fO MANUAL OF THE MOLLUSCA. 



CONOTEIJTHIS, D'Orb. 



Type, C. Dupinianus, D'Orb. PI. II., fig. 9. Neocomian, France. 

 Phragmocone slightly curved. Pen elongated, very slender. 

 This shell, which is like the pen of an ommastrephe, with a chambered 

 cone, connects the ordinary calamaries with the belenmites. 



FAMILY V. SEPIADJS. 



Shell (cuttle-bone or seplostaire) calcarious ; consisting of a broad lami- 

 nated plate, terminating behind in a hollow, imperfectly chambered apex 

 {mucro). Animal with elongated tentacles, expanded at their ends. 



SEPIA (Pliny), Linnseus. 



Type, S. officinalis, L. PL I., fig. 5. 



Syn., belosepia, Voltz. (B. sepio'idea, pi. II., fig. 3, mucro only.) 



Body oblong, with lateral fins as long as itself. Arms with 4 rows oi 

 suckers. Mantle supported by tubercles fitting into sockets on the neck and 

 funnel. Length 3 to 28 inches. 



Shell as wide and long as the body; very thick in front, concave internally 

 behind ; terminating in a prominent mucro. The thickened part is composed 

 of numerous plates, separated by vertical fibres, which render it very light and 

 porous. T. Orbignyana, pi. II., fig. 2. 



The cuttle-bone was formerly employed as an antacid by apothecaries ; it 

 is now only used as "pounce," or in casting counterfeits. The bone of * 

 Chinese species attains the length of 1| feet. (Adams.) 



The cuttle-fishes live near shore, and the mucro of their shell seems in- 

 tended to protect them in the frequent collisions they are exposed to in swim- 

 ming backwards. (D'Orb.} 



Distr., 30 sp. World-wide. 



Fossil, 5 sp. Oxf. clay, Solenhofen. Several species have been foun 

 on mucrones from the Eocene of London and Paris. PI. II., fig. 3. 



SFIRULIROSTRA, D'Orb. 



Type, S. BeUardii (D'Orb.) PL II., fig. 4. Miocene, Turin. 



Shell, mucro only known ; chambered internally ; chambers connected 

 by a ventral siphuncle ; external spathose layer produced beyond the phrag 

 mocone into a long pointed beak. 



BELOPTERA (Blainville) Deshayes. 

 Etym., belos, a dart, and pteron, a wing. 

 Type, B. belemnitoides, Bl. PL II., fig. 7. 



been obtained for the British Museum ; the tentacles are not longer than the ordinar / 

 arms, owing, perhaps, to their partial retraction ; this specimen will be figured in D) 

 Mantell's "Petrifactions and their Teachings." d, is a single hook, natural size; tha 

 specimens belonging to Mr. Cunnington and the late Mr. C. Pearce, show the largs 

 acetabular bases of the hooks. 





