24 Animal Life by the Sea-shore. 



with the short, sac-hke bod}', from which four pairs of long 

 arms radiate when it is at rest or crawls about, or are directed 

 forwards when it swims (forwards in the sense of the orientation 

 of the animal, backwards according to the mode of progression). 

 These arms are furnished Avith cup-shaped structures which 

 function as suckers, and as each arm ma}' lie over a foot in 

 length, the Octopus is a powerful animal ; feeding chiefly on 

 fish and the larger crustaceans, it is very injurious to fisheries. 

 A plague of Octopus occurred at the end of the last century 

 on the South Devon and Cornish coasts, as well as on the 

 opposite side of the Channel, and the fisheries for edible crabs 

 and lobsters A\'ere most seriously affected for a few years. 

 Isolated specimens are often found among rocks at low tide, 

 and, when dislodged from their retreat, crawl away with great 

 rapidity over the sand or stones, always malving straight for 

 tlie direction of the sea ; they are cAddentlj' gifted with a 

 special sense of orientation. It is very difficult to keep them 

 ali\'e ; a fair-sized specimen soon exhausts the oxj'gen in a 

 large bucketful of water, and, after a few minutes, suffocating, 

 makes desperate attempts to get out. Another peculiarity 

 of the Octopus IS the rapid changes of colour which it under- 

 goes, passing from brown to pmk, j'ellowish or blackisli in an 

 even more startling manner than a chameleon. Were it not 

 for the repulsive appearance of the animal, in most people's 

 eyes, the flesh of the Octopus would be m great demand with 

 us, as it is m Italy, Avhere it sells at a high price. All Cepha- 

 lopods, in fact, are edible and regarded by man}^ as a delicacy. 

 The eggs of the Octopus are small and number thousands. 

 A smaller Octopus occurs, though more rarely, on our coasts — 

 Eledone moschala — distinguished by its suckers forming a 

 single series along the arms instead of two, and by the musky 

 odour from which it derives its specific name. 



The Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is the next largest Cepha- 

 lopod common with us (Fig. 20). The body, wluch is very dis- 

 tinct from the head, and longer than broad, commonly measures 

 from six to nine inches ; besides the eight tentacles of the 

 Octopus, which are shorter than the bodjr, there is an additional 

 pair of much greater length, terminating in a spatulate expan- 

 sion, underneath which are numerous suckers ; these long 

 appendages are piotruded for prehension, otherwise the}' lie 

 concealed in a sheath m the mantle. Bunches of the large 

 black eggs of this creature arc often washed ashore and are 

 known as "sea-grapes"; on being opened, these eggs may 

 be found to contain miniature Cuttlefish with their ^'olk-sac. 



