GENERATION OF ANIMALS, I. xv. 



on The Parts of Animals].'^ The female of each of 

 these animals has a part like a uterus, which is plain 

 to be seen ; it contains an eg^ which at first is indis- 

 tinct,^ but later divides up and is formed into a num- 

 ber of eggs, each of which the creature deposits in 

 an imperfect state, just as the oviparous fishes do. 

 In these animals as well as in the Crustacea the 

 passage which serves for the residue and connects 

 with the uterus-like part, is one and the same (it is 

 on the under surface of the body, where the " mantle" 

 Ues open and the sea water enters in '^). Hence it is 

 through this that the male effects copulation with the 

 female, since if the male discharges anything, be it 

 semen, or some part,** or some other substance,* he 

 must of necessity unite with the female through the 

 passage which leads to the uterus. In the case of 

 the Octopuses, the male inserts his tentacle through 

 the funnel of the female, and the fishermen allege 

 that copulation is effected by means of this tentacle,^ 

 but its purpose is really to link the two creatures 

 together ; it has no instrumental use so far as 

 generation is concerned, because it is outside the 

 passage (of the male) and outside his body.^ 



mantle of the female. Aristotle however does not explicitly 

 mention this detaching of the arm. 



* Dynamis ; see Introd. §§ 23 ff. 



* This refers to the remarkable phenomenon in the 

 Dibranchiata of the " hectocotylization " of one of the arms 

 of the male, bv means of which copulation is effected, as is 

 stated in H.A.'52'l a 5 ff., 541 b 9, 544 a 8 ff. Here, however, 

 Aristotle denies that the arm is so used, and his argument is 

 not unreasonable, for it is not yet known how the arm be- 

 comes charged with the spermatophores. For details and 

 diagrams see P. Pelseneer, MoUusca (tr. G. Bourne), 323 ff. 



' i.e., not a part of the main bulk of the body and not 

 directly connected with the seminal passage. 



45 



