34 OMMATOSTREPHIDiE. 



Family OMMATOSTREPHID^. 



Ommatostrephes, d'Orbigny, 1835. 



Sagittated Galamary. Omma, the eyes, and strepho, to turn. 



Syn. — Cycria, Leach. Todarodes,Steenst.,1880. Illex,Steenst., 

 1880. 



JDistr. — 13 sp. Europe, N. Atlantic Coast of XJ. S., W. Indies, 

 Cape of Good Hope, Antarctic Sea, Pacific Coast of America, 

 Pol3'nesia, Indian Ocean. 0. sagittatus^ Lam. (xxvii, 44, 45). 

 Fossil : pens of 4 sp. in the Oxford clay, Solenhofen (liassic) ; 

 1 sp. tertiary. 



Body long, cjdindrical ; arms short, with two rows of suckers; 

 tentacles short, not retractile, the clubs with four rows of suckers ; 

 siphon valved, fastened to the head by bands. Shell small, lancet- 

 form, with a hollow end-conus. 



These animals are gregarious, frequenting the open sea in all 

 climates. Extensivelj^ used as bait in the Newfoundland cod- 

 fishery ; they are also the principal food of the albatross, the 

 larger petrels, the dolphins and the cachelots. They are called 

 "sea-arrows" or "flying squids" by fisherman, on account of 

 their habit of darting out of the water, often to such a height as 

 to fall on the decks of vessels. The egg-masses are in large 

 clusters, floating on the surface. 



Ommatostrephes illecebrosa was observed among the wharves 

 at Provincetown, Mass., during the month of July, engaged in 

 capturing and devouring the young mackerel, which were swim- 

 ming about in schools, and at that time were about four or five 

 inches long. In attacking the mackerel they would suddenly 

 dart backward among the fish, with the velocity of an arrow, 

 and as suddenly turn obliquely to the right or left and seize a 

 fish, which was almost instantly killed b}^ a bite in the back of 

 the neck, with the sharp beaks. The bite was always made in 

 the same place, cutting out a triangular piece of flesh, and was 

 deep enough to penetrate to the spinal cord. The attacks were 

 not always successful, and were sometimes repeated a dozen 

 times before one of these active and wary fishes could be caught. 

 Sometimes, after making several unsuccessful attempts, one of 

 the squids would suddenl}^ drop to the bottom, and, resting upon 

 the sand, change its color to that of the sand so perfectlj^, as to 

 be almost invisible. In this way it would wait until the fishes 

 came back, and when they were swimming close to or over the 

 ambuscade, the squid, by a sudden dart, would be pretty sure to 

 secure a fish. Ordinariljr^ when swimming, they were thickly 

 spotted with red and brown, but when darting among the mack- 

 erel, they appeared translucent and pale. The mackerel, however, 

 seemed to have learned that the shallow water is the safest for 

 them, and would hug the shore as closel}' as possible, so that in 



