allow us to identify any specimen with it. The same may be said of 

 Ommastrephes Bouyerl, and 0. Monchezi as given by Tryon. K 

 hooks are present as they are said to be in A. dux or A. titan, that will 

 at once establish its difference from our specimen. 



A. Hartingii is only a provisional name proposed by Verrill aad 

 may belong to Loligo. 



The differences from the common surume-iJui (Ommast replies 

 Bartraniii, Lcs}ieur J oi onr coa,s.t d.Ye also too great to need any spsci- 

 fication. 



The gigantic cephalopod seeii by Hilgendore* in Tokyo appears 

 to agree in many respects with our specimen. We regret that we have 

 been unable to see the description of Megateuthis Martensii which this 

 author gives in Sitzimgsb. d. Ges. Natruf. Fr. Berlin 1880. 



A survey of the literature accessible to us does not thus enable as 

 to identify the present specimen with any species previously knovva. 

 We believe it very probable that we have in our specimen a new species 

 of Architeuthis to be characterized by the shape of its fins, and of its 

 beaks, unequal lengths of the sessile arms, the contrast between the 

 ventral and other arms, etc. This species probably makes our coasts 

 its habitat and are thus often caught by our fishermen. 



* Mittheilungen der Deutsclaeu Gpsellschaft f. Natur- u. Volkerkuade Ostasiens. 

 Bd. T Hoft. l,p. 21. 



