A. E. Verrill — North American Cephalopoda. 399 



"'In reply to yours of the 12th about the cuttle-fish, I may state 

 that while stationed at Cape Campbell I found several specimens of 

 large size, all, however, more or less mutilated, except one, the beak 

 of which I gave to Mr. Hamilton. It was alive and quite perfect, the 

 body being 7 feet long, eight sessile arms 8 feet long, and two ten- 

 tacular arms 12 feet long. I am, however, only Avriting from memory. 

 Mr. Hamilton has the exact measurements, and I remember dis- 

 tinctly that the total length was close on 20 feet.' 



"I am sorry to say that Mr. Hamilton has mislaid the notes and 

 measurements, but those given above cannot be far ont." 



No. 3. The third specimen was examined and measured by Mr. 

 Kirk, personally, where it lay on the beach. He made a drawing of 

 it, which has not yet been published, to my knowledge. It was found 

 on the beach at Lyall Bay, May 23, 1879, by three boys. Mr. Kirk 

 states that it had been somewhat mutilated by the natives before he 

 saw it, and the pen or bone had been cut across; but he preserved 

 all the pieces of the pen, the beak, tongue, and some of the suckers. 

 Most of the suckers had been torn ott* 



" The length of body from tip of tail to anterior margin of the 

 mantle was 9 feet 2 inches, and 7 feet 3 inches in circumference ; the 

 head from anterior margin of mantle to roots of arms, 1 foot 11 

 inches; making the total length of tlie body 11 feet 1 inch. The 

 head measured 4 feet in circumference. The sessile arms measured 4 

 feet 3 inches in length, and 11 inches in circumference. Each of 

 these arms bore tliirty-six suckers, arranged in two equal rows (as 

 sliown by the scars), and measuring from if to \ of an inch in diam- 

 eter. Every sucker was strengthened by a bony ring armed with 

 from forty to sixty sharp incurved teeth. The tentacular arms had 

 been torn off at the length of 6 feet 2 inches, which was probably less 

 than half their original length." 



" The fins were posterior, and were mere lateral expansions of the 

 mantle. They did not extend over the back, as in the case with 

 Onychoteuthis, &c. Each measured 24 inches in length and 13 

 inches in width. 



"The cuttle-bone, when first extracted, ineasured 6 feet 3 inches in 

 length and 1 1 inches in width, but has since shrunk considerably. It 

 was broadly lanceolate, with a hollow conical apex \^ inches deep." 



Xo. 4. "Another specimen, measuring 8 feet in length, was latel}^ 

 caught by a fishing party near the Boulder Bank, at Nelson, concern- 

 ing which I have only seen a newspaper cutting, and have not been 

 able to obtain particulars." 



