728 
bulletin of the bureau of fisheries. 
Loligo pealii — Continued. 
during the winter. <* Taken in great numbers 
in the local fish traps; likewise at Menemsha 
Bight, where barrels of them are sometimes 
caught. Dredged in all parts of Vineyard 
Sound and Buzzards Bay, though such speci- 
mens were not necessarily caught at or even 
near the bottom. Eggs, however, were taken 
during the Survey dredging as deep as 15 
fathoms, and it is therefore certain that the 
animal frequents depths as great as this. In- 
deed, Verrill states that it descends to 50 
fathoms. 
Fish Hawk stations: 7522 bis (2), 7530 (6 small), 
7542 (few small), 7543 bis (1), 7547 bis (2), 7554 
(2 small), 7570 (2 large, 1 small), 7571 (few), 
7576 (2 small), 7578 (1 large), 7579 (many), 7580 
(2), 7581 (few small), 7582 (1 small), 7583 (sev- 
eral small), 7384 (few small), 7586 (2 small), 7589 
(few small), 7590 (few small), 7591 (several, r 
large), 7592 (few small), 7599 (1 large), 7600 (2 
large), 7612 (2), 7613 (2 large, many small), 
7614 (1 large and several small), 7615 (several 
small), 7618 (several small), 7619 (2), 7622 (1 
small), 7627 (2 small), 7637 (1 very small), 7641 
(1), 7643 (several small), 7644 (few small), 7653 
(1 small), 7656 (young), 7657 (few small), 7660 
(few), 7662 (1 adult), 7675 (1 small), 7678 (sev- 
eral small), 7680 (1 small), 7681 (2), 7683 (1), 
7685 (several, mostly small), 7686 (several 
medium sized), 7687 (several medium sized), 
7688 (4), 7704 (1 small), 7708 (1 medium), 7710 
(2 small), 7724 (several), 7725 (1 small), 7726 
(several small), 7727 (2 small), 7729 (few small) 
773 °- 7734 (3). 7735 ( 2 )> 7737 ( 2 small), 7739 (1 
medium sized), 7740 (few large and medium 
sized), 7749 (many), 7753 (1), 7754 (several 
large and small), 7756 (1), 7772 (1' large, 1 
small), 7775 (1), 7776 (2 large), 7778 (1 small), 
7780 (several), 7783 (several). 
Clusters of eggs were dredged at the following 
stations: Fish Hawk stations: 7522 bis (1), 
75 2 4 (i)/75 2 4 bis (1), 7525 bis (several), 7537 
bis (1), 7S43 bis (1), 7544 (1), 7548 (1), 7553 (1), 
Loligo pealii — Continued. 
7554 (1), 7557 (i)> 75 61 (u> 7593 (i)> 7 62 4 ( 2 ), 
7638 (several), 7656, 7671 (2), 7762 (2). 
Phalarope stations: 2, 8, 9 (1), 52 (1), 76 (1). 
The eggs are taken throughout the summer. Dr. 
Bumpus reports that they have been deposited 
in the laboratory in May, while Verrill states 
that the spawning occurs as late as September. 
Eggs were dredged by the Surrey from July 6 
to August 30, at depths of from 4 to 15 fathoms, 
on every sort of bottom, chiefly in Vineyard 
Sound. They are also found in fish traps, 
often in considerable numbers. The young 
are frequently abundant at the surface during 
the summer. 
The squid is important as a food for many fishes. 
It is used extensively as bait by line fisher- 
men, but its value as a food for man is not yet 
realized in this country. 
Ommastrephes illecebrosa Verrill. Short-finned 
squid; “soft squid;” the common squid north 
of Cape Cod. 
Gould, 1870, p. 510 ( Ommastrephes sagittatus); 
Verrill and Smith, 1873, p. 634, 441, etc.; Ver- 
rill, 1880, p. 289; 1881, p. 268; 1882, p. 293- 
309, 412. 
Distribution general, though this species is far 
less common than Loligo. Recorded by Ver- 
rill for Newport, Gay Head, and Vineyard 
Sound. Taken by trap fishermen at Menem- 
sha and in the laboratory trap in Buzzards 
Bay. 
For an interesting account of the habits of this 
species, see Verrill, 1882, p. 305 et. seq. 
Family PhilonExid^. 
Parasira catenulata Steenstrup. 
Verrill, 1878, p. 210 ( Octopus granulatus); 1880, 
p. 293; 1881, p. 362; 1882, p. 389. 
One specimen taken in Vineyard Sound in 1876 
(collected by V. N. Edwards, identified by 
Verrill). 
Properly a Mediterranean and West Indian form. 
Phylum CHORDATA. 
Class ADELOCHORDA. 
Balanoglossus aurantiacus (Girard). 
Verrill and Smith, 1873, p. 627, 351, etc.; Mor- 
gan, 1891. 
Beach beyond Nobska Point; Newport. — A. 
Agassiz. Naushon. — Verrill. Hadley Harbor; 
Bay shore of Penzance. — Morgan. Katama 
Bay; Tarpaulin Cove. (Collected by Dr. Os- 
Balanoglossus aurantiacus — Continued. 
bum; identified with some doubt by Prof. 
Ritter as “Balanoglossus Kowalevskii A. Agas- 
siz”). Balanoglossus occurs in beaches or flats 
of clear or muddy sand or gravel, into which it 
burrows rather deeply. 
Tomaria abundant in tow in August. — Morgan. 
a According toMr. Edwards’s records, the date of the earliest reported capture of squid in local waters has ranged, during the 
past 10 years (1900-1909), from April 16 to May 7. The mean of these dates is April 26. 
