Silurian Fossils, 313 



" Let him conceive an animal whose body is a closed hag con- 

 taining the viscera, connected with digestion, circulation and 

 reproduction, furnished with a head and staring eyes ; that upon 

 the head are supported numerous and complex organs of locomo- 

 tion used as feet or organs of prehension ; moreover, that in the 

 centre of the locomotive apparatus, thus singularly situated is a 

 strong and sharp horny beak, resembling that of a parrot ; and 

 he will rudely picture to himself a Cephalopod." 



The Cuttlefishes are organized for a purely predacious life, and 

 their structure is such that no animal of their own size can be 

 entangled in their arms without almost a certainty of destruction. 

 The body in some of the species is nearly as round as a ball ; in 

 others it is flattened and elliptical, while in many species it is 

 elongated or cylindrical, having the mouth surrounded with its 

 circle of arms at one end. The arms are strong, perfectly flexible, 

 and with the whole of their inner surface covered with suckers 

 which adhere to whatever object the animal attaches them, with 

 such force that they will tear away the piece of flesh to which 

 they are fastened rather than relinquish their hold. " If, says the 

 distinguished Naturalist whom we have above quoted, the Poulpe 

 but touch its prey it is enough : once a few of those tenacious 

 suckers get firm hold, the swiftness of the fish is unavailing, as it 

 is soon trammelled on all sides and dragged to the mouth of its 

 destroyer ; the shell of the lobster or of the crab is a vain pro- 

 tection, for the hard and crooked beak of the Cephalopod easily 

 breaks to pieces the frail armour ; and even man himself, while 

 bathing, has been entwined by the strong arms of gigantic species 

 and struggled in vain against a grasp so pertinacious." * 



The Cephalopoda are divided by Professor Owen into two 

 orders, the Dibranchiata, having two gills, and the Tetrabran- 

 CHiATA, with four gills. Of the last mentioned order there is only 

 one species, the celebrated Nautilus [Nautilus PomiJilius^) known 

 to be living in the whole world. Yet in the fossil state there are 

 more than 1400 species whose remains have been found in the 

 various formations. Here we have an instance of the almost total 

 extermination of not merely a species or a genus but of nearly a 

 whole order of animals. No doubt the Nautilus itself will in course 

 of time cease to exist, and then the order Tetrabranchiata will, 

 no longer have a living representative upon earth. 



* Thomas Rymer Jones : General Outline of the Animal Kingdom ; 1st 

 Ed., page 432. 



