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
animal, as over a bridge, across any pre-existing cavity in the rock;
and lastly, perhaps, for removing lower down, in the intervals of
exuviation, the point of attachment for the longitudinal peduncular
muscles.
_Position of the animal in the rock, and its power of excavation._--A
specimen of rock, two or three inches square, in Mr. Cuming’s
possession, is full of Lithotryas; the cavities extend in every possible
direction, and several were parallel, but with the animals in reversed
positions; the same thing is apparent in some specimens of Mr.
Stutchbury’s, and it was evident that the positions occupied by the
animals were entirely due to chance. In Mr. Cuming’s specimen of rock, a
considerable portion of the external surface is preserved, and here it
can be seen that many of the specimens have their capitulums directed
from the external surface directly inwards. These individuals, which
were of full size, must have preyed on infusoria inhabiting the cavities
of the porous, calcareous rock. On the other hand, I have seen some
young specimens of _L. dorsalis_ with their valves not at all rubbed,
and others of full size with uninjured Balani and corallines on the tips
of the valves, and again a specimen of _L. truncata_ with minute
pale-green sea-weed on the summit of the capitulum,--all which
appearances induce me to believe that in these cases, the valves had
projected freely beyond the cavity in which their peduncles were lodged.
I may here also mention that in Mr. Cuming’s specimen, above alluded to,
the basal cups of five specimens touched and adhered to each other; I
was not able to make out whether there had originally existed separate
burrows, as I think is most probable, and that the walls had been wholly
worn away, or whether the five specimens had fixed themselves on one
side of a large pre-existing, common cavity. Young specimens seem to
burrow to the full depth, before nearly acquiring the diameter which
they ultimately attain. I measured one burrow, 1.2 of an inch in depth,
which, at its mouth or widest part, was only .17 in diameter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account