LOLIGINTDiE. 25 



very large size. The commander of the vessel, on perceiving it, 

 halted upon his course and made preparations for capturing the 

 monster. Guns were charged and harpoons hastil_y prepared ; 

 but at the first discharge of the former, the animal dived under 

 the ship and immediatel}^ appeared on the other side. Attacked 

 again with harpoons, it disappeared two or three times, and, each 

 time that it reascended to the surface, its long arms writhed. 

 The ship followed or arrested its course according to the move- 

 ments of the animal. This chase lasted more than three hours. 

 The commander of the Alecton was determined to capture this 

 new kind of enemy ; nevertheless he did not dare to lower a boat, 

 for a single arm of this cephalopod would suffice to overturn it. 

 The harpoons which were launched at it penetrated the flabby 

 flesh and came out without success ; several balls traversed it 

 also unsuccessfully. Nevertheless it received one of them which 

 appeared to wound it badl}- , causing it to vomit a great quantity 

 of frothy matter and blood mixed with viscid matter which 

 spread a strong odor of musk. It was at this instant that they 

 succeeded in lassooing the animal, but the rope slid along the 

 elastic bod}^ until arrested by the fins. Attempting to haul their 

 prize aboard, they had already raised the greater part of the 

 animal from the water when its enormous weight caused the rope 

 to penetrate the flesh and separate the posterior portion of the 

 body — which was drawn on board, Avhilst the rest disappeared in 

 the sea. 



The above is condensed from a letter addressed to M. Moquin- 

 Tandon, by M. Sabin Bertholet, consul of France, at the Cana- 

 ries, who saw the fragment alluded to, and received the relation 

 of the commandant of the vessel. One of the officers made a 

 sketch of this animal, which, in conjunction with the description, 

 is considered b}^ Messrs. Crosse and Fisher sufficiently exact to 

 warrant them in determining it to belong to a new species of 

 Loligo, which they name L. Bouyeri. The figure and description 

 show but eight arms, but the elongated form of the body, the 

 proportional shortness of the arms and the presence of the pos- 

 terior fins, show it to have been one of the decapods. Probably 

 the tentacular arms were either deficient or were not seen. 



LOLiGUNCULA, Stcenstrup, 1881. Swimming lobes thick, wide 

 and very short, forming together a transverse oval ; female 

 receiving the spermatophores upon the interior wall of the 

 mantle, alongside the left branchia. L. Z^j^eru", Blainv. (xxv, 23). 

 Characters perhaps insufficient. 



TEUTHis, Gray, 1849. Buccal membrane without suckers. A 

 single European species, L. media. It was known to Aristotle 

 and the ancients ; and is highly esteemed for food in Italy. 



