CANCELLARIID.E. 275 



Fara. CANCELLARIID^. 



Lingual membrane and teeth none. Rostrum very 

 short; tentacles wide apart, with the eyes on the outer 

 side near their bases. Mantle enclosed, with a rudimentary 

 siphonal fold. Foot small, triangular, simple. 



Operculum none. 



Shell with the aperture more or less channelled in 

 front; columella plicated. 



The animals of this family are remarkable for the 

 simple nature of the oral apparatus, both tongue and 

 teeth being wanting ; the head, moreover, does not seem 

 to be elongated, the rostrum being rudimentary. 



Genus CA.NCELLARIA, Lamarck. 



Shell oval, cancellated, ribbed or reticulated, last whorl 

 ventricose ; aperture oblong, channelled in front ; canal 

 short, sometimes recurved ; columella with several strong, 

 oblique plaits. 



Syn. Cancellarius, Moutf. Buccinella, Perry. Pli- 

 caria, Fabr. 



Ex. C. textilis, Kiener, pi. 29, fig. 4. Shell, C. can- 

 cellata, Linnceus, fig. 4, a. 



M. Deshayes states that the Cmicellarla is a vegetable 

 feeder; the genus is remarkable for the elegance and 

 rarity of the shells ; it is numerous in species, and is 

 found in the West Indies, China, South America, and the 

 Eastern Archipelago ; the species range from low-water 

 to forty fathoms. 



