118 



EAST COAST MARINE SHELLS 



PI. 45, Fig, 19 



PI. 69, Figs. 1, 2, 3 



Newfoundland to Connecticut 



THAIS LAPILLUS IMBRICATUS Lamarck. This 

 beautiful variety lives in quieter and more 

 protected stations. As the name indicates 

 the exterior resembles shingles on the roof 

 of a house. 



PI. 45, Fig. 21 



Maine to Massachusetts 



GENUS SISTRUM Montfort 1810 

 (RATTLE SHELLS) 



Shell small, thick, tuberculated or 

 spiny; aperture contracted by projections 

 upon each side. Many of the Pacific Ocean 

 species are brilliantly painted inside with 

 orange or purple color. The following is 

 rather a dusky representative. 



SISTRUM NODULOSUM Adams. A greenish lead 

 color or blackish shell; nodules black, in- 

 terior dark, teeth lighter. Length 12 mm. 



A colony has been observed living 

 under stones inside the Palm Beach Inlet and 

 another in Upper Biscayne Bay, Florida. It 

 is often associated with Planaxis. 



PI. 45, Fig. 4 



Palm Beach, Florida to West Indies 



Family Coralliphilidae 



The members of this family are usu- 

 ally distinguished by shells with spines or 

 undulating ribs, usually covered with fine 

 close-set growth lines; interior white or 

 more frequently pink or purple. The indi- 

 vidual species are widely distributed, very 

 variable, and mostly found below low-tide 

 marks. They prefer coral, broken stone or 

 shell bottoms. 



GENUS CORALLIOPRILA H. and A. 

 (CORAL SNAILS) 



Adams 1853 



CORALLIOPHILA ABBREVIATA Lamarck. Interior 

 pinkish violet, or whitish, including the 

 rather long open canal which is anterior; 

 nodules crossed by ribs and very fine close- 

 set sculpture, the ribs terminating upon 

 outer lip in delicate crenulations. Length 

 20-25 mm. Depth range 15-100 fathoms. 



At Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this 

 species was brought in on coral from off 

 shore. It has also been collected on 



Carysfort Reef, Florida Keys. 

 PI. 45, Fig. 16 

 PI. 59, Fig. 6 



North Carolina to Florida Keys; 

 West Indies 



CORALLIOPHILA DEBURGHIAE Reeve. This extra- 

 ordinary species lives in deep water and oc- 

 curs in both the Atlantic and Pacific. It 

 is remarkable for the range in depth and 

 varying temperature of the water. The most 

 foliaceous and largest examples come from 

 the greatest depths. Length 30 mm. Depth 

 range 56-878 fathoms. 



PI. 58, Fig. 5 



Off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 



to West Indies 



Family Colubrarildae 



Shell elongated; aperture small; 



canal short. 



GENUS COLUBRARIA Schumacher 1817 



COLUBRARIA LANCEOLATA Menke . A flesh-col- 

 ored or yellowish-white shell, spotted with 

 brown; eight to nine varices. Length 25 mm. 



Florida specimens are usually small- 

 er in size than those from the West Indies. 

 It has been collected living under pieces 

 of coral, in shallow water, off Little Pine 

 Key, Florida. During the summer it also 

 occurs in Lake Worth. 



PI. 45, Fig. 6 



North Carolina to Gulf of Mexico; 



West Indies 



COLUBRARIA TESTACEA Morch (T. obscura Reeve). 

 A light brown shell with one or two revolv- 

 ing zones of brown blotches; spire straight; 

 varices far apart. Length 1-2 inches. 



PI. 42, Fig. 10 



North Carolina to Gulf of Mexico; 



West Indies; Cape Verde Islands; 



Indian Ocean 



GENUS MONOSTIOLUM Dall 1904 



Varices absent; surface usually 

 sculptured. 



MONOSTIOLUM SWIFTI Tryon. Whorls seven to 

 eight; aperture more than one-half length 

 of shell; axial ribs most prominent upon 

 spire, crossed by many spiral lines which 

 bridge the ribs; canal broadest at posterior 



