Cuttlefish

“ Later, in the Middle Ages, came rumours of cuttlefishes that flung their vast sucker-armed feelers aloft amidst the rigging of ships, and overwhelmed them in the waves. But this, too, was pre-scientific, and though the accounts of the great kraken of the Norwegian seas belonged to the age in which scientific voyages had been made, and cuttlefish actually measured, yet these were so obviously fabulous that no sober-minded scientist, with a reputation for incredulity to maintain, need trouble himself about them. ”

“ Tons and tons of cuttlefish entrails are used upon the fields beyond the Yabigawa, and the never- sleeping sea wind blows the stench into every dwelling. Vainly do they keep incense burning in most of the houses during the heated term. ”

“ Like the orca and sperm whale, when a bottlenose is killed it almost always ejects large quantities of cuttlefish from its mouth. Judging by the length of time the animals remain under water and their heavy spouts when reappearing, they must have to go to a great depth to find their food. The two minute teeth at the tip of the lower jaw can be of no assistance whatever in feeding and will undoubtedly eventually disappear altogether. ”

“ The squid reach a length of twenty feet or more and the whale sometimes has terrific battles with its huge prey, the tentacles of which, armed with deadly suckers, tear long gashes in the skin of the head and snout, leaving white scars crisscrossed in every direction. In Japan I took several enormous spiny lobsters from the stomach of a sperm whale, as well as the remains of a shark and seventy or eighty yellow parrot-like beaks of the cuttlefish. ”

“ Octopus, Squids and other Cuttlefish are present in abundance; crabs that mimic their surroundings, those with anemones and with sponges on their backs, animals that look like plants, corals and sea-fans of many kinds, worms that live in leathery tubes a foot long and expand out of the top, like gorgeous flowers six inches across with innumerable spirally-arranged petals—these seem to be the favorites with visitors. But probably the most interesting tanks to the scientific man are those containing the recently caught 'plankton,' the Medusas and other delicate and gelatinous surface organisms. ”

“ As for mollusks, they consisted of exhibits I had already observed: turret snails, olive shells of the “tent olive” species with neatly intersecting lines and russet spots standing out sharply against a flesh-colored background, fanciful spider conchs that looked like petrified scorpions, transparent glass snails, argonauts, some highly edible cuttlefish, and certain species of squid that the naturalists of antiquity classified with the flying fish, which are used chiefly as bait for catching cod. ”

“ The soft mollusks which use their hard casing only for protective purposes, like the oyster and the snail, are bound to stay low in the scale of existence, and the highest mollusk (the octopus) appears to be striving after something better, but only by the aid of an attempt at a skeleton—the so-called cuttlefish bone. ”

“ The species of Octopus are found on the shores of almost all temperate and tropical seas; they do not attain to a large size, and are without the internal shell or “bone” which is found in the mantle of many Cephalopods. That of the Cuttlefish or Sepia (Fig. 43 a) is found in abundance on our coasts; it is composed of numberless layers of a friable calcareous substance. That of the Squid tribe is of quite another character, consisting of an elongate thin horny plate, and strengthened by one or more thickened ribs, in some species somewhat resembling a quill-pen. ”

“ One or two kinds are known which prefer to live solitary lives, but usually they herd together. Woe betide all weaker creatures where they abound! Once caught in those powerful arms, within reach of the fierce beak, no chance for them remains. Molluscs, crabs, fishes, all alike fall victims to this ruthless destroyer. It is said that the cuttlefish, like its striped prototype on land, will kill when not hungry for the pure pleasure of killing.
The smaller species are a principal article in the diet of dolphins and of codfishes. ”

“ It is a mollusc, and belongs to the most perfectly organised family of that extensive order of beings—viz. to the cephalopods. This is a word which, in English, means the head-foots, and as a descriptive term it is properly employed, since the limbs of the cuttlefish—which can be used either as arms or feet—grow from the orifice of the mouth, and so may be considered, equally with the latter, as belonging to the head. These limbs are the well-known tentacles, and in number may be either eight—which makes their possessor an octopod—or ten, by which it becomes entitled to the rank of a decapod. ”

