312 Transactions.—Zoology. 
I am sorry to say that Mr. Hamilton has mislaid the notes and measure- 
ments, but those given above cannot be far out. 
8. On 28rd of May last, the Ven. Archdeacon Stock very kindly sent 
me word that three boys, named Edward R. Stock, and Frank and Walter 
Morrah, had that morning discovered, at Lyall Bay, what they took to be a 
very large cuttlefish, with arms several feet long. I lost no time in pro- 
ceeding to the spot, determined, if possible, to carry home the entire 
specimen; but judge my surprise when, on reaching the bay, I saw an 
animal of the size represented in the drawing now before you.* Victor 
Hugo’s account of his “pieuvre” was brought vividly to my mind, and I 
could not help thinking that a man would stand but a poor chance if he 
once got within the grasp of such a monster. 
My first step after spreading out the arms, was to make a rough sketch 
and very careful measurements. I then proceeded to extract the so-called 
skeleton, but found that some person or persons, who had visited the spot 
earlier than myself, had not been able to resist the temptation to try the 
temper of their knives upon its back, and had in consequence severed the 
cuttle-bone in various places. However, I was able, not only to procure all 
the pieces, but also the beak, tongue, and some of the suckers, only a 
few of which remained, the greater portion of them having been torn off, 
either in some fierce encounter, or during the rough weather which had 
prevailed for some days previously. 
The length of body from tip of tail to anterior margin of the mantle was 
9 feet 2 inches and 7 feet 3 inches in circumference ; the head from anterior 
margin of mantle to roots of arms 1 foot 11 inches, making the total length 
of the body 11 feet 1 inch. The head measured 4 feet in circumference. 
The sessile arms measured 4 feet 3 inches in length, and 11 inches in cir- 
eumference; each of these arms bore thirty-six suckers, arranged in two 
equal rows (as shown by the scars), and measuring from 1$ to ł of an inch 
in diameter; every sucker was strengthened by a bony ring armed with from 
forty to sixty sharp ineurved teeth. The tentacular arms had been torn off 
at the length of 6 feet 2 inches, which was probably less than half their 
original length. 
The fins were posterior, and were mere lateral expansions of the mantle, 
they did not extend over the back as in the case with Onychoteuthis, etc. ; 
each measured 24 inches in length and 18 inches in width. 
The euttle bone, when first extracted, measured 6 feet 8 inches in 
length, and 11 inehes in width, but has since shrunk considerably; it was 
broadly lanceolate, with a hollow conical apex 14 inch deep. 
4. Another specimen, measuring 8 feet in length, was lately caught by 
a fishing party, near the Boulder Bank, at Nelson, concerning which I have 
* The paper was illustrated by drawings showing the animal life-size. 
