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
In the larva the cement always escapes through the prehensile antennæ;
and it thus continues to do throughout life in most or all of the
species of Lepas, Conchoderma, Dichelaspis and Ibla. In the first two of
these genera, the cement escapes from the borders of the lower side of
the disc or penultimate segment of the antennæ, and can be there seen
radiating out like spokes, which at their ends divide into finer and
finer branches, till a uniform sheet of cement is formed, fastening the
antennæ and the adjoining part of the peduncle down to the surface of
attachment. In _Dichelaspis Warwickii_ and _Scalpellum Peronii_, the
cement, or part at least, comes out of the ultimate segment of the
antennæ, in the shape of one tube, within another tube of considerable
diameter and length. In _Scalpellum vulgare_, and probably in some of
the other species, which live attached to corallines, the cement soon
ceases to debouch from the antennæ, but instead, bursts through a row of
orifices on the rostral margin of the peduncle (Pl. IX, fig. 7), by
which means this margin is symmetrically fastened down to the delicate,
horny branches of the zoophyte. In Pollicipes, the two cement-ducts,
either together or separately (Pl. IX, fig. 2, 2 _a´_), wind about the
bottom of the peduncle in the most tortuous course, at each bend pouring
out cement through a hole in the membrane of the peduncle. In Ibla the
lower part of the peduncle is internally filled by cement, and thus
rendered rigid. In _Lepas fascicularis_ a vesicular ball of cement
surrounding the peduncle is thus formed (Pl. I, fig. 6), and serves as a
float! All these curious, special adaptations are described under the
respective genera. How the cement forces its way through the antennæ,
and often through apertures in the thick membrane of the peduncle, I do
not understand. I do not believe, though some appearances favoured the
notion, that the duct itself debouches and divides, at least this is not
the case in Coronula, but only that the internal chord of cellular
matter thus acts and spreads itself out; nor do I understand how, when
the antennæ and immediately adjoining parts are once cemented down, any
more cement can escape; yet this must take place, as may be inferred
from the breadth of the cemented, terminal portion of the peduncle in
Lepas and Conchoderma; and from the often active condition in old
individuals of the cementing organs.
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