366 



A. E. Verrill — JVorth Amei'lcan Cephalopods. 



AllopOSUS mollis Verrill. 



Amer. Jour. Sci., xx. p. :J94, Nov., 1880; Proc. Nat. Mus., iii, p. 363, 1880; Bulle- 

 tin Mus. Comp. Zool., viii, p. 113, pi. 4. fig. 4; pi. 8, figs. l-2«, March, 1881. 



Plate L, figs. 1, 1«, 2, la. Plate LI, fig. 4. 



liody stout, ovute, very soft and flabby. Head large, as broad as 

 the body ; eyes large, their openings small. Arms I'atlier stout, not 

 very long, webbed nearly to the ends, the dorsal much longer than 

 the ventral arms; suckers large, simple, in two alternating rows. 

 Color deep purplish brown, with a more or less distinctly spotted 

 appearance. Total length of a medium sized specimen, 160""" ; of body, 

 to base of arms, 90"""; of mantle, beneath, 50"'"' ; of dorsal arms, 70"'"' ; 

 breadth of body, 70"'"'. Other specimens are about one-third lai-gei'. 

 The sexes scarcely differ in size. 



One mature, detached, hectocotylized arm (Plate LI, tig. 4) was 

 taken November 16. This has two rows of large, six or seven-lobed 

 suckers, a very long fringe, composed of thin, flat, lacerate processes, 

 along each side ; the terminal process is fusiform, acute, and loosely 

 covered with a thin, translucent membrane, beneath which the inner 

 surface, bearing chromatophores, can be seen. Length of this arm, 

 200'""'; its breadth, 20'""; length of terminal process, 30™"; its diame- 

 ter, 7'""'; diameter of largest suckers, 6"'"'; length of fringe, 15'"'". 



Taken by the "Fish Hawk," at Stations 880, 892, 893, 895, about 

 100 to 115 miles south of Newport, R. L, in 225 to 487 fathoms. 

 Also, off the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, at Station 898, November 16, 

 in 300 fathoms, by Lieut. Z. L. Tanner. 



Specimens examined. 



880 

 881 

 892 

 893 

 895 



898 



Locality. 



OFF NEWPORT, R. I. 



N. lat. W. long. 



.•59" 48' 30" 70° .50' 00" 



Farther southward 



39° 46' 00" 71° 05' 00" 

 39° 52' 20" 70° 58' 00" 

 39° 56' 30" 70° 59' 45" 



OFF CHESAPEAKE BAT. 



•57° 24' 00" 74° 17' 00" 



Fath. 



252 

 325 

 487 

 372 

 238 



300 



AVheu re- 

 ceived. 



Received from. 



Sept. 13, 1880 



Sept. 13, 1880 



Oct. 2, 1880 



Oct. 2, 1880 



Oct. 2, 1880 



Nov. 16, ISSO 



Specuiicii!- 



U. S. Pish Com. 2^:1 



.do... 

 .do... 

 .do... 

 .do... 



...do. 



