A. E. Verrill — North Atnerican Cephalopods. 307 



Sandy Bay, Mass. (Lesueur). Newfoundland (Steen strap). Off 

 Madeira (D'Orbigny). 



No instance of the occurrence of this oceanic species on the New 

 England coast has been recorded since the original specimen was 

 described by Lesueur, in 1821. The circumstances connected with 

 the history of his specimen are such as to render it not improbable 

 that some interchange of labels had occurred in his case. Therefore, 

 the New England habitat, for this species, needs contirmation. 



Lesueur's statement (loc. cit., p. 94) is that when at Sandy Bay, 

 Mass. (on Cape Ann), in 1816, he saw a "great number" of squids 

 {'■^Loligos") that had been taken by the fishermen for bait, and that : 

 " The beautiful color with which they were ornamented, induced me 

 to take a drawing of one immediately, but not then having leisure to 

 complete it, I took a specimen with me to finish the drawing at my 

 leisure. But recently [in 1821] upon comparing this specimen with 

 my drawing, I was much surprised to perceive that I had brought 

 with me a very distinct species from that which I had observed [ O. 

 illecehrosus], I mention this circumstance to explain the cause of the 

 brevity of the following description [of 0. illecebrosus] taken from 

 my drawing." The drawing was also inaccurate, for the same reason. 



LoligO Lamarck, 1779. 

 LoUgo (pars) Lamarck, Syst. Anim. sans vert., p. 60, 1801. 

 Pteroteuthis (sub-genus) Blainville, Man. Malac, p. 367, 1825. 

 Loligo (restricted) D'Orbigny, Ceph. Acetab., p. 305, 1848. 



Body more or less elongated, tapering to a point behind ; anterior 

 edge of mantle free dorsally, and jDrolonged into a lobe, covering the 

 end of the pen. Caudal fin elongated-rhomboidal, united to the 

 sides of the body to the tip. Mantle connected to the neck by a 

 dorsal and two lateral connective cartilages ; lateral cartilages of the 

 mantle simple, longitudinal ridges ; corresponding cartilages, on the 

 base of the siphon, irregularly ovate, with a median groove. Pen 

 as long as the mantle, anteriorly narrow, with a central keel, and 

 two lateral ridges ; posteriorly broad, thin, lanceolate, concave, but 

 not involute. Head rather large ; eyes without lids, covered with 

 transparent skin, pupil encroached uj^on dorsally by the iris ; a small 

 pore in front of the eyes ; behind the eyes, on each side, there is an 

 oblique transverse, and two longitudinal, erect, thin crests, in rela- 

 tion with the ears. Siphon situated in a shallow groove, united to 

 the head by two dorsal bridles, and furnished with an internal valve. 

 Six buccal aquiferous pores, and a pair of branchial j)ores, one on 



Trans. Coxn. Acad., Vol. V. 38 February, 1881. 



