306 Bulletin Vanderbilt Marine Museum, Vol. VII 



substance, possessing considerable elasticity, even in the spirit- 

 preserved condition. The circumferal margin is coarsely crenu- 

 late, the internal cavity being evident. The largest embryos with- 

 in a compartment are less than the size of an ordinary pin-head. 

 Several embryos are present within each unit of the capsule, in- 

 dicating that an egg-case may contain over a hundred young, per 

 each dozen compartments. 



The nepionic shell of M. aruanus has an unusually interesting 

 history, having been described as the type of a new genus and 

 species. 



Large specimens of this giant whelk were favorably known to 

 the Australian aborigines, who used them as water carriers, a 

 fact which accounts for the shell sometimes being found far in- 

 land. The meat was also esteemed as a native food and is popu- 

 larly considered to be rich in iodine. 



An excellent photograph of a large representative of the spe- 

 cies is given by Saville Kent, while the nepionic shell has been 

 well figured by Tryon. The anatomy of the adult animal has been 

 presented by Kesteven, in comparison with that of M. maximvs 

 Linne, with excellent illustrations. He also gives a discussion of 

 the larval stages. The young stages are ably discussed by Hedley, 

 also the nomenclature. 



The American knobbed whelk, Fulgur carica (Gmelin), is well 

 known to deposit an egg-case of general structure similar to the 

 present species, but the egg-chain is more than twice as long as 

 the shell of the parent. Coiled or loosely spiralled egg-chains, hav- 

 ing a linear length of from 18 inches to two feet, are not infre- 

 quently found on the shores of Long Island Sound. As the Aus- 

 tralian species, M. aruanus, is one of the most gigantic gastropods, 

 known to attain a length of 22 to 24 inches and a breadth of 9.5 

 inches, it seems not improbable that the egg-capsule figured by 

 Dr. Hedley, also the present specimen, is in reality each but a 

 small fragment of an entire egg-chain. This should prove an in- 

 teresting item for field investigation. 



References : Murex aruanus, Linne, C, Syst. Nat., 1758, vol. I, 

 p. 753, entry 484.— Gmelin, J. F., Syst. Nat., ed. 13, 1788, 

 p. 3546, entry 71. 



Fusus proboscidiformis, Kent, Saville, The Great Barrier Reef 

 of Australia, 93, p. 64, pi. 42. 



