A. E. Verrill — North American Cephalopods. 373 



When at rest it remained at the bottom of tlie vessel, adhering 

 firmly by some of the basal suckers of its arms, while the outer portions 

 of the arms were curled back in various positions ; the body was held 

 in a neai'ly horizontal position, and the eyes were usually half-closed 

 and had a sleepy look ; the siphon was usually turned to one side, and 

 was long enough to be seen in a view from above. 



When disturbed, or in any way excited, the eyes opened more 

 widely, especially at night ; the body became more contracted and 

 rounded, and was held more erect; the small tubercles over its sur- 

 face and the larger ones above the eyes were ei-ected, giving it a very 

 decided appearance of exciteinent and watchfulness. 



It was rarely, if ever, observed actually to creep about by means of 

 its arms and suckers, but it would swim readily and actively, circling 

 around the j^ans or jars, in which it was kept, many times before rest- 

 ing again. 



In swimming backward the partial web connecting the arms 

 together was used as an organ of locomotion, as well as the siphon ; 

 the arms and web were alternately spread and closed, the closing 

 being done energetically and coincidently with the ejection of the 

 water from the siphon, and the arms after each contraction were 

 all held pointing straight forward in a compact bundle, so as to aiFord 

 the least resistance to the motion (fig. 8). As the motion resulting 

 from each impulse began to diminish sensibly, the arms were again 

 spread, and the same actions repeated. This use of the arms and 

 web recalled that of the disk of the jelly-fishes, but it was much more 

 energetic. 



The siphon was bent in different directions to alter the direction of 

 the motions, and by bending it to the right or left side, backward 

 motions in oblique or circular directions were given, but it was often 

 bent directly downward and curved backward, so that the jet of water 

 from it served to propel the animal directly forward. This, so far as 

 observed, was its only mode of moving forward. The same mode of 

 swimming forward has been observed in cuttle-fishes {Sepia) and 

 in squids [Loligo). 



This species was much more active and animated in the night than 

 during the day, and is probably largely nocturnal in its habits, when 

 at liberty. None of the specimens could be induced to take food, and 

 none survived more than four or five days, although the water was 

 frequently renewed to kee{» it cool and pure. They had been rather 

 roughly handled by the dredges and trawls, without doubt. But the 

 unavoidable exposure to the higher temperature of the water, near and 



