A. E. VerHll — North American Cephalopods. 423 



tentacular arms are also injured and most of the large suckers of the 

 clubs are destroyed ; the caudal fin was not only torn by handling, 

 but one-half of it had, apparently, been destroyed and the wound 

 healed before the death of the creature,* so that its true form cannot 

 be determined ; the eye-balls were burst ; and most of the pen was 

 gone. 



The head, eye-lids, siphon, and front edge of the mantle are, how- 

 ever, in fair condition, and as these parts have not been well preserved 

 in any of the previous examples, some new and valuable facts were 

 learned in regard to the structure of those parts. Many of the fol- 

 lowing characters are of generic value. 



The eye-lids were large, not much thickened, and only slightly 

 angulated, and with a shallow sinus; diameter of opening 120™" 

 (4-5 to 5 inches). The transverse nuchal crests, behind the eyes, are 

 distinct, but only slightly elevated ; of the longitudinal ones only 

 one, on each side, is distinct but is short and not very high, the others 

 (unless they had been rubbed off) are rudimentary. The siphon is 

 large and broad; aperture 102""" (4 inches) broad, slighlly bilal)iate, 

 with a broad valve within ; dorsal bridles moderately developed. 

 Siphon-pit shallow, smooth. Connective cartilages on base of the 

 siphon simple, long-ovate, slightly oblique, and only a little concave. 

 Connective cartilages on the sides of the mantle, short and close to 

 the front edge, very simple, consisting of a simple, slightly raised, 

 longitudinal ridge. The dorsal angle of the mantle-edge extends 

 considerably forward, as an obtuse angle ; the lateral angles are also 

 distinct. The body is large and broad in the middle and anteriorly, 

 but tapers very rapidly to the base of the caudal fin, which is rela- 

 tively small. 



This specimen, when examined by me, measured as follows : length 

 of mantle to lateral angles of the front edge, 4-16 feet; from edge 

 of mantle to anterior base of ventral arms, 1-25 feet; circumference 

 of body, 4 feet ; length of caudal fin, tip to end of lobe, 1 'To ; bz'eadth 

 of one-half, measured from median line, 8 inches; length of tentacu- 

 lar arms, 15 feet ; of the club, 2 feet ; from first of the large suckers 

 to tip, 1'67 feet; length of ventral arms (minus tips), 4-66 feet; their 

 circumference at base, 8"5 inches; length of the dorsal arms (minus 

 tips), 4-5 feet; their circumference at base, 7'5 inches; circumference 

 of 2d pair of arms, at base, 7-5 inches ; of 3d pair, 8 '5 inches ; diame- 



* Owing to this fact, which was not understood by those who saw and figured it, 

 at first, some of the cuts that have been printed give the tail very peculiar and 

 remarkable forms. 



