Mr W. E. Hoyle on Loligopsis and some other Genera. 317 



edge medially ; . . . two additional muscular commis- 

 sures unite the lateral inner surfaces of the mantle to the 

 sides of the siphon." This may be compared with the first 

 sentence translated above from Steenstrup, and with d'Or- 

 bigny's description of his genus Loligopsis} in which occur 

 the following words : " Appareil de resistance consistant en 

 trois larges brides, ou attaches fixes, places au bord meme du 

 corps, qui le lient intimement a la tete. Tune cervicale ou 

 dorsale a I'extremite de la saillie m^diane de la coquille. 

 Les deux autres lat^rales inf^rieures au lieu ou est ordinaire- 

 ment I'appareil inferieur mobile." It seems almost impossible 

 to resist the conclusion that he means hereby to describe a 

 precisely similar structure ; furthermore, in the drawing of 

 his L. pavo^ the dorsal margin of the mantle is shown, 

 extending on to the head behind the eye. The remainder of 

 the definition of Desmoteuthis sounds almost like a translation 

 of that of Loligopsis, and nowhere are they in contradiction, 

 as any one may see who reads them side by side. 



It would appear, then, that what has been already published 

 is sufficient to show that Desmoteuthis must be regarded as a 

 synonym of Taonius, but in addition to this I have recently 

 had the opportunity of examining the following specimens 

 belonging to this genus : — The type specimens of Taonius 

 pavo and of T. cymoctyp^is in the Paris Museum, that of 

 Taonius hyperhoreus in the Copenhagen Museum, and a 

 somewhat mutilated specimen of the same species in the 

 " Challenger " Collection ; a specimen of an unpublished 

 species which Professor Steenstrup proposes to call T. elon- 

 gatus ; and two specimens of another new species in the 

 " Challenger " Collection. 



On the basis of this material I have drawn up the follow- 

 ing description of the genus, which will, I think, leave no 

 doubt as to its identity with Desmoteuthis : — 



Body elongated, semd-transparent, head comparatively small, 

 eyes prominent, sometimes very large. Mantle united with the 

 hack of the head hy a firm hand, which widens posteriorly, the 



1 Ceph. Acet, p. 320 ; Moll, viv., p. 368. 



^ Ceph. Acet., pi. iv., fig. 1 ; Moll, viv., pi. xxiii., fig. 6. 



