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
If the basal margin of a compartment, for instance, of _Balanus
tintinnabulum_, be examined, it appears sufficiently complicated,
being composed of an outer and inner lamina, separated by longitudinal
septa, which are denticulated at their bases; and the tubes formed
by these longitudinal septa are crossed by transverse septa. On the
other hand, in some cases, as in the genera Chthamalus and Elminius,
each compartment consists of a simple shelly layer. These two extreme
states graduate into each other: we have, firstly, on the internal
surface, quite irregular points and ridges; these become regular,
causing the internal surface to be longitudinally ribbed; then these
ribs themselves become finely furrowed on their sides and at their
lower ends, producing sharp, minute ridges, the ends of which I have
called the denticuli; and, lastly, some of the denticuli on the
adjoining longitudinal septa become united into a solid layer, forming
the internal lamina of the wall. These denticuli do not generally
cover the whole surface of the longitudinal ribs, but leave a portion
near the outer lamina of the compartment smooth. The denticulated ends
of the longitudinal septa project beyond the basal edge of both the
outer and inner laminæ, and enter the mouths of the tubes (where such
occur) in the basis, and thus strengthen the shell. The whole of the
internal lamina generally is more or less striated longitudinally,
thus displaying its origin from the union of the inner edges of the
longitudinal septa. I need only further remark that on the internal
surface of the outer lamina, between the main longitudinal septa, there
are generally (as in the woodcut) smaller longitudinal ridges, which do
not reach the inner lamina, and on this account alone are not called
septa.
Tubes are formed by the longitudinal septa, between the outer and
inner laminæ. These tubes are almost square, and are occupied by
threads of corium, which enter at pores left open between the edge of
the compartment and that of the basis on which it rests. The tubes
extend high up the compartments; but in the uppermost part they are
generally cut off by thin, transverse, calcareous septa, deposited by
the ends of the threads of corium; a cancellated structure being thus
produced. Or the uppermost part of each tube becomes filled up solidly
with compact shelly layers, which are always first thrown down on the
side of the tube facing the outside, and thus greatly strengthen the
shell: in several instances, as in _Balanus perforatus_ and _Tetraclita
porosa_, in which the disintegration of the upper part of the shell is
a necessary element in its growth for the enlargement of the orifice,
these filled up tubes become exposed. In Coronula and Tubicinella, the
tubes in their upper parts are, I believe, crossed only by transverse
membranous septa.
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