402 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [192] 



of arms, 112 and 105 ; of second pair, 103 and 96 ; of third pair, 112 and 

 106; of fourth pair, 94 and 97; "breadth of those of the three upper 

 pairs, 8; of the ventral pair, 7 mm . 



Male: Body depressed, rounded posteriorly, with only a trace of a 

 lateral and posterior fold ; surface soft and nearly smooth, but showing 

 a small number of minute white papillae sparsely scattered over the 

 dorsal surface. Cirrus above the eye small and simple, usually con- 

 tracted into a small wart-like papilla. Head broad and flattened ; eyes 

 large. Arms rather long and slender, with slender tapering tips, their 

 bases united by a rather wide web. Suckers small, very prominent, 

 forming two regular rows quite to the base. 



The first two pairs of arms are nearly equal and somewhat longer 

 than the two lower pairs, which differ but little between themselves. 

 The bectocotylized arm (third of right side) bears thirty five suckers, in 

 two rows, and a remarkably large, terminal spoon-shaped organ, which 

 occupies more than a third of the total length of the arm; its sides are 

 bent up and the edges inrolled, so as to form a deep cavity ; its outer 

 end is broadly rounded laterally, and terminates in a central, narrow, 

 acute lobe ; internally there are nine large, high, oblique lamellae, with 

 deep fossae between them; the proximal end has a large, acute, triangu- 

 lar lobe, with involute margins ; from this lobe a broad groove extends 

 along the lower edge of the arm to the margin of the web ; where it 

 terminates there is a distinct thickening of the bounding membrane. 



The two males of this species, described above, were dredged by Mr. 

 Agassiz, on the Blake, in 1880, in 464 and 603 fathoms. They agree 

 well in the peculiar characters and large size of the appendage of the 

 hectocotylized arm. The females only were previously known. Al- 

 though these males have a mere trace of the loose membranous fold of 

 skin, along the sides and around the posterior end, so conspicuous in 

 the original female specimen of this species, they agree so well in other 

 characters that I unite them without much hesitation. It is probable 

 that the preseuce or absence of the membranous fold, in this and other 

 species, may be due merely to differences in the state of contraction 

 when they die, or even to differences in the strength of the alcohol. 



Measurements in millimeters. 



