of laying eggs, as do the family Limnceidce. This characteristic has given 

 the family its name, which is certainly well chosen. When born, the 

 shell is generally about one-sixteenth of an inch in length, and is per- 

 fectly transparent. The animal is very active and eats voraciously 

 of any vegetation within reach. One of the handsomest shells of this 

 family is the Vivipam contectoides, which is about an inch in length, 

 and is encircled by several color bands. It is a common shell in many 

 of our ponds. 



" Somewhat larger and more showy than the Viviparas, are the 

 Ampullarias, or apple-shells, also called idol-shells and pond snails. 

 These animals live chiefly in tropical and subtropical regions, and are 

 noted for the tenacity with which they retain their hold on life. 

 So tenacious of life are they that instances are known of their living 

 for several years away from the water; in this respect they resemble 

 some of the land snails. It is also recorded that hollow pieces of log- 

 wood from Honduras have frequently contained specimens of this fam- 

 ily, which were alive after a journey of thousands of miles. They 

 may be said to be truly amphibious. 



"One species of this family, Ampullaria depressa (of which you 

 may see a fine set of specimens in this case), is very common in 

 Florida, where it forms a large part of the diet of the everglade kite, 

 a bird inhabiting the southern part of the state. Large quantities 

 of these shells, from which the animal has been neatly extracted with- 

 out in the least damaging the shell, may be found about the nesting- 

 places of these birds. The kite is, curiously enough, provided with 

 a curved bill which easily fits into the aperture of the mollusk and 

 extracts the animal with 

 little difficulty. The feet 

 and claws are so con- 

 structed that the shell 

 may be firmly held dur- 

 ing the operation. 



"The animal of Am- 

 pullaria depressa is very 

 curious and interesting 

 when studied alive. The 

 foot is very wide, almost 

 square in some positions ; 

 the head is narrow, separated from the body by a neck ; and the region 

 of the mouth is produced into two long, cylindrical, tapering tentacles, 

 which are probably tactile organs, like the elongated lips of the land 



21 



l-nt 



Animal of Ampullaria depressa, with its siphon and ten- 

 tacles fully extended, e, eye; f, foot; mt, mouth tentacles; 

 o, operculum; s, siphon; sh, shell; t, tentacles. (Tryon.) 



