Delage extirpated the otocysts in certain Octopoda, and obtained some unexpected results. He found that remarkable effects were produced upon the animal’s powers of locomotion, so that it was unable to preserve its proper balance in the water when in rapid motion, but its body was forced to undergo a form of rotation more or less pronounced. He concluded that the otocysts must possess, besides their auditory functions, a power which stands in some relation to the proper orientation of the body in locomotion, a power which is not wholly supplied by sight and touch alone. The otocysts may thus regulate locomotion by stimulating muscular acts which tend to keep the body in the straight line during the process of movement.[310]

The Foot

One of the most characteristic organs of the Mollusca is the foot, which, under one form or another, occurs throughout the whole phylum. The foot is a thickening, on the ventral side, of a portion of the integument of the animal, modified to serve different forms of motion. It attains its maximum relative area in the Chitonidae, many Nudibranchs, and the slugs generally, in nearly all of which there is no portion of the body which is not subtended by the foot. Here too it presents the form of a regular disc or ellipse, which is more or less produced. In many cases, however, the foot becomes modified in such a way that we are enabled to recognise well-marked anterior and posterior portions, which have received the name of propodium and metapodium respectively, while the intervening central portion is termed the mesopodium.

The propodium is most strongly developed in genera which crawl about in wet sand, e.g. Natica, Sigaretus, Oliva, Harpa, Scaphander (Figs. 97 and 98, and compare Fig. 91). In such cases it seems to serve as a sort of fender or snow-plough, to push the sand away on both sides of the path the animal is traversing. In some species of Sigaretus the propodium becomes as it were banked up against the head and proboscis, which are thus unnaturally elevated, or tend to disappear altogether. Bullia (Fig. 62), which crawls about rapidly on wet sand, appears to attain its object by a wide extension of the foot on all sides, and so slides over the sand instead of ploughing through it; the little lappets at the end of the ‘tail’ probably serve as rudders.

In Melampus and Pedipes the propodium is marked off by a groove across the ventral surface. When the animal is in motion it first advances the propodium and then pulls the rest of the foot after it with the looping gait of certain caterpillars. In many Cyclostomatidae this groove, instead of being transverse, is longitudinal, and the animal advances first the right and then the left segment of the foot, which gives it a swaying motion from side to side.

Upon the metapodium lies the operculum, when it occurs. As a rule the metapodium is not sharply marked off from the rest of the foot. In Strombus (Fig. 99) it becomes erected into a sort of hump or column, on the top of which the operculum is situated.

The epipodium is a prominent fold or border, which occurs upon the upper edge of the foot in most Diotocardia. In Haliotis it is of considerable breadth, and is covered by a number of lobes which spring from a moss-like prolongation of the skin. From the epipodium are developed the lateral tentaculae of Monodonta (Fig. 82, p. 178), and of other sub-genera of the Trochidae.[311]

In the Opisthobranchiata the lateral edges of the foot (the parapodia) are frequently produced into broad folds or wing-like extensions, which in many cases tend to fold over the shell, and, in conjunction with the mantle, eventually imbed it altogether. By the wavy motion of the parapodia the animal is enabled to progress through the water. The paired natatory lobes of the Pteropoda are simply the parapodia of the Tectibranchs modified for swimming purposes.

It is in the Heteropoda, Pteropoda, and most of all, the Cephalopoda, groups which have, for the most part, exchanged a crawling for a swimming life, that the modifications of the foot are most considerable. In Oxygyrus and Atlanta, for instance, the propodium and metapodium are sharply distinguished from the mesopodium, and no doubt have acquired, as a means of propulsion, the power of separate movement, the animal swimming with these portions of the foot uppermost. In Carinaria and Pterotrachea the metapodium has probably become continuous with the long axis of the body, while the so-called ‘foot’ with its sucker represents only the original propodium. In the Cephalopoda the arms and funnel represent the modified foot, the sides of which are prolonged into a number of very long specialised tentaculae. In the adult Cephalopod some of the arms have assumed a position in advance of the mouth, the latter being in fact surrounded by a circle of arms. But in the Cephalopod embryo the mouth opens as in the Gasteropoda, i.e. in advance of the arms, and it is only gradually that it becomes encircled by them. Arms and funnel alike are found to be innerved from the pedal ganglion.[312]

