CHAPTER IV 



Lives of the 

 Other MoUusks 



In addition to the bivalves and snail classes, the mollusks include three other 

 groups which are not so frequently seen at the seashore and whose combined 

 number of living species probably does not exceed two thousand. Two 

 of these classes, the Amphineiira or Chitons and the Scaphopoda or Tusk- 

 shells, are among the lowliest and most sluggish of the mollusks, but the 

 third class, the well-known Cephalopoda, including the squid and octopuses, 

 contains the largest, fastest and most ferocious of all backboneless animals. 



THE SQUID AND OCT 0?\JSYS— CEPHALOPODA 



The octopuses and the giant squid have been spine-chilling characters 

 in adventure tales from the days of the ancient Greeks to the undersea film 

 thrillers of Hollywood. Nothing seems more appropriate for a horror scene 

 then the sudden appearance of a tentacle-lashing, beady-eyed octopus just 

 as the hero-diver finds the long-lost treasure chest. And few authors of 

 strange sailing voyages can resist retelling the numerous instances in which 

 gigantic squid have wrapped their arms about the riggings and dragged ship 

 and hapless crew to the bottom. 



But despite the fanciful nature of most, if not all, of these stories, there 

 arc enough scientific facts to convince the skeptic of the ferocity, speed 

 and unusual intelligence of these creatures. Canadian and American fisher- 

 men have long been familiar with giant squid and have often captured 



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