Rambles of a NaturalistGodman, John D. (John Davidson)
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Rambles of a Naturalist
Godman, John D. (John Davidson)
Godman, John D. (John Davidson), 1794-1830; Natural history; Naturalists -- United States -- Biography
and interesting, and the reader may not consider the particulars thus
far given as being particularly so. Perhaps, when he takes them
altogether, he will agree that they have as much that is curious about
their construction as almost any animal we have mentioned, and in the
interesting details we have as yet made but a single step.
The circumstance of the external skeleton has been mentioned; but who
would expect an animal as low in the scale as a crab, to be furnished
with ten or twelve pair of jaws to its mouth? Yet such is the fact; and
all these variously-constructed pieces are provided with appropriate
muscles, and move in a manner which can scarcely be explained, though it
may be very readily comprehended when once observed in living nature.
But, after all the complexity of the jaws, where would an inexperienced
person look for their teeth?--surely not in the stomach?--nevertheless,
such is their situation; and these are not mere appendages, that are
called teeth by courtesy, but stout, regular grinding teeth, with a
light brown surface. They are not only within the stomach, but fixed to
a cartilage nearest to its lower extremity, so that the food, unlike
that of other creatures, is submitted to the action of the teeth as it
is passing _from_ the stomach, instead of being chewed before it is
swallowed. In some species the teeth are five in number; but throughout
this class of animals the same general principle of construction may be
observed. Crabs and their kindred have no brain, because they are not
required to reason upon what they observe: they have a nervous system
excellently suited to their mode of life, and its knots or ganglia send
out nerves to the organs of sense, digestion, motion, etc. The senses of
these beings are very acute, especially their sight, hearing, and smell.
Most of my readers have heard of crabs' eyes, or have seen these organs
in the animal on the end of two little projecting knobs, above and on
each side of the mouth: few of them, however, have seen the crab's ear;
yet it is very easily found, and is a little triangular bump placed near
the base of the feelers. This bump has a membrane stretched over it, and
communicates with a small cavity, which is the internal ear. The _organ_
of smell is not so easily demonstrated as that of hearing, though the
evidence of their possessing the sense to an acute degree is readily
attainable. A German naturalist inferred, from the fact of the nerve
corresponding to the olfactory nerve in man being distributed to the
antennæ, in insects, that the antennæ were the organs of smell in them.
Cuvier and others suggest that a similar arrangement may exist in the
crustacea. To satisfy myself whether it was so or not, I lately
dissected a small lobster, and was delighted to find that the first pair
of nerves actually went to the antennæ, and gave positive support to the
opinion mentioned. I state this, not to claim credit for ascertaining
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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