CHAP. 44. (28.)—FISHES WHICH HAVE NO BLOOD.—FISHES KNOWN AS SOFT FISH.
The varieties of fish which we shall now mention are those
which have no blood: they are of three kinds[1]—first, those
which are known as "soft;" next, those which have thin crusts;
and, lastly, those which are enclosed in hard shells. The soft
fish are the loligo,[2] the sæpia,[3] the polypus,[4] and others of a
similar nature. These last have the head between the feet
and the belly, and have, all of them, eight feet: in the sæpia
and the loligo two of these feet are very long[5] and rough,
and by means of these they lift the food to their mouth, and
attach themselves to places in the sea, as though with an
anchor; the others act as so many arms, by means of which
they seize their prey.[6]
1. Cuvier remarks, that this division of the bloodless fish by Aristotle into
the mollusca, testacea, and crustacea, has been followed by naturalists almost
down to the present day.
2. The Sæpia loligo of Linneus; the calmar of the French, or ink-fish.
3. The Sæpia officinalis of Linnæus; the seche of the French; our cuttlefish.
4. The Sepia octopodia of Linnæus, or eight-footed cuttle-fish.
5. Cuvier remarks, that this account of the arms or feelers of the sæpia
and loligo is very exact.
6. "Quibus venantur." Hardouin suggests that the proper reading
would be "quibus natant"—"by means of which they swim;" for Aristotle
says, in the corresponding passage, "with the fins that surround the body
they swim."