REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [ 20 ] 
* i 
mere estimates that have been made, which are usually much too great. 
Allowing for the parts of the arms that had been destroyed, this speci¬ 
men would, probably, have weighed nearly 1,000 pounds. 
Among the numerous other vessels that were fortunate in securing 
this kind of bait, Captain Collins mentions the following: 
The schooner u Sarah P. Ayer,” Captain Oakly, took one or two. 
The u E. B. Dickerson,” Captain McDonald, secured one that had its 
arms and was not entirely dead, so that it was harpooned. Its tentac¬ 
ular arms were 36 feet long (No. 26). 
The schooner u Tragabigzanda,” Captain Mallory, secured three in one 
afternoon. These were 8 to 12 feet long, not including the arms. 
These statements are confirmed by other fishermen, some of whom 
state that the u big squids ” were also common during the same season 
at the “ Flemish Cap,” a bank situated some distance northeast from the 
Grand Banks. 
The cause of so great a mortality among these great Cephalopods can 
only be conjectured. It may have been due to some disease epidemic 
among them, or to an unusual prevalence of deadly parasites or other ene¬ 
mies. It is worth while, however, to recall the fact that these were ob¬ 
served at about the same time, in autumn, when most of the specimens 
have been found cast ashore at Newfoundland in different years. This 
time may, perhaps, be just subsequent to their season for reproduction, 
when they would be so much weakened as to be more easily overpowered 
by parasites, disease, or other unfavorable conditions. 
Histioteuthis Collinsii Verrill. 
In addition to the foregoing examples, all of which, except No. 21, are 
believed to be referable to the genus ArcMteutMs, I have, in former arti¬ 
cles* described a very remarkable large squid, belonging to the genus 
Histioteuthis , in which a broad thin membrane or web unites the six 
upper arms together nearly to their tips, while the lower ones have a 
shorter web uniting them to the rest. Although small, when contrasted 
with the gigantic specimens of Architeuthis , it is considerably larger 
than any of the common small squids, and as it inhabits the same locali¬ 
ties with Architeuthis , and has some points of resemblance to the latter 
genus, especially in having the smooth-rimmed suckers for uniting to¬ 
gether the long tentacular arms, I have thought it best to mention it in 
this part of my article, in connection with the species of Architeuthis. 
The only specimen known was obtained (with No. 20) from the stomach 
of a large and voracious fish ( Alepidosaurusferox) , having a formidable 
array of long, sharp teeth, eminently adapted for the capture of sucli 
prey. It was taken by Capt. J. W. Collins and crew, of the schooner 
“Marion,” in deep water off the coast of Nova Scotia, and presented to 
the United States Fish Commission. This species (H. Collinsii) is fig¬ 
ured on Plate XXIII, and will be described farther on. 
* American Journal of Science, vol. xvii, p. 241, 1879; vol. xix, p. 29, pi. 14, 1880; 
Trans. Conn. Acad., vol. y, pp. 195, 234, pi. 22. 
