Miscellaneous. 191 



On two new Species of Cephalopods. 

 By A. E. Verrill. 



Among the numerous additions recently made to the marine 

 fauna of our coast by the fishermen of Gloucester, Mass., are two 

 new species of Cephalopods. They both belong to the eight-armed 

 division. One is a true Octopus. The other and more interesting 

 one is the second known representative of the remarkable family of 

 Cirroteuthidne, characterized by the presence of a pair of fins, one 

 on each side of the body, supported by a transverse cartilage — by 

 the presence of a great web, surrounding and uniting all the arms 

 nearly to their tips — and by the presence of two slender cirri between 

 the suckers along the greater part of the length of the arms. 



Our species differs so widely from CirroteutJiis Mulleri, Esch., 

 the only representative of the family hitherto described, that it is 

 necessary to constitute for it a new genus. 



Stattroteuthis, gen. nov. 



Allied to CirroteutJiis, but with the mantle united to the head all 

 around, and to the dorsal side of the slender siphon, which it sur- 

 rounds like a close collar, leaving only a very narrow opening 

 around the base of the siphon, laterally and ventrally. Fins trian- 

 gular, in advance of the middle of the body. Dorsal cartilage 

 forming a median angle directed backward. Body flattened, soft, 

 bordered by a membrane. Eyes covered by the integument. Web 

 not reaching the tips of the arms, the edge conc-ave in the intervals. 

 Suckers in one row. Cirri absent between the basal and terminal 

 suckers. Bight arm of second pair altered, in the male, at the 

 tip. 



Stauroteuthis syrtensis, sp. nov. 



cT . Head broad, depressed, not very distinct from the body. 

 Eyes large. Body elongated, flattened, soft or gelatinous, widest 

 in the middle, narrowed but little forward, but decidedly tapered, 

 back of the fins, to the flat, obtuse, or subtruncate tail. The sides 

 of the head and of the body, forward of the fins, are bordered by a 

 thin soft membrane, about half an inch wide. The fins are elon- 

 gated, triangular, obtusely pointed, placed in advance of the middle 

 of the body. Siphon elongated, slender, round, with a small ter- 

 minal opening. Mantle-edge so contracted and thickened around 

 its base as to show scarcely any opening, and united to it dorsally. 

 Arms long, slender, subequal, each united to the great web by a 

 broad membrane developed on its outer side, widest (about 1*5 

 inch) in the middle of the arm, while the edge of tho web unites 

 directly to the sides of the arms and runs along the free portion 

 toward the very slender tip, as a border. This arrangement gives 

 a swollen or campanulate form to the extended web. Edges of the 

 web incurved between the arms, widest between the two lateral 

 pairs of arms. The arms bear each fifty-five or more suckers, in a 

 single row. Those in the middle region are wide apart ('5 inch or 



