A. E. Verrill—Mollusca of the New England Coast. 145 
The principal character in which this genus differs from ledone is 
the peculiar mode of hectocotylization of the third arm in the male, 
Filedone agrees essentially with Octopus in this respect. 
Eledonella pygmea Verrill, sp. nov. 
PLATE XXXII, FIGURE 2. 
Body smooth, oblong-ovate, somewhat depressed, bluntly rounded 
at the posterior end, narrowed a little anteriorly, back of the eyes. 
Head rather small, equal in width to the anterior part of the body. 
Mantle-edge thin, extending far forward, its lateral edge reaching as 
far as the pupil of the eye, and united to the dorsal integument of 
the head on a level with the upper surface of the eye. Eyes of mod- 
erate size, convex, but not very prominent. Arms rather short, 
except the third pair, which is much larger than the others ; the dor- 
sal pair is considerably smaller and shorter than the others ; the 
second pair is a little longer and united to the first by a small inter- 
brachial membrane, occupying about its basal third ; the third arm 
on the left side, is about twice as long as the dorsal ones and much 
stouter, tapering to a slender, acute tip, and united to the second by 
the short interbrachial membrane, but with only a rudimentary mem- 
brane between it and the ventral arm; the ventral arms are much 
smaller and shorter, about equalin length to the second pair, and 
have no interbrachial web between them. The hectocotylized arm 
(fig. 2) is somewhat stouter than its mate, but decidedly shorter, though 
longer than any of the other arms; beyond its middle it bears four 
large urn-shaped suckers, quite different in size and form from those 
on the basal half; the first of these special suckers is decidedly the 
largest, the others decrease in size to the terminal one, which is quite 
small. These specialized suckers have a broad, swollen, and nearly 
round basal portion, in breadth exceeding the width of the arm, 
while toward the summit there is a distinet constriction, and the cup 
itself expands somewhat, but is decidedly narrower than the basal 
portion of the sucker; the border of the aperture is somewhat con- 
tracted and four-lobed. The basal suckers on this arm and all of 
those on the other arms are arranged in a single row. They are of 
moderate size, rather elevated, with the basal portion sessile and a 
little expanded. The number on each arm is from ten to twelve, 
besides a few minute ones at the tip; on the basal half of the hecto- 
cotylized arm there are four simple ones. Color, a pale bluish white, 
spotted with rather large purple-brown chromatophores, which are 
equally numerous above and below, and arranged somewhat in rows 
on the outer surfaces of the arms. 
