" Of the many varieties of tropical shells few exceed the Volutes, 

 or bat shells, in beauty or variety of coloration. They are found in 

 most parts of the world, although strangely enough none are now 

 living in the seas of Europe, but they are most abundant and more 

 highly colored in the tropics and subtropics. The animal is carniv- 

 orous, and the long, fang-shaped teeth are certainly suggestive of pre- 

 daceous habits. The shell is ovate, thick, and solid, and variously 

 colored, some being mottled, some with zigzag, or lightning-like mark- 

 ings, while others have spirally arranged dots, dashes, and lines. 

 Australia is the metropolis of this family, and it is said that eighty 

 per cent of the species are found in the triangular area bordered by 

 Ceylon, Japan, and New Zealand. The genus is supposed to be ovip- 

 arous in producing its young. One species, Valuta musica, has received 

 its name from a more or less fancied resemblance of the surface of the 

 shell to a musical staff, the spiral lines being grouped in sets of four 

 or five, and the dots being arranged as notes. In some shells the 

 resemblance is quite close. The smooth and polished shell is due 

 to the reflected lobes of the foot. 



" The related genera Cymbium and Melo, the boat shell and melon 

 shell, are common on the coasts of Africa, Australia, and in the Pacific 

 Ocean. They sometimes reach the length of a foot. The shells are 

 ovate and very ventricose, although not especially solid or heavy. 



like the Volutes. The nucleus or apex is very 

 large, as is that of other species of this family." 

 The shells of a closely related family, Tiirbmd- 

 lidce, are used in India to make rings and bangles 

 which the native women wear, many of them 

 being beautifully painted. One species of this 

 family, the Turbimlla pyrum, is a sacred shell 

 to the Hindoos, by whom it is called shankh 

 or chank; it is the national emblem of the prov- 

 ince of Travancore. 



" The basket shells, or dog whelks (Nassa), 

 are among the most numerous in individuals of all 



The shankh of the Hin- the marine shells, the common black whelk. 

 ?T S on ) 1UrbineUa pyrum ' Nassa dbsoleta, being the most common of all 



the mollusks. At times a mud flat at low water 



will be literally paved with the shells of this snail, there being mil- 

 lions of the little creatures crawling about. The shells of this family 

 are frequently very handsome, being latticed by the crossing of spiral 

 and longitudinal lines. They are mostly of small size, seldom exceed- 



120 



