244 A. JEJ. Verrill — North Auierican Cephalopods. 



as of generic value, is the power of projecting the beak in the form 

 of a proboscis. But this is habitually done by the various common 

 species of Oi/unastrephes, Zolif/o, etc., and perhaps by all ten-armed 

 cephalopods. There is not sufficient evidence, from the published 

 accounts, that this specimen differed in any way from the Architeu- 

 this nionachus. It was described as 19 feet in total length ; the long 

 arras having been mutilated, the part remaining was 11 feet long, 

 and as thick as a man's arm ; the short arms varied from 6 to 8 feet 

 in length, and were as thick as a man's leg, and had two rows of 

 large serrated suckers ; the proboscis (buccal mass with beak) was 

 the size of a man's fist ; the beak was " somewhat like to an Eagle's 

 Bill, but broader." The whole animal was said to have been as 

 large as a large horse. The length of the head and body together 

 was 8 feet. 



Mr. More has kindly sent me a tracing from the original figure. 

 This shows a broad, oval, flat body, and a small caudal fin. The 

 body or mantle had evidently been split open and spread out fiat. 



This fact is also evident from the original descriptions reprinted 

 by Mr. More, in which the sides of the mantle are described as fol- 

 lows : " Over this Monster's back was a mantle of a bright Red 

 Color, with a fringe round it, it hung down on both sides like a Car- 

 pet on a table, falling back on each side, and faced with white." 

 The liver, according to the descriptions, had been removed : " When 

 it was dead and opened the liver wayed 30 poimd." The proboscis 

 had also been removed before it was exhibited, and it is therefore 

 very probable that the figure and descriptions represent it as more 

 extended than was natural. 



The measurements given indicate a specimen smaller tlian several 

 of the American examples, and but little, if any, larger than our 

 No, 5, from Logic Bay. 



In the Zoologist, June, 1875, p. 4.502, and August, p. 45G9, and in 

 the August number of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 

 vol. xvi, p. 123, the same writer gave an account of the capture, and 

 briefly described the beak, odontophore, and portions of the tentacles 

 and arms of another specimen, taken off" Boffin Island, on the west 

 coast of Ireland, April, 1875. The tentacular-arms are said to have 

 been 30 feet long; the expanded portion 2 feet 9 inches ; the large 

 central suckers nearly 1 inch in diameter; those of the outer rows -5 

 of an inch ; one short arm is said to have been 8 feet long, and 15 

 inches in circumference at the base, when fresh. It had small suckers 

 without teeth on the horny rings, on the 'wrist' of the 'club' and 



