Mr. Broderip on the Animal of Argonauta. 57 



nnus terminal; and the former is often thrust out into a needle-like 

 point. 



In examining these animals it is necessary to compress the anterior 

 parts between two • plates of glass, in order to exhibit the eyes with dis- 

 tinctness. The last species has been described, I believe, by Fabricius in 

 his Fauna Groenlandica, but I have not the work to refer to, and cannot 

 remember the specific name. , 



\To he continued.'\ 



Art. VII. Observations on the Animals hitherto found in 

 the shells of the genus Argonauta. By W. J. Broderip, 

 Esq,, B.A., F.R,S., F.L.S., Sec. G,S., *c. 



Is it not strange that it should now be a question whether the animal 

 usually found in the shell popularly called the Paper Nautilus, is the law- 

 ful owner of its fairy boat ? 



From the time of Aristotle the delicacy of the bark and the habits of the 

 sailor have afforded a subject to every observer; and we have, in addition 

 to the descriptions, a succession of figures by Aldrovandus and others, 

 which, though most of them afford proofs of a very lively imagination on 

 the part of the designers, are still evidently figures of a cephalopod, which 

 would, in the age of Linnseus, have been ranged under the genus Sepia, 

 if it had been taken swimming at large and free from any shell. It is 

 curious to observe how assertion upon assertion at last accumulates into 

 something that is taken for positive proof, till at last we have descriptions 

 apparently the result of actual observation. Speaking of the Argonauta 

 Argo, Mr. Wood, in his Zoography, gives a very lively account of these 

 creatures and their habits. " In the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Indian 

 Ocean," says Mr. Wood, " these shell-fish are not uncommon. In calm 

 weather they may be observed floating on the surface in a very beautiful 

 manner, some spreading their little sails, while others are rowing with 

 their feet. To accomplish this singular purpose, the Nautilus is supplied 

 with eight arms, two of which are furnished at their extremity, with an 

 oval membrane that serves for a sail, while the other six, hanging over 



