GASTEROPODS 397 



FAMILY FASCIOLARIIDJE 



This family comprises a number of genera of mollusks which 

 have a fusiform shell, with a long-drawn-out spire and a long 

 anterior canal. The animal is in no manner remarkable; no 

 essential differences are to be noted from the usual conventional 

 type of gasteropod mollusk, represented in the two families last 

 described. 



GENUS Fasciolaria 



This genus is of tropical range, and contains many species of 

 shells which are more or less conspicuous for their large size or 

 their beauty of form. Three species occur in Floridian waters, and 

 all of them may be taken about low-tide mark on the sandy flats 

 which are so characteristic of Florida bays and harbors. All of 

 them are sluggish animals which crawl very slowly along the 

 bottom or bury themselves almost wholly in the sand, leaving only 

 the tip of the spire projecting slightly above. 



F. gigantea. This is said to be the largest gasteropod shell known . It 

 often attains a length of sixteen inches, and specimens are reported to 

 have been found measuring no less than two feet. This huge mollusk 

 has a symmetrically fusiform shell, with whorls obtusely ridged and 

 armed with large rounded nodes. The aperture is reddish-brown within. 

 The anterior canal is long and open, and there are three " plaits," or 

 folds, about the columella. The outer lip is more or less sinuate, the color 

 is fleshy-white, and the shell is covered with a thick yellowish or chestnut 

 epidermis. The animal is of a brilliant scarlet color. (Plate LXXVI.) 



F. tulipa. An exceedingly common species of Floridian waters, which 

 may justly be classed among the " show shells " of the American Atlantic 

 fauna. It has a typically symmetrical, fusiform shape, with gracefully 

 rounded whorls, and is spirally but not deeply grooved. The sutures are 

 crenulated; the anterior canal is long; there are three entering folds 

 upon the columella ; and the outer lip is simple. The scheme of coloration 

 is variable, but there are two chief patterns, which are usually followed, 

 though they often are considerably modified. One is a light-bluish body, 

 variegated with chestnut or olive blotches, which are more extensive 

 upon the spire than upon the body-whorl ; the other is a pinkish body, 

 encircled with revolving black lines. The specimens of F. tulipa, which 

 are found so abundantly in the shallow bays and estuaries of the Florida 

 coast, are, for some reason, never brightly colored, as are those taken in 

 the open sea. The length is about four to six inches. (Plate LXXVI.) 



F. (listans. A form almost identical with that last described. It is 

 much smaller, varying from two to three inches in length, lacks the cren- 

 ulations of the sutures, and is perfectly smooth, save for a few spiral 

 ridges about the base. The color is bluish-white, with clouded longitu- 



