758 MOLLUSCA — CUTTLE-FISH. 



•which the pigment called China ink is procured ; and the ancients extracted 

 the beautiful purple color, with which the garments of their princes and 

 nobles were dyed, from certain species of purpura inhabiting the coast of 

 Tyre. 



ORDER II. — CEPHALOPODA. 



These animals are distinguished by having a mantle in the form of a bag, 

 containing the lower part of the body ; head protruding from the bag, 

 crowned with inarticulated ftrms, furnished with cups or suckers, and sur- 

 rounding the mouth ; two sessile eyes ; mouth with two horny mandibles ; 

 three hearts ; the sexes separate. 



THE GREAT CUTTLE-FISH. i 



This singular creature, which is about two feet long, has eight arms or 

 claws, furnished on the interior side with little round serrated cups, by the 

 contraction of which the animal lays fast hold of any thing that comes in its 

 way. Besides these eight arms, it has two tentacula, four times longer than 

 the preceding, and also pedunculated. When the suckers adhere to any 

 thing, it is very difficult to loosen their hold. The mouth is situated in the 

 centre, and is horny and hooked, like the bill of a parrot. It is so strong 

 that the animal can break to pieces the shells of limpets and of other 

 marine, testaceous creatures on which it feeds. The eyes are below, and 

 surrounded with several silvery rings ; they are as large as the eyes of a 

 calf, but are very prominent, and rather resemble the eyes of a crab. The 



1 Sepia officinalis, Lamarck. The genus Sepia has the body fleshy, depressed, con- 

 tained in a bag, which is obtuse behind, and margined on cither side in its ^vhole length, 

 by a narrow fin ; a free, calcareous, spoiigj^, and opaque bone included in the body near 

 the back ; motith terminal, surrounded with ten arms furnished with cups, of which two 

 are pedunculate, and longer than the others 



