. The colossal cephalopods of the North Atlantic [microform]. Cephalopoda; Squids; Octopuses; Céphalopodes; Calmars; Poulpe. 26 COLOSSAL CEPHALOPODS. Fig. 3. fact that the}' collapse greatly .when taken from the water. The circumference of the body given above may, therefore, be con- siderably too small. In that case the figure represents the body more slender than it should be. The head was probably at least equal to one-fifth the length of the oody. The eight shorter a .18, when fresh, were, according to Mr. Harvey's measure- ments, six feet long and all of ecjual length, but those of the di
. The colossal cephalopods of the North Atlantic [microform]. Cephalopoda; Squids; Octopuses; Céphalopodes; Calmars; Poulpe. 26 COLOSSAL CEPHALOPODS. Fig. 3. fact that the}' collapse greatly .when taken from the water. The circumference of the body given above may, therefore, be con- siderably too small. In that case the figure represents the body more slender than it should be. The head was probably at least equal to one-fifth the length of the oody. The eight shorter a .18, when fresh, were, according to Mr. Harvey's measure- ments, six feet long and all of ecjual length, but those of the different pairs were respectively ten, nine, eight and seven in(,'hes in circuniti^rence. In alcohol they have shrunk considerably, both in length and diameter. They are three-cornered or triquetral in form and taper very gradually to slender acute tips. Their inner faces are occupied by two alternating rows of large obliquely campanulate suckers, with contracted apertures surrounded by broad, oblique, marginal rings, armed with strong, acute teeth around their entire circumference, but largest a;, most oblique on the outside (fig. 3). These suckers gradually di- minish in size to the tips of the arms, where they become very small, but are all similar in form and structure. The largest of these suckers are said by Mr. Ilarvey to have been about an inch in dianieter, wlien fresh. The largest of my possession are 'Go of an inch in diameter, at the serrated edge, and -T') beneath. The rings of the smaller suckers are more oblique and more contracted at the aperture, with the teeth more inclined inward, tliose on the outside margin being largest. The two long tentacular arms are remarkable for their slenderness and great length when com- pared with the length of the body. Mr. Ilarvey states that they were each 24 feet lony and 2-75 inches in circumference wlien fresh. In the brine and alcohol thc}' have shrunk greatly, and now measure only 13*5 feet in length, while tlie circumferen
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherslsn, bookyear1875