The pointed axe-shaped foot, which is characteristic of the majority of Pelecypoda, is doubtless derived from a form more akin to the flattened ‘sole’ of the Gasteropoda. A foot with something of this disc-shaped base actually occurs in some of the Nuculidae, the parapodia being furnished with pleats which recall similar formations in other Orders (Fig. 100). The principal modifications of the foot are due to its employment as a burrowing organ. In genera which burrow but slightly it is small and feebly developed, while in genera which habitually excavate, it becomes the largest and strongest organ of the body. At the same time it has a tendency to shift its position from the ventral to the anterior margin, accompanied by a corresponding narrowing of the shell, until it arrives at the position seen in Mollusca of the shape of Mya, Pholas, and Solen. In sedentary or attached genera, e.g. Pecten, Chama, Ostrea, the foot tends to become aborted.

The byssus gland, secreting a byssus of horny threads, is characteristic of many Pelecypoda, and may be observed by any one in the common mussel. It occurs in the larvae of many species which do not possess a byssus in the adult stage. The pedal gland of many Prosobranchiates, which secretes a tough and almost thread-like slime, is possibly homologous with the byssus gland of bivalves.

Nervous System

The Mollusca possess a nervous system, which usually consists of a number of nerve centres or ganglia, linked together by bands (the commissures) and sending out thread-like nerves which ramify into the various organs. The character of the nervous system varies greatly in different groups, ranging as it does from a condition of extreme complexity, in which the ganglia are numerous and the commissures equally so, to that of considerable simplicity, in which ganglia are almost entirely absent.

The most important ganglia are (1) the cerebral,[313] which are always placed above or on either side of the mouth, and from which proceed the nerves of the eyes and tentacles; (2) the pedal, which in Gasteropoda are situated below the oesophagus, in Pelecypoda at the base of the foot, and from which the nerves of the foot and sometimes the acoustic nerve arise; (3) the pleural,[314] whose position varies considerably, but is always below the oesophagus and slightly above the pedal ganglia; these innervate the mantle, branchiae, heart, and viscera generally.

Gasteropoda.—The simplest form of nerve system as thus understood occurs in the Amphineura, and more particularly in the Chitons. Here we find four longitudinal nerve-cords, parallel to one another for nearly the whole length of the mollusc. The two exterior cords probably represent the pleural, the two interior the pedal nervous system. There being no head or tentacles, but simply a mouth at the anterior end, the cerebral ganglia do not exist, but they are represented by the curved ring formed by the massing together of the two nerve-cords on each side. The only distinct ganglia are a pair of buccal ganglia (which are developed on a pair of commissures which pass forward from the cerebral mass and innervate the lips and buccal region), and a much smaller group, the sublingual. The two pedal cords are united by a number of transverse parallel connectives, which recall similar modes of connexion in the Chaetopod worms and in Arthropoda.

This quadruple set of nerve-cords is characteristic of all the Amphineura, but the absence of ganglia is most marked in the Chitons. In Proneomenia and Neomenia there is a distinct cerebral ganglion, formed by the massing of the two ganglia into one, while in Proneomenia the lateral cords are joined to the pedal, as well as the pedal to one another, by connectives. In Chaetoderma the cerebral ganglia, though adjacent, are distinct, and both the pedal and lateral cords connect directly with them, while there are no transverse connectives.

The remaining three great divisions of Gasteropoda, namely, the Prosobranchiata, Opisthobranchiata, and Pulmonata, may be regarded as comprising two distinct types of nervous condition, according as the loop formed by the two visceral nerve-cords is twisted over itself, forming a figure of 8, or continues straight and uncrossed. In the former case, we get the condition known as streptoneurous, in the latter that as euthyneurous.[315] The Euthyneura include the whole of the Opisthobranchiata[316] and Pulmonata, the Streptoneura all the Prosobranchiata.