“ The sperm whale is a lover of warm currents which 230favor the giant squid and cuttlefish on which it lives, and although it has been taken as far north as the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, even there it is in the comparatively warm waters of the Japanese stream ”

“ The squids (fig. 110) , cuttlefishes, octopi or "devil-fishes," and the three living species of Nautilus constituting the class Cephalopoda are very different from the other molluscs in appearance, and are in fact different in important structural characters. They can move swiftly, have strangely modified organs of prehension, strong biting mouth-parts, and eyes of very complex organization. ”

“ Those great arms, which sometimes grow to a length of several feet, he uses to wrap around his prey, and they are strong and tough. He has two eyes and a little mouth, and is about as pugnacious a fish as is to be found anywhere. If I should ever haul a Cuttle-fish into my boat, I think I should feel very much like getting out, no matter how deep the water might be.
There was once a sea captain, who was walking on a beach with some of his men, when he spied one of these Cuttle-fish, travelling over the sand towards the water. ”

“ It is in the second great epoch, the Silurian, that the cuttle-fish tribe, still fairly represented by the nautilus, the argonaut, the squid, and the octopus, first began to make their appearance upon this or any other stage. The cuttle-fishes are among the most developed of invertebrate animals; they are rapid swimmers; they have large and powerful eyes; and they can easily enfold their prey (teste Victor Hugo) in their long and slimy sucker-clad arms. With these natural advantages to back them up, it is not surprising that the cuttle family rapidly made their mark in the world. ”

“ The cuttle-fish is a sluggish creature, seeking out the darker corners of his grotto, and often lying motionless for long periods together. But not so the little squid. He does not thrive in captivity, and incessantly wings his way back and forth, with slow, wavy flappings of his filmy appendages, until he wears himself out and dies unreconciled. ”

“ Every fisherman worth his salt knows how well all fish that swim in the sea love the sapid flesh of the cephalopoda, making it the finest bait known, and in truth it is, and always has been, a succulent dainty, where known, for mankind as well. But it is evident from the scanty number of times that the gigantic cuttle-fish has been reported, that his habitat is well beneath the surface, yet not so far down but that he may be easily reached by the whale, and also find food for his own vast bulk. Probably they prey upon one another. ”

“ Then there are a great many cuttle-fish, and sometimes the girls and women are caught and overpowered by them. The danger from these creatures is so well known that the natives rarely go out alone to dive for them or for clams. Some of the cuttle-fish measure six feet across; they lie in holes in the coral, and throw out their long arms to grasp anything that comes in their reach. They cling around the body of a diver or wrap themselves about his head, and unless speedily relieved by his companions his death is inevitable. ”

“ Its belly is wide and smooth, like the paunch of an ox. And the little cuttle-fish feed on small fish, extending their proboscises like fishermen's lines, and catching their prey with them. It is said, too, that when a storm comes, they seize hold of the rocks with their proboscises, as if they were anchors, and so fix themselves firm. And when the cuttle-fish is pursued, it discharges its ink, and is hidden in it, making it appear as if it were flying forwards. And it is also said, that when the female is struck by a harpoon, the male fish come to its assistance, dragging it on ”

“ It must here be remarked, that as these head-footed mollusks are not "fish," any more than lobsters, crabs, oysters, mussels, &c., which fishmongers call "shell-fish," are "fish," the word "fish" is misleading, and should be abandoned; and secondly, that the names "cuttle" and "squid," as distinctive [Pg 12] appellations, are unsatisfactory. The word "cuttle" is derived from "cuddle," to hug, or embrace—in allusion to the manner in which the animal seizes its prey, and enfolds it in its arms; and "squid" is derived from "squirt," in reference to its habit of squirting water or ink. ”

“ Sometimes they move their fins as if feeling around for enemies, or throw their bodies awry, bringing the mouth well to the surface. It is pretty certain that Cuttle-fish form a large proportion of their food, though there is reason to believe that they do not despise fish and other marine creatures. It is still a moot point how they feed, and to what use they put their teeth. Some assert that in the depths the under jaw is lowered, and the glistening pearly teeth fully shown; attracted by the latter, its prey approach and the trap is closed. Blindness at times supervenes. ”

