The royal natural history . UPPER AND LOWER VIEWS OF SEPIOLA. if angered or alarmed, its hue is almost instantaneously altered, from a pale parch-ment dotted with pink to a deep reddish brown. In its habits this little animal. < QO _l <c XQ_LdO CEPHALOPODS. 337 differs as much from the Sepia as the latter from the octopus. It naturally buriesitself up to its eyes in the sand; but as sand is apt to harbour impurities, which ina bowl or tank become corrupt, and generate poisonous sulphuretted hydrogenthe bottom of these receptacles is usually covered with shingle. It is mostinteresting
The royal natural history . UPPER AND LOWER VIEWS OF SEPIOLA. if angered or alarmed, its hue is almost instantaneously altered, from a pale parch-ment dotted with pink to a deep reddish brown. In its habits this little animal. < QO _l <c XQ_LdO CEPHALOPODS. 337 differs as much from the Sepia as the latter from the octopus. It naturally buriesitself up to its eyes in the sand; but as sand is apt to harbour impurities, which ina bowl or tank become corrupt, and generate poisonous sulphuretted hydrogenthe bottom of these receptacles is usually covered with shingle. It is mostinteresting to notice how, in obeying its burrowing propensity, the Sepiola adaptsitself to its circumstances and entirely deviates from its customary mode ofprocedure. To make a sand-pit for its hiding-place, it will direct upon it strongjets of water from its funnel, and thus blow out a cavity in which to seat itself,and allow the disturbed particles to settle over and around it; but, as the pebblesare too heavy to be thus displaced by its blasting apparatus, it removes them, oneat a time, by means of its arms, which are large and strong in proportion to itslittle short body. This same species, 8. rondeletii, is common througho
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booksubjectzoology
