Animal of Argonauta. ^ 



«* Naturalists, have always entertained a contrary opinion, believing it 

 " to be no more than a parasitical inhabitant of the Argonaut's shell; 

 " and Rafinesque, (whose situation on the shores of the Mediterranean 

 " has afforded him ample opportunities of studying this animal, and 

 " observing its habits) has regarded it as a peculiar genus, allied to the 

 " Polypus of Aristotle (sepia octopodia, Linne,) residing parasitically in 

 " the above-mentioned shell. M. de Blainville, ten months since, when 

 " speaking of the Argonauta, said ' Animal unknown,' and he has lately 

 " informed me that he has written a long dissertation to prove that the 

 " Ocythoe of Rafinesque does not belong to the shell in which it is 

 " found. The observations made by the late Mr. John Cranch, Zoo- 

 " logist to the unfortunate Congo expedition, have cleared from my mind 

 " any doubts on the subject. In the gulf of Guinea, and afterwards on 

 ** the voyage, he took by means of a small net (which was always sus- 

 " pended over the side of the vessel) several specimens of a new species 

 " of Ocythoe, which were swimming in a small argonauta on the surface 

 " of the sea. 



" On the 13th of June he placed two living specimens in a vessel of 

 " sea water; the animals very soon produced their arms, and swam on 

 " and below the surface, having all the actions of the common polypus 

 " of our seas ; by means of their suckers, they adhered firmly to any sub- 

 " stance with which they came in contact, and when sticking to the sides 

 " of the basin, the shell might be completely withdrawn from the 

 " animals. They had the power of completely withdrawing within the 

 " shell, and of leaving it entirely. One individual quitted its shell, and 

 " Hved several hours, swimming about, and showing no inclination 

 " to return into it ; and others left the shells as he was taking them up in 

 " the net. They changed colour like other animals of the class Cephalo- 

 " poda : when at rest the colour was pale flesh-coloured, more or less 

 " speckled with purplish; the under parts of the arms were bluish grey; 

 " the suckers whitish."* 



The dissertation above-mentioned was published by M. de Blainville in 

 the Journal de Physique, de Chimie, etc. ;f and in 1820, the Abate Ran- 



* Phil. Trans., 1817, p. 293; printed also in the Appendix to Tuckey's 

 Narrative of the Congo Expedition, p. 400. 



t Ann§e 1818, Tom. LXXXVI, p. 366 et 434, et Tom LXXXVII, p. 47. 



