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
_General Appearance._--Shell conical, generally depressed; orifice
broad, triangular, almost equilateral; walls coloured or only mottled
with purplish-pink, having either irregularly branching, or regular,
longitudinal ribs, which are generally white. The radii are pale
pink, or nearly white: the opercular valves have either their upper
parts, or nearly their whole surface, clouded with pinkish-purple:
the epidermis is not persistent: the walls are moderately strong: the
largest specimen was one inch, but generally full-grown specimens are
about half an inch in basal diameter.
The _Scuta_ have the lines of growth highly prominent. From one to
five or six rows (7 _b_, 7 _c_) of nearly circular, or transversely
oblong, deep pits, extend down the middle of the valve; rarely there
is not even one row; in this latter case, the valve is not striated
longitudinally. These little pits are caused by one or more deep
longitudinal furrows, crossed by the lines, or rather ridges, of
growth. In the same group of specimens, I have seen individuals with
three, five, and six rows; and even a few specimens with only one
row, or none at all. The outline of the valve is elongated, with the
apex slightly reflexed: the inner surface is protuberant, sometimes
to a remarkable, but variable degree. The articular ridge is not
very prominent, but it extends fully half-way down the valve, and
generally ends in a small free point. There is a short adductor
ridge, and a deep narrow pit or cleft for the lateral-depressor
muscle. _Terga_, externally smooth, flat, with scarcely a trace of
a longitudinal furrow; spur broad (7 _e_, 7 _f_), varying from half
to one third of the width of the valve, with the end truncated,
situated either near or quite close to the basi-scutal angle. The
crests for the depressor muscles are moderately well developed.
_Compartments._--The parietal tubes are, in their upper parts, filled
up solidly, without transverse septa. The radii generally have their
summits slightly oblique, and this is almost always the case with the
radii of the rostrum; the other radii sometimes extend from tip to
tip of the parietes, and are parallel to the basis; rarely the radii
are considerably oblique. The septa of the radii are very obscurely
denticulated, and the interspaces between them are filled up solidly.
The alæ have their sutural edges thin and smooth.
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