A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 1 of 2): The Lepadidae; Or, Pedunculated CirripedesDarwin, Charles
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A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 1 of 2): The Lepadidae; Or, Pedunculated Cirripedes
Darwin, Charles
Cirripedia; Lepadidae
In _Conchoderma aurita_ the ophthalmic ganglia are much smaller, and
nearer to the supra-oesophageal ganglion, than in _L. fascicularis_. In
_Alepas cornuta_ the ophthalmic chords run towards each other from the
two distant and separate supra-oesophageal ganglia; and the ophthalmic
ganglia, (instead of being quite separate, as in _L. fascicularis_,) are
united by their front ends, and the two eyes instead of standing some
way in front, with nerves running to them, are embedded on the double
ophthalmic ganglion; the pigment-capsules here, also, have the shape of
mere saucers, and are joined back to back, with the two lenses
projecting far out of them. In neither sex of Ibla could I perceive that
the eye was double. In _Pollicipes spinosus_ the ophthalmic ganglion
stands in front of the single supra-oesophageal ganglion, and shows no
signs of being formed of a lateral pair; the eyes themselves, however,
differently from, in all the foregoing cases, are, though approximate,
quite distinct. In _Pollicipes mitella_ I did not see the eyes; but the
ophthalmic ganglion consists, as I believe, of a single globular one,
placed exactly between the two globular, supra-oesophageal ganglia, all
three being of nearly equal size. Professor Leidy does not mention the
ophthalmic ganglia; hence I infer that in Balanus, which is a more
highly organised Cirripede, they are fused into the supra-oesophageal
ganglion.
In all the genera, the double eye is seated deep within the body; it is
attached by fibrous tissue to the radiating muscles of the lowest part
of the oesophagus, and lies actually on the upper part of the stomach;
consequently, a ray of light, to reach the eye, has to pass through the
exterior membrane and underlying corium connecting the two scuta, and to
penetrate deeply into the body. In living sessile Cirripedes, vision
seems confined to the perception of the shadow of an object passing
between them and the light; they instantly perceived a hand passed
quickly at the distance of several feet between a candle and the basin
in which they were placed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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