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CHAPTER IV
Lives of the
Other MoUusks
In addition to the bivalves and snail classes, the mollusks include three other
groups which are not so frequently seen at the seashore and whose combined
number of living species probably does not exceed two thousand. Two
of these classes, the Amphineiira or Chitons and the Scaphopoda or Tusk-
shells, are among the lowliest and most sluggish of the mollusks, but the
third class, the well-known Cephalopoda, including the squid and octopuses,
contains the largest, fastest and most ferocious of all backboneless animals.
THE SQUID AND OCT0?\JSYS—CEPHALOPODA
The octopuses and the giant squid have been spine-chilling characters
in adventure tales from the days of the ancient Greeks to the undersea film
thrillers of Hollywood. Nothing seems more appropriate for a horror scene
then the sudden appearance of a tentacle-lashing, beady-eyed octopus just
as the hero-diver finds the long-lost treasure chest. And few authors of
strange sailing voyages can resist retelling the numerous instances in which
gigantic squid have wrapped their arms about the riggings and dragged ship
and hapless crew to the bottom.
But despite the fanciful nature of most, if not all, of these stories, there
arc enough scientific facts to convince the skeptic of the ferocity, speed
and unusual intelligence of these creatures. Canadian and American fishermen
have long been familiar with giant squid and have often captured
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