138 Fossil Nautilus. 



the number of the chambers increases, and the animal shifts 

 itself into those last formed. It has been suggested that the 

 epidermis is prolonged over the exterior, making it an inner 

 shell, as in other Cephalopoda, whose shells or plates are 

 within their backs ; and the present specimen may, perhaps, 

 add strength to this opinion, for all its exterior fragments were 

 covered on the outside with a comparatively thick and brown 

 epidermis. The characters of the shell of the iVautilus are : 

 the last turns of the spire not only touching but overlapping 

 the others ; septa numerous, simple, transverse, and siphun- 

 culated; 



Their animals place them amongst the first class of Mol- 

 lusca, called Cephalopoda, because their feet are on their 

 heads. This head issues from the opening of the bag or body, 

 has two large eyes, and fleshy feet, sometimes long and at 

 others short, capable of turning every way, and very strong. 

 Most of them have suckers, by which they attach themselves 

 almost inseparably to any object they please. With these 

 they swim and walk ; and in the former case the head is 

 always behind, and in the latter is below, and the body above. 

 The mouth is among the insertions of the feet; and two 

 hard horny jaws make it resemble that of a parrot. Between 

 the jaws is a tongue covered with horny prickles ; a fleshy 

 funnel is placed in the front of the neck. Some of them have 

 a peculiar secretion of a deep black or brown liquid, which 

 they spout from them to colour the water, and therelDy con- 

 ceal themselves when pursued. From this liquid is made the 

 colour sepia, and the genuine Indian ink. They are the only 

 Mollusca whose organs of hearing can be traced ; and their 

 eggs hang together like bunches of grapes. They are ex- 

 tremely voracious, and destroy a great many fishes. They 

 are found of a very large size off" the western coast of Africa, 

 where the natives tell a number of marvellous stories concern- 

 ing ihem. Among others is the anecdote told by the Indians 

 of a Cephalopode which sinks their boats. The Africans gravely 

 declare that it pulls the sitters out of the canoes ; and, like the 

 Indians, they carry a hatchet with them to chop off' the claws, 

 as the only way of making the animal loosen its hold. Pen- 

 nant seems inclined to believe this story ; but there is nothing 

 but native report for it on the western coast of Africa, which 

 generally contains much exaggeration. - 



Among the fossil Nautili there are some of enormous size, 

 and their forms are much more varied than those of the recent 

 shells. 



The great genus iVautilus of Linnaeus embraces all the 

 Cephalopoda that live in shells with chambers. 



