ii \i;i i > <>i in i. i i.rn \i,oro|, \. 



\ III. /A//*//* of (h-fo/,,!* ,-n/,/fir>.<. Into me of m\ C*g< I 

 had put a living /'tnini ///*///s adhering l<> :i lYaumrnl of rock : 

 this cage :ils contained nil (trhtjui^ rnliju rix, :i in I -MHIH- I i \ i ie_: 

 te^taceon- in<'lliisc:i wliicli I had placed I, here for the purpose ,,!' 

 inv iiive-t iu'at i'n-. ( hie day. whiUl ob>rr\ in- ni\ animaK I 

 SM\V that the Ponlpe was holding a fragment of rock in one of 

 it> arms, and watching the Pimm, which was opening its va! 

 a- -MOD as thev were pei-feetly open, the I'onlpe. with inercilil.h' 

 aldres^ and prompt it ude, placed t lie stone hetweeii tin- \al\e>. 

 preventing the Tinna IVoin elosinii them a^ain, when the ()eto|)ii> 

 -1 :il ..... t devoiirinu' the inollnsk 



The next day I was oler\ -in.n' t he Poulpe again, when I 8ftW 

 him crush some Tellin;v, then search about amongst othei' shells. 

 and finally stretch himself close to a Triton n<l ij'rru ,n. I had 

 the persrverance to remain on the watch for four hours. The 

 Triton extruded half the body from its shell, no doubt with the 

 purpose of u'oiu.u- to seek its food, when the Poulpe sprang upon 

 it. and surrounded it with his arms; the mollnsk retired precipi- 

 tately into its shell, and in closing this with its operculum, 

 pinched the point of one of the arms of the Poulpe, which, by 

 striiuuliuu. at last left the tip of his arm in the shell of the Tri- 

 ton. h would require whole paires to describe all the stratagems 

 employed by the I'oulpe for the capture of his prey. I should 

 have to tell things which would appear incredible: and his 

 voracity is such, that notwithstanding the abundance of nourish- 

 ment with which 1 furnished him. I was compelled to remove him 

 from the cage, or he would have devoured all my mollusca. So 

 irreal i^ it-, voracity, that it even attacks man. tears away hi> 

 tlesh. and eats it. M. \D.\VK -I. POWKR.* 



It may be remarked upon the above account, that the partic- 

 ular Poulpe observed by Mad. Power, completely falsified the, 

 axiom that " nature works by the. simplest means," by usin- an 

 iitl>'lli<j,',,l method of overcoming 1 he resistance of t he Pinna. 

 when the hitter's fragile laminated shell lay at the mercy of the 

 powerful jaws with which he is endowed. The inusculnr j.nwer 

 of the arm> of the Poulpe is probably ([iiit.e sntlieient. IMOIVMVI r 

 to .-rush the shell of the Pinna, if tin- two animals are equally 



Ann. M>.;. .V. Hit 1857, 



Ki 



