76 MANUAL OF THE MOLLUSCA. | 



CONOTEUTHIS, D'Ol'b. ; 



Tyjie, C. Dupinianus, D'Orb. PL II., fig. 9. Neocomian, France. 

 Phragmocone slightly curved. Pen elongated, very slender. | 



This sheU, which is like the pen of an ommastrephe, vsith a chambered i 

 cone, connects the ordinary calamaries with the belemnites. -' i 



FAMILY V. Sepiad^. ' , 



Shell (cuttle-bone or sepiostaire) calcarious ; consisting of a broad lami- I 

 uated plate, terminating beliind in a hollow, imperfectly chambered apex 

 {jnucrd). Animal mth elongated tentacles, expanded at theii- ends. • j 



Sepia (Pliny), Liimaus. 



Type, S. officinalis, L. PL I., fig. 5. j 



Syn., belosepia, Voltz. (B. sepioidea, pi. II., fig. 3, mncro only.) j 



Body oblong, with lateral fins as long as itself. Arms with 4 rows of ; 



suckers. Mantle supported by tubercles fitting into sockets on the neck and ; 



funnel. Length 3 to 28 inches. i 



Shell as wide and long as the body; very thick in front, concave internally ; 



]>ehind ; tenninating in a prominent mucro. The thickened part is composed I 



of numerous plates, separated by vertical fibres, which render it very light and ] 



])orous. T. Orbignyana, pi. II., fig. 2. i 



The cuttle-bone was formerly employed as an antacid by apothecaries ; it ; 



is now only used as " pounce," or in casting comiterfeits. The bone of a \ 



Chinese species attains the length of \\ feet. [Adams.) \ 



The cuttle-fishes live near shore, and the mucro of their shell seems in- i 



tended to protect them in the frequent collisions they are exposed to in swim- I 



ming backwards. [D'Orb.) , 



Bistr., 30 sp. World-mde. 



Fossil, 5 sp. Oxf. clay, Solenhofen. Several species have been founded i 

 on muerones fi'om the Eocene of London and Paris. PL II., fig. 3. 



Spirulirostra, D'Orb. I 



Type, S. BeUardii (D'Orb.) PL II., fig. 4. Miocene, Tmin. ! 



Shell, mucro only known ; chambered internally ; chambers connected 

 by a ventral siphuncle ; external spathose layer produced beyond the phrag- 

 mocone into a long pointed beak. ; 



Beloptera (Blaimdlle) Deshayes. ;^ 



Etym., belos, a dart, mii[ jderon, a wing. \\ 



Type, B. belemnitoides, Bl. PL IL, fig. 7- %\ 



been obtained for the British Museum ; the tentacles are not longer than the ordinary 

 arms, owing, perhaps, to their partial retraction; this specimen will be figured in Dr. 

 Mantell's " Petrifactions and their Teachings." d, is a single hook, natural size; the 

 specimens belonging to Mr. Cunnington and the late Mr. C. Pearce, show the large 

 acetabular bases of the hooks. 



