1019 



NAUTILID^E. 



NAUTILID.E. 



1070 



Eledonc moschata is the type). " And the other," continues Aristotle, 

 " is in a shell, like a snail ; and this does not go out of its shell, but 

 remains in it like a snail, and sometimes stretches forth its arms (or 

 cirri, irAKTd>'as) externally." 



The first of these Polypi is evidently the Nautilus or Pompilius of 

 Pliny and other ancient writers; the Argonauta of Linnseus and the 

 moderns. [OcTOPODA.] 



The second, to which the term Pompiiim is now exclusively applied, 

 is as evidently the Nautilus of Lamarck. 



Belon figured the shell of the animal, now termed Nautilus Pompilius 

 (and we believe that his figure is the first that appeared) under the 

 name of Nautilus alter sen secundus ; but it seems clear that he was 

 unacquainted with, the soft parts. Rondeletius, apparently confounding 

 Aristotle's two genera of Polypi, seems to refer the animal of the first 

 to the shell of the second ; and dwells on the impossibility of so 

 delicate and feeble an animal dragging about so heavy a shell. 



Gesner relates that 'Jo. Fauconerus,' a celebrated physician of 

 England, formerly gave him the picture of a Nautilus, with a written 

 description (by letter). This description Gesner gives ; and it is not 

 improbable that the soft parts there described may have been those 

 of Nautilus Pompilius (it is clear that the shell was) ; but the account 

 is so obscure and brief that there is room for doubt, though the term 

 velum is used, which would hardly be applicable to the palmated arms 

 or vela of the other kind. 



We now return to the period which followed the publication of 

 Rum] nius's figure; and for many years no further information was 

 obtained, though special directions were given by the French and other 

 nations to collectors to be assiduous in procuring the soft parts. These 

 directions were given in vain, and all was conjecture. Fragments even 

 of molluscous animals were caught at and published as probable parts 

 of this much-desired animal ; and Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard published 

 their ' Description d'un Fragment de Mollusque Inconnu, presume" 

 dtre celui du Nautile Flambd ' (Nautilus Pompilius, Linn.), with 

 figures, in the ' Annales des Sciences Naturelles' vol. XX. The mate- 

 rials are not sufficient to come to any safe conclusion as to the animal 

 of which the fragment was a part, but it may now be confidently 

 denied that it is any portion of the soft parts of Nautilus Pompiliut. 

 The parenchyma of the fragment indeed is said to have been identical 

 with that of Pirola and C'arinaria. This fragment is preserved at 

 Paris in the Jardin du Roi. 



The recovery of this interesting animal was reserved for a British 

 voyager, and its structure has been demonstrated and illustrated by 

 Professor Owen in a most masterly manner. 



Mr. George Bennett thus describes the capture of this interesting 

 animal in his ' Wanderings in New South Wales," &c. : " It was on 

 the 24th of August, 1829 (calm and fine weather, thermometer at noon 

 79), in the evening, when the ship Sophia was lying at anchor in 

 Marakini Bay, on the south-west side of the island of Erromanga, one 

 of the New Hebrides group, Southern Pacific Ocean, that something 

 was seen floating on the surface of the water at some distance from 

 the ship; to many it appeared like a small dead tortoise-shell cat, 

 which would have been such an unusual object to be seen in this 

 part of the world, that the boat which was alongside the ship at the 

 time was sent for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the floating 

 object On approaching near it was observed to be the shell-fish com- 

 monly known by the name of the Pearly Nautilus (Nautilus Pompilius) ; 

 it was captured and brought on board, but the shell was shattered 

 from having been struck with the boat-hook in capturing it, as the 

 animal was sinking when the boat approached, and had it not been so 

 damaged it would have escaped. I extracted the fish in a perfect 

 etate, which was firmly attached to each side of the upper cavity of 

 the shell. On being brought on board I observed it retract the tenta- 

 cula still closer than before, and this was the only sensation of vitality 

 it gave after being caught ; I preserved the soft parts immediately in 

 spirits, after making a rude pen-and-ink sketch of its form. On 

 breaking the lower part of the shell the chambers or cavities were 

 found filled with water. The hood has been stated by Dr. Shaw 

 (' Lectures,' vol. ii., p. 165) as being of a pale reddish-purple colour, 

 with deeper spots and variegations ; the colour however, as it appeared 

 in this recent specimen, was of a dark reddish-brown, in fact, resem- 

 bling the colour produced by the Koka on the stained cloth of the 

 Tongatabu natives, intermingled with white. We had fine weather ; 

 light winds and calms a day or two previous to this animal being 

 caught." After noticing the incorrectness of Shaw's figure (which, as 

 ' we have above noticed, was copied from those given by Denys de 

 Montfort), and the greater general accuracy of that of Rumphius, he 

 informs us that this species is called Kika, Lapia, and Krang Modang, 

 by the natives of Amboyna ; and Bia Papeda, Bia Cojin, by the Malays. 

 (Aher instances are recorded by Mr. Bennett of the capture of this 



The specimen captured by Mr. Bennett is preserved in the Museum 

 of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and has produced the 

 admirable ' Memoir'on the Pearly Nautilus (Nautilus Pompilius, Linn.), 

 with Illustrations of its External Form and Internal Structure,' by Pro- 

 fenor Owen, and published by direction of the council of the college, 

 a summary of which we shall endeavour to lay before our readers. 



The external form, of which an elaborate description is given, for 

 which we must refer our readers to the 'Memoir' itself, will be 



collected from the following cuts, which are reduced from Professor 

 Owen's figures : 



Nautilus Pompilius (female), in the prone position, with its natural relation 

 to the shell shown by a section of that part in outline. (Reduced from Owen.) 



The same, with the animal as well as a part of the shell in outline, explana- 

 tory of the parts, on a larger ficale. (Reduced from Owen.) 



" a, the mantle ; b t its dorsal fold, applied to the involute convexity of the 

 shell j c, its free anterior margin : d, the orifice for the passage of the funnel ; 

 e, the convexity produced by the ovarian gland ; //, the horny girdle for the 

 adhesion of the mantle to the shell ; g, the horny laminm covering the extremity 

 of the left shell muscle ; A, a portion of the shell which was left adhering to 

 this muscle ; i, the membranous tube or siphon, which traverses the testaceous 

 tubes in the camerated portion of the shell ; A', the funnel ; ?, the left lateral 

 process of the funnel ; wt, the left crus or pillar of the funnel ; n, the hood or 

 ligamento-muscular disc that surmounts the head ; o o, the exterior (limitations 

 on the left side ; o', the larger one, with a papillose surface like that of the 

 hood ; p p, the digitated tentacles, protruded from their sheaths ; q, the groove 

 which separates the hood from the papillose digitation ; r r, the ophthalmic 

 receptacles ; , the eye ; (, its peduncle ; u, the inferior ridge or rudimentary 

 eyelid ; v, the ridge running from this to w, the pupil ; x x, the partitions of 

 the chambers ; y, the septal tubes, which give passage to the membranous 

 siphon ; z, the chamber of occupation. (Owen.) 



Professor Owen thus concludes this part of his memoir on the 

 anatomy of this creature : " From what has been already said, it will 

 be seen how considerable are the external differences between the 

 Pearly Nautilus and the higher Cephalopoda ; nevertheless its general 

 plan of organisation renders its claim to rank with them indisputable ; 



