SHELL OF THE ARGONAUT. 571 



the animal is placed in its shell in a reversed position, and that, when 

 alive, the creature is always found with its veliferous arms turned 

 towards the spire of its shell, instead of in the opposite direction, as 

 represented in the drawing referred to. Moreover, the vela, instead of 

 forming sails, are invariably tightly spread out over the external surface 

 of the shell (fig. 286), which they cover and entirely conceal from view. 

 With its veliferous arms thus firmly embracing its abode, the Argonaut 

 has two modes of progression. It can certainly raise itself from the 

 bottom, and sport about at the surface of the water ; but this is simply 

 effected by the ordinary means used by Calamaries and Cephalopods in 

 general, namely by admitting the sea-water into its body and then 

 ejecting it in forcible streams from its funnel, so as to produce a retro- 

 grade motion, which is sometimes very rapid. Its usual movements 

 are, however, confined to crawling at the bottom with its head down- 

 wards ; and in this way it creeps, carrying its shell upon its back. 



(1532.) The reader will obtain a better idea of the real appearance of 

 the Argonaut in its shell by inspecting the annexed copy of M. Hang's 

 figure than from any verbal description, and we borrow that gentle- 

 man's own account of its general appearance *. The membranous por- 



Fig. 286. 



Argonaut. (After M. Sander Eang.) 



tions of the expanded arms, dilated beyond anything we could have 

 pictured to ourselves while knowing the animal merely by specimens 

 preserved in spirits of wine, are spread over the two lateral surfaces of 

 the shell in such a manner as to cover it completely from the base of 

 the hard edge to the anterior extremity of the edge of the opening, 



* For more ample details upon this subject, the reader is referred to an excellent 

 translation of M. Eang's paper contained in Mr. Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural 

 History, new series, vol. iii. 



