276 AMERICAN JOURNAL 



REMARKS ON THE ARGONAUTA. 



BY JOHN FOKD. 



It must be evident to the reader of conchological works that 

 a great deal of chaff needs to be removed in order to find a sin- 

 gle grain of truth. Such, at least, has been my experience •while 

 endeavoring to penetrate the mysterious surroundings of that 

 singular mollusk, the Argonauta argo. 



It was for a long time supposed that the animal inhabiting the 

 shell of the Argonauta was a parasite, and this hypothesis was 

 strongly urged by the elder Mr. Sowerby, supported, as he as- 

 sures us, by his friend Mr. Broderip, who says, " that the ocythoe, 

 so usually found in the shell of the Argonaut, does not really be- 

 long to it, and that he is more and more fully convinced that it 

 is only a parasite." 



Here we discover how easy it is for the ablest minds to be mis- 

 taken when venturing into the realms of theory, — for since this 

 opinion was given to the world sufficient evidence has been adduced 

 to show that the same animals of which he speaks are not only 

 not parasitic, but the real architects and builders of their beau- 

 tiful habitations. 



The body of the Argonauta is described as ovoid in form, and 

 furnished with eight arms or tentacula, each covered with a dou- 

 ble row of suckers. Six of these arms are slender, tapering to a 

 point toward the extremity ; while two of them, known as the 

 vela or velamenta, expand toward the extremity somewhat in the 

 form of wings or sails. The body of the animal does not pene- 

 trate to the bottom of the shell, nor is it attached to it by any 

 muscular ligament, nor is the shell moulded upon it as in most 

 other testaceans. 



From the time when scientific minds became convinced that 

 the shell was truly the workmanship of its inhabitant, the ques- 

 tion was raised as to the precise period at which the foundations 

 of the fragile structure were laid. 



M. Figuer, in his popular work, the " Ocean World," refer- 



