HABITS OF THE CEPHALOPODA. 59 



an enemy, or a noise, causes a much accelerated, jerky and ret- 

 rograde movement. To effect this the animal spreads its arms 

 and suddenly reunites them ; whilst the fins, reduced to inaction, 

 are folded upon the ventral face of the body, the posterior 

 extremity of one of them covering that of the other. 



This accelerated action is then due to the movements of the 

 arms, which cause a series of extremely rapid progressions, in 

 which, perhaps, the funnel assists by its discharges. It is erro- 

 neous to regard the funnel, as some have done, as the principal 

 or only swimming organ of the Cephalopoda. 



Capturing, by the seine, two Sepias of somewhat unequal size, 

 I was surprised to find their arms interlaced and their mandibles 

 apparently in contact. They were separated and placed in a 

 bucket of water, when they immediately resumed their position 

 in contact; and this was again renewed, an hour afterwards, in 

 one of the basins of the aquarium. The larger of the pair threw 

 itself upon the smaller ; the first pair of arms were raised, the 

 fourth pair depressed, the others interlaced ; and the two animals 

 embraced, mouth to mouth, tor about five minutes. During this 

 contact the Sepias maintained themselves in the water with 

 scarcely a movement. Their eyes, usually narrowly contracted, 

 became circular, largely dilated, and kept a fixed stare; with the 

 pupil jet black and brilliant. When the animals are disengaged, 

 they advance slowly ; the male is followed by the female, which 

 swims above him : she seemed to be unable to abandon him, and 

 lets fall her fourth pair of arms upon his back. The sexual exci- 

 tation seemed to endure longer with the female than with the 

 male, for the dilatation of her eyes still continued, whilst his had 

 resumed their usual form. 



The distinction of the sexes, ordinarily, appears impossible 

 without dissection : it is only prior to oviposition that the 

 females may be known by the amplitude of the abdomen. The 

 females, when adult, are about a third larger than the only male 

 that I have seen, and I believe that the latter are more rare than 

 the females; a fact observed by Xeedliam in the Calamaries also. 



This description corresponds with the observations recorded 

 by the Father of Natural History, Aristotle, and recalls the 

 passage of Oppian. who echoes the belief of his times in the pas- 

 sage : "The Sepias are unhappy in their loves. The fishermen 



