236 ELLOBIIDJB. 



Fam. ELLOBIID^. 



Lingual membrane broad and elongated ; teeth numerous, 

 in slightly-bent, cross series ; central tooth equilateral, nar- 

 row, tricuspid; lateral teeth rather inequilateral, diminishing 

 in size towards the outer edge. Head ending in a snout ; 

 mouth with a horny, lunate upper jaw, and with two dilated 

 buccal lobes, united above, separate below; tentacles sub- 

 cylindrical, contractile ; eyes sessile at the inner sides of 

 their bases. Mantle closed, with a thickened margin ; res- 

 piratory orifice posterior, on the right side. Sexes united. 



Shell spiral, covered with a horny epidermis; aperture 

 elongate, with strong folds on the inner lip ; outer lip often 

 dentate. 



Animal lacustrine, usually frequenting salt marshes. 



With the exception of one or two small genera, the EUo- 

 biidce are inhabitants of tropical climates, where they live in 

 the brackish-water swamps, estuaries, and the embouchures 

 of rivers among the stems and roots of the Mangroves. 

 Some are found in the society of Cyclophorida, among loose 

 stones above high-water mark, but within the influence of 

 the tide; while others, like the Pythice, are found in damp 

 woods near the sea, crawling over the dead and decaying 

 leaves. The genera Vedipes and Otina, like Truncatella 

 and Paludinella among the operculated Pulmonifers, are 

 more marine in their habitats than most of the other genera. 



Sub-fam. ELLOBIIN^. 



Animal terrestrial, living chiefly on the land. Tentacles 

 developed, eyes at their inner bases. 



