48 
SHELL GALLERY. 
One was captured off the Irish coast in June, 1875 (probably Archi- 
teuthis harveyi), with the shorter arms 8 feet in length and 15 inches 
in circumference at the base, the two tentacular arms having a total 
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 Arrhiteuthis have 
been captured on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. Two 
specimens stranded on the south coast of Newfoundland, in the winter 
Fig. 43. 
The Common Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), 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 (Architentkis harveyi ?), which is supposed to have been 
found off the coast of South America, is exhibited in the black 
upright Case A at the side of the room. 