The simplest form of nervous system in the euthyneurous Gasteropoda occurs in the Opisthobranchiata. The cerebral, pleural, and pedal ganglia tend to become concentrated in a ring-like form, united by short commissures at the posterior end of the pharynx. The visceral loop is in some cases long, and the two or three visceral ganglia are then situated at its posterior extremity. The nervous system of the Pulmonata is of a similar type, the visceral loop being often much shorter, and tending to draw in towards the central group of ganglia. The tentacular and optic nerves are, as usual, derived from the cerebral ganglion, with which also the octocysts are probably connected by rather long nerves. A pair of buccal ganglia innervate the buccal mass, and are united by commissures with the right and left cerebral ganglia. The osphradial nerve springs from one of the ganglia on the visceral loop, the osphradium itself being situated (in Limnaea) immediately above the pulmonary orifice and adjacent to the anus (Fig. 102). This massing of the ganglia is still better illustrated by the accompanying figure of Physa (Fig. 103), in which the animal is represented as if transparent, so that the ganglia and nerves are seen through the tissues.

Of the streptoneurous Gasteropoda, the nervous system of Fissurella and Haliotis shows distinct points of similarity to that of the Amphineura. The pedal nerves are united by transverse commissures throughout their entire length, while a double commissure unites the cerebral ganglia to the mass from which the pedal nerves proceed. In the great majority of the Streptoneura the ganglia (except the visceral) are more concentrated and the commissures are consequently much shorter. The accompanying figure of Cyclostoma, in which the animal is represented as in that of Physa just described, illustrates this grouping of the ganglia, the twist of the visceral loop, and the position of the visceral ganglia at its posterior end.

Scaphopoda.—In the Scaphopoda the nervous system resembles that of the Pelecypoda. The cerebral and pleural ganglia lie close together, while the pedal ganglia are placed in the anterior part of the foot, connected with the cerebral ganglia by long commissures; the visceral loop is rather long, and the two visceral ganglia are adjacent to the anus.

Pelecypoda.—The nervous system in the Pelecypoda is the simplest type in which well-marked ganglionic centres occur. The ganglia are few, symmetrically placed, and are usually at a considerable distance apart. There are, as a rule, three distinct pairs of ganglia, the cerebral (cerebro-pleural), pedal, and visceral. The cerebral are formed by the fusion of the cerebral and pleural ganglia, which, however, in some cases (Protobranchiata) continue distinct.[317] They lie above or on each side of the mouth, united by a commissure of varying length. Another pair of commissures unites them with the pedal ganglia, which are placed at the base of the foot, and are usually very close together, sometimes (as in Anodonta) becoming partially fused. The length of these commissures depends upon the distance between mouth and foot; thus they are very long in Mya and Modiola, and very short in Pecten. In cases where the foot is rudimentary or becomes aborted through disuse (e.g. Ostrea), the pedal ganglia may dwindle or disappear altogether. The visceral ganglia are on the ventral side of the posterior adductor muscle, beneath the rectum, and innervate the branchiae, osphradia, and the whole of the visceral sac. A pair of cerebro-visceral commissures traverses the base of the foot, surrounding it with a comparatively short loop (compare Fig. 106, c.v.c´), while a long commissure, which runs round the entire edge of the mantle, and supplies branching nerves to the mantle border and siphons (Fig. 106, c.v.c), may also connect the visceral and cerebral ganglia.

Cephalopoda.—In the Cephalopoda the concentration of ganglia attains its maximum, and may perhaps be regarded as approaching the point at which a definite brain may be said to exist. Another point of distinction is the formation of special small ganglia upon the nerve-cords in different parts of the body. In the Tetrabranchiata (Nautilus) the cerebral and pedal ganglia form a broad ring which surrounds the oesophagus, the former giving out the optic nerves, with their special optic ganglion, and a pair each of buccal and pharyngeal ganglia, the latter the nerves of the arms and funnel. The visceral loop is still present in the form of a separate band, which innervates the branchiae, osphradia, and viscera generally, forming a special genital ganglion in connexion with the reproductive organs. The principal ganglia of the Dibranchiata are still more concentrated, even the visceral loop being possibly united with the rest in forming an unbroken mass in which scarcely any trace of commissures can be detected. The pedal ganglion becomes separated into two portions, one of which innervates the arms, the other the funnel. Two peculiar ganglia (the stellate ganglia) supply a number of branching nerves to the mantle.