128 Marine Shells of the Western Coast of Florida 



concave at center; interior smooth, iridescent; sutural impressions 

 and cavity of spire visible when shell is viewed from base through 

 umbilicus. 



Holotype* collected by Jeanne S. Schwengel from Pine Island 

 Sound, Florida. 



Family XENOPHORIDAE 



A most extraordinary habit of the mollusks of this family is 

 intimated by the name of its genus Xenophora. The word is a com- 

 pound of the Greek combining form xeno from xenos, guest or 

 stranger; and phoros, from phorein, to bear. Only the deep water 

 species of Xenophora fail to disguise their shells externally by at- 

 taching to them foreign objects, such as shell valves, coral, and 

 fragments of rock. When the animal is at rest upon the sea bottom 

 only a small mass of rough debris is to be seen, not m the least 

 suggestive of the active, intelligent mollusk that so protects itself. 



The animals also present a remarkable combination of physical 

 characters; they possess the foot of Strofnbus, the radula of Calyp- 

 traea, an operculum similar to that of Thais and shells which re- 

 semble in shape those of Trochus. 



Distribution of the family is confined to warm seas. 



Genus XENOPHORA Fischer de Waldheim, 1807 

 Xenophora conchyliophora--' (Born) PL 24, fig. 170 



Alt., 35; diam. of base about 40 mm. Shell is trochiform, im- 

 perforate, apex sharp; whorls flattened, base slightly concave, body 

 whcrl sharply carinate at union with base; surface roughly striate 

 from growth lines; color variegated brown and cream, base brown; 

 aperture symmetrical, large, oblique; outer lip sharp and con- 

 tinuous with carina of body whorl; columella short, stout, curved; 

 operculum corneous, suboval, thin, slightly concave. Characters 

 of shell above the base are concealed by the agglutinated strangers 

 affixed in fairly regular rotation about the whorls. Shells, bits of 

 rock, living or dead coral are indiscriminately utilized, but preference 

 seems accorded to valves of pelecypod shells. These are always 

 attached by their convex surface. 



-2^ Gr., xcnos, combining form meaning guest, stranger; phorein, to bear; 



konche, shell. 

 * Single specimen taken as the type by the original author. 



