236 A, FE. Verrill—Mollusca of the New England Coast. 
Octopus gracilis Verrill, sp. nov. 
Size of our only specimen small. Body slender, elongated, broadest 
just back of the gill openings, obtusely rounded posteriorly. Whole 
surface, above and beneath, smooth, with neither cirri nor verruce. 
Head moderately large. Eyes rather large and prominent, with 
smooth lids. Umbrella small, the web extending only a short distance 
and about equally between the dorsal and lateral arms. Arms very 
slender, elongated, tapering to very thin tips, the third pair much 
longer than the two upper pairs, but all of about the same thickness 
at base. The dorsal arms are not half the length of the third pair; 
the second pair is but little longer than the dorsal and about the same 
in thickness; the ventral arms are both broken off near the base. The 
suckers are small and diminish very regularly from the base to the 
tip of the arms. Those on the two lower pairs of arms are rather 
more openly arranged, the spaces between the consecutive suckers, 
being about double that on the upper arms, while the two rows are 
closer together; on each of these arms three to five of the suckers 
near the base stand nearly in a median line, which is not the case 
on the upper pairs of arms. 
Length of body, 11™™; greatest breadth, 7™™; breadth of head, 
6°5™"; from posterior end of body to edge of web between the arms, 
17™™; length of dorsal arms from mouth, 19""; diameter near base, 
1°3™™; length of 2nd pair, 21™"; length of 3rd pair, 42™™. 
Color, in alcohol, yellowish white, covered with large purplish 
brown chromatophores, darkest on the upper surface of the head, 
between the eyes. Inner surface of the arms and suckers yellowish 
white with a purplish spot in front and behind the base of each sucker. 
Station 2084, in 1290 fathoms, one specimen, female (No. 38,431). 
This specimen is probably young of a species that grows to a larger 
size. It differs, however, from all described species in the remarkable 
elongation of the third pair of arms compared with the first and 
second pairs; all the arms are also remarkably slender, and the body 
is peculiarly elongated and smooth. It is very certain that it is not 
the young of any of the known species. 
Bela Rathbuni Verrill, sp. nov. 
Shell large, rather stout, sub-fusiform, with an elevated acute 
spire, forming more than half the total length of the shell. Whorls 
seven besides the nucleus, moderately convex, with an impressed, not 
very oblique suture. The whorls of the spire are pretty strongly 
angulated or carinated a little above the middle by a revolving 
