ON CEPHALOPODA. 297 
beaten with sticks to render it digestible. ‘This is done by 
the Greek sailors for more than half an hour before they 
cook the octopus. 
Octopi are found in all parts of the globe, but perhaps more 
particularly in the seas of warm climates. Peron and Le- 
sueur have observed them in the seas of New Holland. The 
common octopus seems to extend even as far as Greenland, 
though it is but rarely found there. 
The distinction of species is not easy, and has not perhaps 
hitherto sufficiently occupied the attention of naturalists. 
The ancients, and Aristotle in particular, had, however, dis- 
tinguished four at least, but Linnzus confounded them all 
under the name of sepia octopus. M. de Lamarck very pro- 
perly separated octopus from sepia, and has characterized 
three species. 
Some octopi form a second division, called OCYTHOE by 
M. Rafinesque, and which are placed with the argonauts in 
the text. Among these is the polypus of the ancients, ocy- 
thoé antiquorum. 
This species, common in the Mediterranean, has never been 
observed but in a shell of the argonaut genus, so that a great 
number of authors have admitted that this shell belonged to 
and was formed by the octopus; while others, on the con- 
trary, think that it is only parasitical. ‘The Baron, as may be 
seen by the text, leans to the former opinion ; and though the 
latter is discussed and defended by M. de Blainville at great 
length, we shall not follow him into the controversy. 
One of the species, however, which compose this division 
being, as it would appear, pretty common in the Mediter- 
ranean, was observed long ago by the ancients, who have re- 
lated how these animals navigate on the surface of the sea, in 
the shell, which serves them as a bark, and by the assistance 
of the oars and sails, which their simple and palmated arms 
conduce to form. They are all pretty nearly agreed in affirming 
