THE MOLLUSCA 



107 



Stories of these monsters attacking ships are quite without 

 foundation . 



Unlike the squids, which are very graceful and attract- 

 ive animals, the devil fish, or octopi, are apt to inspire one 

 with a feeling of repulsion. Nevertheless they are very 

 interesting creatures and the feeling of repulsion, as in so 

 many other cases, will tend to disappear upon closer ac- 

 quaintance. As the name Octopus implies there are but 



FIG. 91. The devil fish or octopus. A, at rest; B, swimming; a, arms 

 with suckers; e, eye; S, siphon. (From Cooke, after Merculiano.) 



eight feet or arms; these are relatively long and very strong 

 and they enable the octopus to overcome quite powerful 

 adversaries. The larger species whose arms may reach a 

 length of fourteen feet might be dangerous to man who is 

 a comparative helpless creature when in the water. There 

 are many stories of human beings being attacked and over- 

 come by devil fish, but they are mostly due to the prover- 

 bial mendacity of fishermen. Like the squid the devil 

 fish are sometimes used as food, but they have never won 

 their way to general favor. 



