48 



SHELL GALLERY. 



One was captured off the Irish coast in June, 1875 (probably ArcM- 

 teiithis harveyi), with the shorter arms 8 feet in length and 15 inches 

 in circumference at the base, each of the two tentacular arms having a 

 length of 30 feet. The powerful beak measured about 4 inches 

 across. Thus from the tip of the tail to the end of the tentacular 

 arms this wonderful monster must have measured something like 40 

 feet in length. Other very large specimens of Architeuthis have 

 been captured on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. Two 

 specimens stranded on the south coast of JSTewfoundland, in the winter 



Fig. 43. 



The Common Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalii'), and its shell or bone (a). 



of 1870-1871, measured respectively 40 and 47 feet. Another, cast 

 ashore at Bonavista Bay in December, 1873, had a very stout body 

 14 feet long, arms 10 feet, and tentacles 24 feet in length. These 

 are only a few of the many instances of the capture of gigantic 

 Cephalopods, which occur not only in the North- Atlantic Ocean, but 

 also in tropical seas. Their appearance in mid-ocean may, in some 

 instances, have given rise to the tales of " Sea-serpents," Specimens 

 much smaller than those mentioned above have attacked men, and 

 pearl-fishers are in constant fear of them. One of the arms of a 

 large Squid (Architeuthis harveyi ?), which is supposed to have been 

 found off the coast of South America, is exhibited in the wall- 

 case on the east side of the room. 



