92 A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SEAS 



shell opening in order to keep pace with the ever-extending 

 coral. 



Shell collecting was a very widely-spread vogue amongst 

 the wealthy of the last century, and extravagant prices 

 were offered for rare or beautiful specimens. The Cone 

 Shells found on most tropic shores have played no little 

 part in the romances of the sale room. The beautiful 

 Glory of the Sea Cone {Conus glorla-maris) is unique in 

 this regard. It is believed to be confined to one small 

 coral reef which was disturbed by volcanic action a few 

 decades ago. As a result only forty or more Glory of the 

 Sea Cones are believed to exist in public and private 

 collections. 



It is related of a famous Dutch collector that being 

 possessed of a particularly fine specimen, he outbid all 

 others at a certain auction in order to obtain yet another 

 Glory of the Sea Cone which was put up for auction. 

 Having at last obtained it, he crushed it underfoot, shouting 

 " Now I possess the only specimen in the country." 



Of more interest than this collector's fanaticism is the 

 poisonous apparatus common to the cone family. At 

 least three species are notorious for their bite. The 

 " teeth," arranged in pairs, are exceedingly sharp, and 

 connected with poison ducts which produce painful 

 wounds. 



It is interesting to note that the habit which some 

 defenceless creatures have of impersonating and closely 

 resembling justly dreaded species is repeated in certain 

 molluscs. A quite harmless Fountain Shell {Strombus 

 mauritianus) almost exactly resembles a highly venomous 

 Cone Shell, haunting the same coral reefs and thus by 



