Whelks and Cone lets 261 



closer sculpture, longer, turreted, and regularly taper- 

 ing spire, deeper suture, hispid epidermis, less abrupt 

 curvature of the canal, and especially the symmetrical 

 apex" (Jeffreys). It occurs on mud and sand in 

 deep water (15 to 80 fathoms) from Yorkshire to 

 Shetland. The Northern Spindle - shell (Troschelia 

 berniciensis) is distinguished by its spiral ridges — 

 which are alternately large and small, being crossed 

 by striae which produce a network especially notice- 

 able on the upper whorls. The thick brown epidermis 

 rises into little points along the spiral ridges, which 

 give a bristly appearance to the shell. The ear- 

 shaped operculum is rather thin. The shell, which 

 is about 3^ inches in length, is found on soft ground 

 in the coralline zone on the coasts of Yorkshire and 

 Northumberland. 



The White Whelk (Liomesus dalei) is a very rare 

 species in our waters, only a few well-authenticated 

 captures being on record. The shell is oval, spirally 

 striated, of ivory-whiteness, covered by a filmy yellow 

 epidermis ; the spire short and blunt, the canal short 

 and open, and the operculum triangular with its 

 nucleus placed on the inner base of the mouth. The 

 teeth on the radula are without the cusps usual in 

 the family. It has been recorded from County Cork 

 and the west coast of Ireland (100 fathoms) ; from the 

 neighbourhood of the Dogger Bank (40 to 50 fathoms), 

 Aberdeenshire and Shetland (72 to 87 fathoms). 



In the true Whelks (Buccinuvi) the spindle-shape 

 is quite lost and the shell is relatively broader in 

 proportion to its length. The Common Whelk 

 (B. iindatiiin) is so well known that no detailed 

 description is necessary. The whorls are crossed by 



