Seas lugs 2 7 i 



But the shell is also large enough to accommodate 

 the entire animal, and it is closed by a horny opercu- 

 lum that fits its irregular mouth. The 

 animal presents a strange appearance with 

 its broad, bilobe-fronted foot, the large broad 

 head bilobed in front and ending in tlie pair 

 of broad leaf-like tentacles which stand erect 

 or lie back on the shell. The little black 

 eyes are almost hidden — sunk in the skin. 

 The animal is pale yellow tinged with purple and 

 flecked with white ; the shell is coloured with flesh 

 pink, the bands shown in the figure being white. It 

 is a widely distributed species, and though not common 

 cannot be considered rare. Its range extends from 

 extreme low water to about 20 fathoms in sandy 

 bays. Another species, Acic\ion exilis, was taken 

 in 1215 fathoms on the south-east of Rockall, during: 

 the cruise of the Porcwpine in 1869. 



Many of the species of Bulloidea are known as 

 Bubble-shells because of their thin, inflated character. 

 The Blunt Bubble-shell (Tornatina obtitsa) is nearly 

 cylindrical, and looks as though the spire had been 

 cut off". It is only about a quarter of an 

 inch long, white, but covered by a brown 

 epidermis. The animal is white, with a very 

 short head, erect tentacles at the sides, and 

 the eyes not perceptible. It is tolerably 

 common on the sand and mud of estuaries, 

 where it ranges from low-water mark to about 15 

 fathoms. There are five other species. They are 

 provided with powerful gizzards in which they crush 

 Hydrohice and other small mollusks, for some of 

 which they have to burrow. 



