i26 WEST COAST SHiiLLS 



Hopkinsia rosacea, MacFarland, the Rosy Sea- 

 slug, is a little oval creature, hardly an inch in length. 

 Its rosy pink body is covered with slender, pointed 

 projections of the same color. In fact, it is rosy 

 throughout, and could not possibly be mistaken for 

 any other member of this interesting class of sea 

 animals. It was named in honor of Timothy Hop- 

 kins, the generous patron of the Seaside Laboratory 

 at Pacific Grove. 



A strange little shell is that shown in 

 Figure 96, and a fairy tale it could tell of 

 the life of its tiny inhabitant. Shaped like 

 the tusk of an elephant, pure white in color 

 and open at both ends, it differs widely 

 from all other kinds of shells. The name of 



Fig. 96 



this species is Dentalium preciosum, Nutt., 

 the Precious Tusk-shell. It has also been called 

 Dentalium indianorum, and with good reason, for in 

 former years the Indians used to gather these shells 

 from the little bays on the west coast of Vancouver 

 Island and string them for wampum. The Tusk- 

 shell lives partly buried in the sand, the small end 

 down. An inch is perhaps an average length tor 

 shells of this species. 



Dentaliu?n neohexagonum, S. & P., the Hexa- 

 gonal Tusk-shell is the common species ot southern 

 California. Sometimes the shells are two inches in 

 length, and, as the name indicates, a cross section 

 would be six-sided. The shell is thin, white, curved, 

 and angled. 



Dentalium semistriatum, var. semipolitum, Br. & 

 Sby., the Ornamented Tusk-shell is a small species 



