CLASS I. 
CEPHALOPODA: 
ORDER 1. DIBRANCHIATA. 
499 
arm, and clung to it by means of its suckers witli great power, endeavoring to get its beak, 
whicli could now be seen between the roots of its arms, in a position to bite. A sensation 
of horror pervaded his whole frame, when he found that this hideous animal had fixed itself 
so firmly on his arm. Its cold, slimy grasp was extremely sickening ; and he loudly called to 
the captain, who was at some distance, to come and release him from his disgusting assailant. 
The captain quickly came, and taking him down to the boat, during which time Mr. Beale was 
employed in keeping the beak of the octopus away from his hand, soon released him, by destroy- 
ing his tormentor with the boat-knife, which he accomplished by cutting away portions at a time. 
There are several other species of this genus ; among them is the 0. moscfmhcs, found in the 
Mediterranean, and having a strong musky smell. The species of the gemis Medone, have only 
a single row of suckers on each arm. In these the head and body are even shorter and rounder 
than in the 0. vulgaris. 
THE DECAPODA. 
These animals resemble the preceding, but instead of eight arras or tentacles, they have ten, 
two of them usually much longer than the others ; they are retractile, of a cylindrical form, 
and provided with suckers at the extremity. Some are furnished with an internal bony support, 
and some have a chambered shell. 
Genus SEPIA; Sepia. — This includes the Commok European Cuttle-Fish, S. officinalis ^y^^hich. 
is tAvelve to eighteen inches long; the skin smooth, whitish, 
and spotted with brown and purple ; it has an internal support 
of a calcareous nature, and formed in laminas ; this is the well- 
known cuttle-fish bone, used for cage-birds, and also for mak- 
ing pounce ; when reduced to powder, it is employed as a mould 
for fine castings. The eyes of this species are strong and hard, 
and when extracted, of a brilliant pearly 
tint ; in some parts of Southern Europe, they 
are worn as necklaces instead of pearls. It 
is exceedingl}^ fierce and voracious, and 
from its depredations on the fishes inclosed 
in floating nets, is a source of great annoy- 
ance and serious loss to the fishermen. 
From its wariness and agility, however, it 
is difiicult of capture. A writer on this 
subject says: " We well remember in our 
youth, going far out with an old fisher- 
man of Dawlish to visit his floating nets, 
which he had laid for the pilchards. As 
we looked down into the clear blue water, 
we could see that the number of fish en- 
tangled was great ; but to the great dis- 
comfiture of the fisherman, who was elo- 
quent on the occasion, almost every other 
fish was locked in the embraces of a cuttle- 
fish, plying his parrot-like mandibles to some purpose. The fisherman, who seemed to regard 
these unbidden guests as an incarnation of all evil, carried a capacious landing-net, but so quick 
was the sight of these Cephalopods, so ready were they in letting go, and agile in darting back 
and sideways, clear of the net, that though the greed)'- creatures held on to the last moment, the 
fisherman did not secure above three out of the crowds that had spoiled his haul." 
This species is common on the coasts of Europe, and is abundant around the British shores. 
There are several other species distributed in various seas. 
Genus LOLIGO : Loligo. — This includes several species, called Squids, and also Calamaries, 
from the shape of the bony plate of the back, which resembles a quill-pen, calamus in Latin, and 
THE COMMON CUTTLE-FISH. 
BONE OP THE CUTTLE-FISH. 
