688 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



quantities, in breeding condition, in the fish-pounds at Cape Ann, near Gloucester, Massachusetts, 

 May, 1880 (var. borealis). It has not been observed north of Cape Ann. Its southern limit is not 

 known to nie, but it appears to have been found on the coast of South Carolina. 



"In depth, it has occurred from low-water mark to fifty fathoms. The eggs' have often been 

 taken by us in the trawl, in great abundance, at many localities along the southern shores of New 

 England, in five to twenty-five fathoms. 



"It is known to be a very important element in the food supply of the bluefish, tautog, sea- 

 bass, striped bass, weakfish, king-fish, and many other of our larger market fishes. 



"In the Gulf of Mexico this species appears to be replaced by another species (Loligo Gahi 

 D'Orbigny). Of this we have several specimens, collected on the west coast of Florida, at Egmont 

 Key, near Tampa Bay, by Col. E. Jewett and Mr. W. T. Coons. This species is closely allied to 

 L. Pealei, but has a more slender form, with the caudal fin shorter and narrower in proportion to 

 the length of the mantle. The pen has a shorter and broader shaft, and a narrower and more 

 oblong blade, which has parallel, thickened, and darker-colored portions between the midrib and 

 margins. The tentacular suckers have their horny rings more coarsely and equally toothed, there 

 being only a partial alternation of larger and smaller teeth. 



"Along our southern coast, from Delaware Bay to Florida, a much shorter and relatively 

 stouter species (Loligo brevis Blainv.) occurs, which might be mistaken by a careless observer for 

 the present species. In addition to its shorter body, it has very different large, tentacular suckers, 

 with the teeth on the horny rim coarser and all of similar form and size. Its pen is also shorter 

 and relatively broader, and different in structure." 



"I am not aware," he says elsewhere, 2 "that any definite information has hitherto been 

 published as to the rate of growth or length of life of any of our cephalopods. By some writers it 

 has been stated that the Squids are all annual, but this seems to be a mere assumption, without 

 any evidence for its basis. Therefore I have for several years past preserved large numbers of 

 specimens of the young of Loligo Pealei, collected at different seasons and localities, in order to 

 ascertain, if possible, the rate of growth and the size acquired during the first season, at least. 

 One of the following tables (I) shows some of the data thus obtained. 3 



"There is considerable difficulty in ascertaining the age of these Squids, owing to the fact that 

 the spawning season extends through the whole summer, so that the young ones hatched early in 

 June are as large by September as those that hatch in September are in the following spring. 

 Owing to the same cause, most of the large lots of young Squids taken in midsummer include 

 various sizes, from those just hatched up to those that are two or three inches long. They are 

 often mixed with some of those of the previous year, considerably larger than the rest. Earlier in 

 the season (in May and the first part of June), before the first-laid eggs begin to hatch, the 

 youngest specimens taken (60 mm to 100 mm long) are presumed to belong to the later broods of 

 the previous autumn, while those somewhat larger are believed to be from earlier broods of the 

 previous summer, and to represent the growth of one year very nearly. 



"Taking these principles as a guide, I have arrived at the following conclusions from the data 

 collected : 



"1. The young, Byrida begin to hatch at least as early as the second week in June, ou the 



'In early summer this Squid resorts to gravelly and weedy bottoms to lay its eggs. They are contained in bunches 

 or clusters, sometimes six or eight inches in diameter, consisting of hundreds of gelatinous capsules each holding 

 numerous eggs. These clusters are attached to some fixed object, and the oysters upon planted beds offer conveniences 

 which the Squid is very likely to adopt. This occurrence seems to be a source of decided harm in Delaware Bay, for the 

 oystermen there assert that the larger "sea-grapes " (as they call the egg-bunches) lift many oysters from the bottom by 

 their buoyancy and float them off in stormy weather. E. I. 



'Report U. S. Fish Commission, part vii, 1882, pp. 353-355. 



' See the original article. 



