184 



EAST COAST MARINE SHELLS 



T 



horny. Length 3 inches. Range 0-50 fath- 

 oms. 



It may be sought for on the beaches 

 after severe storms on Massachusetts Bay 

 but particularly northward. From Brooklin, 

 Hancock County, Maine, it has been report- 

 ed by Mrs. Alice Thayer as living close to 

 the shore. 



PI. 47, Fig. 10 



Nova Scotia to Massachusetts 



GENUS COLUS Roeding 1798, Sipho of 

 Authors 



COLUS STIMPSONI Morch (Fusus islandicus 

 Gould, not Gmelin) . Stimpsons Distaff. 

 Shell elongated, bluish white; epidermis 

 somewhat velvety and horn colored; eight 

 whorls with evenly spaced encircling lines; 

 aperture same length as spire; polished 

 porcelain white inside, outer lip thin. 

 Length 2.75 inches. 



Animal white with specks of black, 

 eyes black. 



This off-shore shell is occasional- 

 ly found upon the beaches, particularly in 

 Maine and northward. Depth range 1-471 

 fathoms. 



PI. 47, Fig. 3 



Labrador to North Carolina 



COLUS STIMPSONI BREVIS Verrill, Short Dis- 

 taff. A short form which is readily recog- 

 nized. Range 10-17 fathoms. 



Maine to Massachusetts 



COLUS PYGMAEUS Gould 

 small, six whorled, 

 C. stimpsoni. It ha 

 the young C. stimpso 

 the apex of the pres 

 pointed in contrast 

 ton" usually found i 

 Range 1-640 fathoms, 

 tomy PI. 68, Fig. 9. 



PI. 47, Fig. 



PI. 69, Fig. 



Gulf of St 



lina 



. Pygmy Distaff. Shell 

 proportions similar to 

 s two more whorls than 

 ni of similar length, 

 ent form being sharply 

 to the "distorted but- 

 n convoluted shells. 

 Length 26 mm. Ana- 



1 

 4 

 Lawrence to North Caro- 



GENUS BUSYCON Roeding 1798; 

 Fulgur, Uontfort 1810 



Shell somewhat pear-shaped; spire 

 abbreviated; body whorl well developed, 

 terminating below in a long and twisted ca- 

 nal. 



BUSYCON CANALICULATUS Say. Shell large, 

 pear-shaped; marked with revolving lines; 

 whorls six, gradually diminishing, ending 

 in a' long and nearly straight canal; periph- 

 ery beaded, nodulous and upon most promi- 

 nent part of each whorl; broad, deep chan- 

 nel at suture so that upper whorls are com- 

 posed of an upright portion almost horizon- 

 tal, forming a winding terrace which termi- 

 nates in the pointed apex; epidermis dense 

 yellow-brown with stiff curved hairs; 

 brightly polished inside; operculum small 

 for size of shell, its inner side strength- 

 ened by a varnish-like deposit. Length 



6 inches. 



The animal's foot is orange color. 

 According to Stimpson, in eating it applies 

 the end of the proboscis to a clam's foot 

 and with a sudden jerk of the radula in- 

 ward and sidelong extracts a strip of flesh. 



The writer has collected this spe- 

 cies living upon the beach at Far Rockaway, 

 New York City. 



PI. 49, Fig. 2 



PI. 48, Fig. 2 



Cape Cod to Gulf of Mexico 



BUSYCON CARICA Gmelin. Shell pear-shaped, 

 spire not turreted, suture not channelled; 

 a series of tubercles immediately above su- 

 ture; canal long; interior brick red; apex 

 of operculum at one end, strengthened by an 

 entire rim of a dark substance. Length 



7 inches. 



The largest convoluted shell on 

 this portion of the Atlantic coast and the 

 largest mollusk north of Cape Hatteras. 

 Juvenile specimens and those from southern 

 waters are the most brilliantly colored. 



PI. 49, Fig. 6 



Cape Cod to St. Thomas, West Indies 



BUSYCON CARICA ELICEANS Montfort. When 

 young like normal B. carica, later becoming 

 more thickened, the spines more conspicuous 

 and fewer in number, columella whitish. 

 Sinistral specimens have been taken and Con- 

 rad named it B. gibbosum. 

 PI. 48, Fig. 6 

 North Carolina to Florida 



BUSYCON PERVERSUM Linne. Shell sinistral, 

 aperture brownish white; suture simple, tub- 

 ercles distinct upon body whorl, less so 

 upon spire. Animal jet black. Old shells 

 attain a length of 12 Inches. A freak Is 

 illustrated on PI. 58, Fig. 1 and a dextral 



