LOLIGO. 227 



tacular arms are long, stoutly pedunculated and furnished 

 at their lanceolate extremities with suckers, large centrally, 

 small towards their tips, and ranked in fours. The general 

 hue of the animal is bluish, with purplish specklings, 

 which are numerous, and areolated in the centre of the 

 back, and are close set, and dark on the head and hinder 

 portions of the tentacula. Beneath it is yellowish white. 

 The pen is lanceolate ; that of the female is said to be 

 broader and more obtuse than that of the male. The jaws 

 are brown with white tips. The body grows to a length 

 of nearly a foot and a half; the head and arms add about 

 half a foot to the total length. 



Dr. Johnston remarks that " it makes an excellent bait 

 for cod, but does not occur in sufficient numbers to be used 

 by our fishermen. The ink is jet black. I have found 

 the beaks of a small individual in the stomach of a large 

 one, so that it certainly feeds occasionally on its own race."" 



It appears to be generally distributed around the British 

 Islands, though met with only occasionally. Among the 

 earlier figures of native specimens is one by Borlase of an 

 example taken on the coast of Cornwall. It is specially 

 recorded from the Northumbrian coast (Alder) ; Berwick 

 bay (Johnston) ; Frith of Forth (Grant, E. F.) ; Aber- 

 deen (Macgillivray) ; Isle of Man (E. F.) ; north and 

 east of Ireland (W. Thompson). 



Verany remarks, that, in consequence of communications 

 made to him by Ferussac, it would appear that the L. 

 vulgaris of the Mediterranean is not identical with the 

 Atlantic species ; the latter is paler and the dispropor- 

 tion of the suckers upon the club (which is smaller) of its 

 tentacula is much less. A comparison of the figure we 

 have given, from an excellent drawing communicated by 

 Mr. Alder, with the admirable representation in Verany's 



