Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 April 1875 — Cephalopods. [ARTICLE]

Cephalopods.

Recent opportunities for studying the nature and habits of the Cephalopodous (head-footed) Mollusca have convinced men of science that the imagination of. Victor Hugo did not so far outstrip the truth in his description of the cuttle-fish as has been generally supposed. Specimens of this monster of the deep that have been within the last few years captured near our own and foreign coasts have revealed the fact that they are among the most gigantic and formidable animals that inhabit the earth. Mr. W. Saville Kent, in a recent monograph, and Prof. A. E. Verrill, in the American Naturalist, have given full and interesting accounts of the giant cuttle-fish, containing most that is known of the larger species up to the present time. Aristotle, Pliny, Aelian, Strabo and other ancient writers have left testimony to the occurrence of colossal Cephalofods in the waters of the Mediterranean, liny gives an account of the capture of one on the coast of Spain, which, along with much exaggeration, contains some particulars that are undoubtedly true. From that time, how ever, we hear nothing of the existence of these ocean monsters until the early part of the seventeenth century, when stories of their appearance in Scandinavian seas begin to mingle with the wild traditions of the bordering countries. In 1639 a gigantic Cephalopod was captured on the shore of Zetland, and another of similar size was stranded in the Gulf of U 1 wangen in 1680. In 1824 the travelers Quay and Gaimard encountered in the Atlantic Ocean, near Jhe equator, the skeleton of an enormous which had fallen a victim to the sharks. According to their calculation the living animal must have weighed 200 pounds. During Cook’s second voyage a mutilated specimen was picked up in the South Seas and forwarded to the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, and there examined by Prof. Owen. In 1854 a gigantic individual was stranded on the coast of Jutland; and, four years after, one of the largest on record was met and grappled with by Lieut. Bayer, of the French corvette Alecton, between the islands of Madeira and Teneriffe. It was found floating on the surface of the water, having been probably disabled by some means. According to the account it was thirty feet long, including its arms, about twenty feet in circumference at its largest part, and weighed, as Figuer states it, about 4,000 pounds. Its flesh was soft, gelatinous, and of a red-dish-brick color. Great efforts were made to secure the monster by the use of musketry and harpoons; but shots perforated its body with no result beyond an effusion of blood and foam and a strong exhalation of musk; while harpoons took no hold on its impalpable flesh. Finally a noose was slipped over the creature’s tail, and thus it was being hoisted to the deck of the vessel when the rope cut through its body and only the posterior portion was secured. The remainder sank out of reach and sight. The struggle with the monster occupied above three hours, giving sufficient time for a correct sketch of the scene, which was produced by one of the officers on board.

From ten to twelve of these huge Cephalopods have been captured on our Atlantic coast. The most complete specimen that ever came under scientific observation was taken at Logie Bay, St. Johns, Newfoundland, in 1873. Its arms got entangled in a herring-net, rendering the creature comparatively helpless; yet it was overcome by the fishermen only when its head was severed from the body. The specimen was secured by the Rev. Mr. Hardy, of St. Johns, who had photographs taken of i{, and furnished several descriptions for scientific and secular journals. The body of this cut-tle-fish was about seven feet long, with a girth of five feet; the two long arms were twenty-four feet in length, and the six shorter ones each six feet in length. The horny, parrot-like beak was the size of a man’s fist; the sockets of the great eyes were four inches in diameter; and the color of the skin was a pale-red. Another specimen, probably of the same species, was captured at Coombs’ Cove, Newfoundland. The body of this measured ten feet in length, and was nearly as large as a hogshead. The long arms were forty-two feet long, and were the size of a man’s wrist; the other arms were six feet long; and the color of the skin and flesii was reddish. Dr. Honeyman, Geologist of Nova Scotia, gives the following description, taken from an eyewitness, of a capture in the Straits of Belle Isle, at West St. Modent, on the Labrador side: “It was lying peacefully in the water, when it was provoked by the punch of an oar. It looked tierce, and ejected much waterfront its funnel; it did not seem to consider it necessary to discharge its sepia, as mollusca of this kind generally do, in order to cover their The length of the longest armwas thirty-seven feet; the length of the body fifteen feet; whole length fifty-two feet". The bill was very large; the suckers of its arms or feet, by which it lays hold, about two inches in diameter. The monster was cut up, salted and barreled for dogs’ meat.” '

This specimen was probably disabled, as the Cephalopods apparently never float or lie quietly at the surface when in health. They shoot through the water with great velocity and many species associate in companies'. As they remain deep below the surface, and moreover, by means of their big eyes, are enabled jo see and avoid objects afar oft’, we understand why they are not more frequently encountered by vessels traversing the seas. The giant Cephalopods probably inhabit all marine waters, but they particularly affect those which are deep and have a rocky bottom, to which they can adhere with their arms. From the descriptions we have given "of various specimens it is easy to picture to the mind the form and proportions of these Cyclopic mollusks. Their bodies are long and fusiform, terminated at the posterior end by a spear-shaped tin. The head is furnished with a pair of great, greenish, ghastly eyes, a bill like a parrot and ten arms surrounding it in a circle. The arms are provided wijh rows of and, in some species, the suckers are encircled with a row of hooks to aid them in clasping. Add to all this that the body contains a fountain of inky fluid which the animal can eject at will in order to color the water and hide it from view of its enemies, and we have a creature sufficiently equipped with weapons, offensive and defensive, to come forth victorious in a battle with almost any combatant inhabiting land or sea. In its own element the Cat&eous are probably the only animals that can successfully encounter it. The cuttle-fish feed upon living fish, crustaceous and mollusks. It may be presumed that they make great havoc among the tribes upon which they prey; yet, in obedience to the law of nature,

which permits no single species to obtain a predominance over the rest, it is in turn the victim of other tenants of the deep. Abundant evidence has been received that the toothed whales find in these colossal Cephalopods a favorite and common article of diet. Some judgment may be formed of the fecundity of these creatures from the statement that the common squid, Loliqo —a nearly allied species-r-deposits 40,000 eggs in a season. These are large, and generally extended in clusters united by a glutinous substance, and are called by the fishermen sea-grapes.— Chicago Tribune.