183 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



PREDACEOUS TRIBES. — MUREX. PURPURA. — TYRIAN DYE. EGGS AND 



YOUNG. — VORACITY. IN CAPTIVITY, FEEDING ON A FELLOW PRISONER. 



— NASSA. — BUCCINUM, OR "WHELK. — PUSUS. — EGG-CAPSULES. — TBOPHON. 



MURICID^. 



The name of this family calls up visions of the most exqui- 

 site forms and brilliant adornments to be found in the whole 

 range of conchological existence. The genus 2Iurex itself 

 presents an assemblage of molluscs^ which contain among 

 their number some of the most celebrated species. The 

 far-famed "Eose-bud/^ with its pink branchings, and the 

 tripterus, with its delicate white fringes ; the " Ducal Mu- 

 rex/"' with its crimson bands ; the " Yenus's Comb/'' with its 

 graceful spines, and many other celebrities, are the shelly 

 coverings of its members. Then the Purpura, with its 

 Tyrian dye, and the Whelk, w^ith its culinary excellence, add 

 their interest to this varied, although well associated group. 



