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
Besides these muscles of attachment, the prosoma is furnished with
several other muscles. There are superficial muscles running up
towards the basal margin of the sides of the mouth; and other deeper
muscles, to which, I presume, the movements of the mouth, as a whole,
are due. The muscles moving the gnathites do not, as far as I could
make out, extend beneath the basal edge of the mouth. There are, also,
powerful muscles giving movement to the basal segments of the pedicel
of the first pair of cirri. Again, there are superficial muscles
running to the next succeeding thoracic segment; the anterior ends of
which are separated by a clear interspace from the lower ends of the
above-described superficial muscles, by which the prosoma is attached
to the scuta. On each flank, moreover, but more deeply imbedded, are
the long flexor and extensor muscles, presently to be described,
running to the five posterior thoracic segments. The last muscle which
I need here mention, is a deep-seated diverging pair, attached near
the upper end of the stomach, on its ventral surface, and diverging
from this point to the sides of the prosoma high up beneath the mouth.
The probable action of this pair, as well as of the three superficial
pairs of muscles by which the body is attached to the scuta, is to
draw up the whole prosoma towards or from the orifice; and likewise to
contract it firmly, so as to serve as a fulcrum for the movements of
the five posterior thoracic segments, together with the cirri, which
they carry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account