A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 1 of 2): The Lepadidae; Or, Pedunculated CirripedesDarwin, Charles
Science
A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 1 of 2): The Lepadidae; Or, Pedunculated Cirripedes
Darwin, Charles
Cirripedia; Lepadidae
_Habits._--According to Lovén, this species lives imbedded in the skin
of _Squalus maximus_ and _spinax_, in the North Sea: I suspect that it
is not closely compressed in its cavity, otherwise, I do not see the use
of the two layers of muscles round the whole peduncle; it probably
adheres to the sides of the cavity by the tips of the branched,
root-like filaments; owing to the flexible nature of the capitulum, this
Cirripede can offer little resistance to the water, and, therefore, is
little likely to be torn out of its cavity. I have no doubt that it can
fold the membrane of the capitulum, like a cloak, round its thorax and
cirri; but it certainly can offer far less resistance, than other
Cirripedes, to any enemy. This creature must obtain its food, and
considering its productiveness much food must be required, in a manner
quite different from nearly every other member of its Order. As the
whole of the peduncle is imbedded, and as the mouth is probosciformed,
with the labrum a little curled over the adductor muscle, I conclude
that this Cirripede can reach minute animals crawling by on the surface
of the shark’s body.
It must be borne in mind that the mouth, as in all Cirripedes, has the
power of independent movement, and that the mandibles and maxillæ are
here beautifully adapted to catch and force down any small living
creature into the muscular oesophagus; the rudimentary outer maxillæ,
moreover, no doubt have the power of scraping, like a lip, anything
towards these prehensile organs. It will hereafter be seen, that the
male of _Ibla Cumingii_, in which the cirri are quite rudimentary,
obtains its food in a somewhat analogous manner, though in this case the
whole peduncle moves, and not merely a probosciformed mouth: it deserves
attention, that in the male Ibla and in Anelasma, in neither of which
the cirri are prehensile, the palpi are rudimentary and useless. I am
tempted to believe, that the largely developed olfactory sacks, and
perhaps, likewise, acoustic (?) sacks, in Anelasma, replace, by giving
notice of the proximity of prey, the loss of tactile cirri. It should be
remembered that all Cirripedes subsist on animals which happen to swim
or float within reach of the cirri; but here it is only those which
happen to crawl within reach of the probosciformed mouth. It would,
however, be rash to assert that the cirri in Anelasma, considering their
muscular though feeble structure, may not be of some slight use, when
thrown over the prey, in preventing its escape.
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