THE MUSEUM. 



7r 



rig. 38. 



commonly called the Marine Trumpet 

 [Fig. 39] is a very large shell, which 

 even attains the length of 16 mches; 

 it is enameled with great elegance in 

 white, red and tawny brown. It comes 

 from the Indian Ocean, where the 

 shells are very common. Triton lo- 

 torium [Fig. 40] is of a reddish-brown 

 externally and white within. The tri- 

 ton anus [Fig. 41] is of a whitesh col- 

 or, spotted with red. 



Fiff. 8i). 



The sixth family is Strombidas, of 

 which we give typical genera Rostel- 

 laria, Pteroceras, and Strombus. 

 Strombus is a marine genus, belong- 

 ing to the equatorial seas, of whose 

 habits and manners very little is known. 

 It is probably that the species are very 

 long lived, for their shells, when found 

 perfect, have acquired a very consider- 

 able thickness and weight. They are 

 even found encrusted in the interior 



«f,.^!;'^f,V 



^=a-:a^ 



with numerous layers of soft earthy 

 sediment, and covered externally with 

 small corals and other marine produc- 

 tions. Strombus gigas is represented 

 in [Fig. 42]. Some species of Strom- 

 bus attain great size, and are placed 

 as ornaments in halls and dining-rooms. 

 In some of them the opening is brill- 

 iantly shaded, and those are chiefly 

 sought after to decorate grottoes in 

 gardens, or for collections of shells, 

 where, from their size, they necessarily 

 occupy a prominent place. 



Fig 41. 



Fig. 40. 



These shells are rather ventricose,. 

 terminating at their base by a short 

 c^ lal, notched or truncated; the right 

 ed^-e gets dialated with age; simple on 

 one wing, loped cuneated in the upper 

 part, and presenting in its lower part 

 a grove or cavity separated from the 

 canal or from the notch at the base. 

 But these shells are not merely orna- 

 mental, for some of the streets of Vera 

 Cruz are said to be paved with Strom- 

 bus gigas. 



The animal which inhabits these 

 shells presents a distinct head, provid- 

 ed with a trunk or snout, and with two- 

 tentacles or horns, each bearing a 

 large and vividly colored eye. The 

 foot is compressed and divided into 

 two portions, the posterior one. which 

 IS the longest, bearing a horny opercu- 

 lum. In the eagle-winged Strombus 

 or Common Cauch represented in [Fig. 

 43] these several peculiarities are well 

 developed. This shell i& large turbi- 



