350 



L WER IN VER TERRA TES. 



scavengers, feeding almost entirely on dead and decaying animal matter. The shell 



has a sharp conical spire, the outer lip is expanded, and usually is notched near the 



anterior canal. 



The genus Strombus has the outer lip entire, with the exception of the notch 



— - ^ mentioned above, and the aper- 



tuie is long and narrow. In the 

 \ oung the outer lip is small, and the 

 shell looks like that of a cone, but as 

 the period of maturity is approached 

 It becomes flared out. Species of 

 1 lit larger wing-shells are among 

 Ik most common ornaments, large 

 limbers being brought from the 

 \\ est Indies. In the United States, 

 t liL species most commonly seen is 

 '^tt ombtts gigas, a West Indian form, 

 \ ilh a delicate red or jiink inteiior. 

 Vs the name indicates, this is one of 

 the largest members of the genus. 

 Vnother species common on the 

 Floiida reefs is S. pug His, the gen- 

 et al appearance of which may be 

 seen from our figure. 



Allied to S()'ombus are the scor- 

 jnon shells forming the genus Ptero- 



cera. In early life the shells are much like those of the strombs, but when ap]u-oaching 



the adult condition the long finger-like processes of the 



mantle begin the secretion of shelly matter, so that the 



outer lip is armed with a number of strong horns. At 



first these horns are channeled, but later in life they be- 

 come solid. In some they are short and straight, but in 



others they are considerably bent. All the species come 



from the Indo-Pacific regions. In Rostellarin, which has 



much the same distribution, the shell is much like that of 



Fksus, the spire and the antei-ior canal being longer than 



in Pteroceras, while the horns of the aperture are very 



much smaller. Rostellaria moves about in the same 



manner as do the strombs, but some species are more 



timid. It is an inhabitant of deeper water than the 



other. The only other oriental genus which we will 



mention is Terebellum the species of which live in deep 



water. They are very active and at the same time very 



timorous. "It will remain stationary for a long time 



when, suddenly, it will roll over with its shell, and con- 

 tinue again perfectly quiet." At other times they will 



leap several inches from the ground, like species of Strombiis. In some species one 



of the ocular peduncles is longer than the other, and this one is used almost exclti- 



sively. As in the strombs, the iris is colored and the pupil black. A2Mrrhais con- 



iiUomtm^ lent gmobu 