“ It sees and avoids every obstacle, and if you take it out of the water, in your hand, the precocious little creature, not a minute old, and not sufficiently matured to leave the egg naturally, will spurt its ink all over your fingers. You may tame an old cuttle-fish, and it will learn to know that you are a friend, and intend to do it no harm; but the youngsters are as shy as human babies, and regard every one but their mother as an enemy.
The preference for the light, which I described as exhibited by the young octopus, appears to be common also to the young squid and cuttle-fish. ”

“ The Cuttle-fish.
The jaws of the Cuttle-fish, it should be observed, are fixed in the body because there is no head to which they can be articulated. They are of horny substance, and resemble the bill of a parrot. They are in the centre of the under part of the body, surrounded by the arms. By means of these parts, the shell-fish which are taken for food, are completely triturated. ”

“ We are therefore led to the conclusion that the marine aquarium, in some form, is one of the things that are not “new under the sun.”
[67]
CHAPTER VIII.
CUTTLES AND SQUIDS. Fig. 7. The common Cuttle-fish (Sepia officinalis) ,
and its internal shell or “sepiostaire.”
The common cuttle-fish (Sepia officinalis) , (often called by sailors the “scuttle”) , though flabby and clammy in death, is a lovely object when alive. Unlike, the skulking, hiding octopus, but equally rapacious, it loves the day-light and the freedom of the open sea. ”

“ So, also, most naturalists maintain, and with every appearance of correctness, that the characteristic "funnel" of the cuttle-fishes—to be hereafter referred to—is an organ formed by two side-processes of the foot, named epipodia. Adopting the view thus sanctioned by competent authority, we may trace in a cuttle-fish the highly modified form of a snail or whelk, and the still more modified form of the mussel tribes. The foot, instead of growing backward and downward as in the snail, and thus forming a broad walking disk, comes to grow over the mouth in front. ”

“ All parts of the squid are cut up, and used as bait; what is not required the next day is thrown away or given to the pigs. In the northern district, between Cape Freels and Cape St. John, the fishing spots are at Robin’s Cave Head, and Friday’s Bay, on the anchorage ground. The fishing takes place about sun-down. The squid is of an oval form, and resembles somewhat our cuttle-fish, but it has no solid bone. The length of the body is from eight inches to a foot, and it is about two inches in diameter. ”

“ Instead of eight arms, it has ten, eight short and two long. Some persons have pronounced them "beautiful"—in which opinion we cannot coincide; but their manners are decidedly more genial than those of the octopus. Instead of lurking in semi-concealed caves or behind rocks, and springing upon the unwary like a tiger from its jungle, the cuttle-fish comes out to the light and gives his intended victim a fair chance, having more the habits of a bird of prey than its congener the devil-fish. ”

“ This being attached to a strong line, is lowered from a canoe, and gently jerked so as to move like a living creature. The cuttle-fish, which lies safely ensconced in some hole in the rocks, throws out a long arm and lassoes its prey, the plated armour giving it a firmer grip. Failing to draw in this unknown variety of rat, it throws out another arm, and yet another, till at length it slips out of its stronghold, and is drawn to the surface, holding its prize firmly enlaced. ”

“ For bass, it is true, the natural squid is far more tempting, but this queer monstrosity is difficult to obtain, and its substitute has often captured enormous fish; for blue-fish{275} no other bait is ordinarily used, and for lake-trout the ivory squid can hardly be surpassed. The ordinary kinds are of lead, pewter, bone, which are often hollow, and admit the insertion of a large hook; and of pearl, the latter in its most killing shape having flanges and spinning like the minnow. ”

“ WE now come to the Molluscs, or Soft-bodied Animals, of which there are a very great many. Some of them live in shells, like the oyster and the whelk, and are often spoken of as “shell-fishes.” But they are not really fishes at all, for they have no bones as fishes have, and are made in quite a different way. And there are just a few of them which have no shells at all.
One of these is that very curious creature which we call the Cuttle. You may sometimes find it in the rock-pools, lurking in the crevices among the rocks, or hiding under the masses of sea-weeds which grow round the edges. ”