76 



A. E. V err ill — The Opisthoteuthidce. 



of closely allied deep water species occurring in Japanese and 

 American waters. Their specimen was smaller than our own 

 and the species differs in having smaller fins, a more depressed 

 body, less prominent siphon, and some other characters, of no 

 great importance. 



Figure 3. — Opisthoteuihis depressa, male, side view, natural size. 



^ d 



p "• p I 



Figure 4. — Opisthoteuihis depressa, longitudinal section, enlarged, e, eye; / fin; 

 p^ p, sections of arms; w, web; si, siphon; d, dorsal cartilage; m, mouth; g, 

 stomach ; c, coecum ; i, intestine ; a, anus ; I, liver ; t, spermary ; v, sperm duct ; 

 n, n\ cerebral and suboesophageal ganglions. 



I have here reproduced some of their figures of the Jap- 

 anese species. It will be seen by the sectional view (fig. 4) 

 that the intestine passes directly backward, with only slight 

 convolutions and without any forward bend, to the anal open- 

 ing at the base of the siphon. There is a small coecal append- 

 age to the stomach. The pharynx has apparently no odon- 

 tophore, which is also the case in Cirroteuthidse, so far as 

 examined. The jaws are after the usual cephalopod type. 

 The reproductive organs (male) are posteriorly placed and the 

 male duct (v) turns backward and opens at the base of the 

 siphon. The gills (J, J, fig. 5) are short and have their apices 

 turned backward. The gill cavity is partially divided by a 

 median septum (s). The siphon is small and only slightly free 

 from the pedal web at the tip. The gill opening is small and 

 above the base of the siphon. 



In the original description of this Japanese species the 

 authors have made rather remarkable efforts, to reconcile the 

 positions and relations of the parts with the theoretical, 



