68 GRIFFIN. 



the tentacles, but more tapering. Their fissures extend from 

 base to tip of the posterior side; except at the tip, the margins 

 of the fissure are usually rolled tightly upon each other. When 

 the rhinophores are fully extended their bases meet in the midline 

 to a height of 6 to 10 millimeters above the surface of the head, 

 making them appear to spring from a transverse elevation of 

 the head. When retracted, they appear to be widely separated. 

 The bases of the tentacles do not approach each other closely, 

 even when most fully extended. 



The eyes lie on the line connecting the centers of the bases of 

 the tentacle and rhinophore, slightly nearer the rhinophore 

 than the tentacle. In life, the minute, black eye is surrounded 

 by a narrow ring of bright yellow, which renders the eyes fairly 

 conspicuous. After preservation, the color about the eyes fades, 

 and the eyes seem to become somewhat depressed by the con- 

 traction of the skin so that it becomes difficult to find them. 



The entire dorsal and lateral surfaces of the body are covered 

 (excepting only the oral lobes) by slender villi of different 

 sizes; the small ones simple, the larger ones more or less 

 branched. Scattered over the surface of the body are good- 

 sized, conical elevations of the skin, made more distinct by the 

 radial, black lines or spots with which they are marked, and 

 frequently covered with villi. Between the bases of the villi, 

 the skin is covered by numerous, extremely fine, dermal papillae 

 scarcely distinguishable without a hand lens, and only to be 

 observed in well expanded, living animals. Some specimens 

 are found in which practically all the villi are short and simple. 

 In others, the villi are fewer in number, long, and complexly 

 branched. Even the tentacles and rhinophores may carry large 

 compound villi. The number of branches possessed by a large 

 villus can only be determined when it is fully expanded, for the 

 contractility of these processes is so great that a large and 

 highly complex villus when contracted may appear as a tubercle 

 on the surface of the body from which project only one to three 

 small simple villi. A curious feature of the villi, both large 

 and small, is the presence of ridges, or angles, extending from 

 base to tip. There are always two, and frequently three, of 

 these. Branches, or secondary papillae, always arise from these 

 ridges. A large papilla, which arises from the middle of the 

 dorsum of the head, about equidistant between the tentacles 

 and rhinophores, appears to be a constant feature. When fully 

 extended, it is of about the same size as these other organs, 

 and appears much like an extra tentacle. Preserved specimens 



