A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 2 of 2): The Balanidæ, (or Sessile Cirripedes); the Verrucidæ, etc., etc.Darwin, Charles
Science
A Monograph on the Sub-class Cirripedia (Volume 2 of 2): The Balanidæ, (or Sessile Cirripedes); the Verrucidæ, etc., etc.
Darwin, Charles
Balanidae; Cirripedia
As after the most careful and repeated examinations of various
Lepadidæ, I was convinced that there were no oviducts, so I have
come to a similar conclusion in regard to the Balanidæ; the ova
being brought to the surface, by the formation of a new membrane
round the sack underneath them, and by the subsequent exuviation of
the old membrane. The ova are united together by a most delicate
tunic investing each egg; the ovigerous lamellæ being thus formed,
as in the Lepadidæ. In the cases of _Chthamalus stellatus_, _Balanus
balanoides_, and _Platylepas decorata_, I saw a pair of very distinct
but fragile lamellæ. In Xenobalanus, the two ovigerous lamellæ form
two sub-cylindrical packets, pointed at their lower ends and often
cohering. There are no ovigerous fræna, for the attachment of the
lamellæ; the ova being sufficiently well retained, as it would appear,
by the well-closed shell. I have elsewhere stated my full belief that
it is the ovigerous fræna which have been metamorphosed into the
branchiæ of the Balanidæ. Most sessile cirripedes breed when very
young; and I have every reason to believe that they breed several times
in the year. The ova are ovate, and vary in length from 14/2000th of
an inch in Chthamalus, to 19/2000th in some species of Balanus, in
which this greater length was owing to a more elongated shape,--up to
25/2000th in some other species of Balanus. The ova are wonderfully
numerous, especially in the genus Coronula.
I may here mention the singular case of some elongated specimens
of _Balanus balanoides_, from Tenby, in South Wales: some of these
presented nothing abnormal; but in no less than seven specimens, the
two, three, or four posterior pairs of cirri, either on one or both
sides, were in an almost rudimentary condition, being of small size
and having a shrunk and wasted appearance. In six out of these seven
specimens, the probosciformed penis was quite short and abruptly
truncated, as if from abortion. By cutting off the truncated apex, and
cleaning the external tissue, I ascertained that it was imperforate,
apparently in all the cases, and I am certain of this fact in several
of the cases. In three of the specimens, I examined the vesiculæ
seminales; in one, I found some spermatozoa, but cohering together
in a peculiar manner; in the second, there were no spermatozoa; and
in the third, the vesiculæ were shrunk, empty, and quite rudimentary
in size. So that these three individuals certainly could not have
impregnated their own eggs; nevertheless, within the shell of these
very three, there were perfectly developed larvæ: I am led to conclude
from this fact, that adjoining specimens in a perfect condition had,
by means of their long probosciformed penis, effected the fecundation
of their imperfect neighbours. I need only further add, that some
out of the above six specimens, with more or less aborted cirri and
imperforate male organs, were infested by a peculiar parasite, allied
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