SEPIA. 239 



suckers, which are gU^bular and stalked, and have simple 

 hoops. The margins of the arms are fringed by a mem- 

 brane, and the fourth pair is crested. The tentacular arms 

 are A^ery long, borne upon stout, smooth peduncles, ter- 

 minating in clubs, crested dorsally, and bearing on their 

 flat surface, which is expanded at the sides into a plaited 

 flounce, several rows of unequal suckers, of which the 

 central are large and few, and terminal ones numerous 

 and minute. The buccal membrane is attached to the 

 arms by web-like processes. 



The colours of this animal resemble the pattern of a 

 zebra's hide. Centrally the back is marked by numerous 

 fine interrupted irregular bands of white on a dark brown 

 ground ; laterally with broad white stripes, many of which, 

 usually alternate ones, bifurcate at each end, the inter- 

 spaces being rich vandyke-brown ; between them and the 

 lateral fin the skin is tinged with tawny, and irregularly 

 spotted. The fins themselves are brownish above, minutely 

 speckled with white ; a white line runs parallel with the 

 edge, which is itself bounded by a minutely speckled very 

 narrow border. The neck is white, with greenish and 

 rosy reflections. The back of the head and arms is rich 

 brown, becoming faint and passing into specks on tlie sides 

 of the latter. The eyes are black. The tentacular arms 

 are white, with a few pinkish-brown dots. The entire 

 under surface is bluish- white, with i15sy specks. No 

 figure that we have seen gives a true idea of the rich paint- 

 ing of the common cuttle-fish. 



The female is wider than the male. 



The " bone,'"' or shell, is thick, but depressed, ovate- 

 oblong, varying a little in shape in different examples, very 

 regular and symmetrical, slightly convex above, where it is 

 smooth and corneous at the sides, more or less sulcated and 



