152 



WEST COAST SHELLS 



The shell is rather thin, the 

 whorls flattened, with a 

 strong keel at the shoulder, 

 and there is a thick, bearded 

 epidermis. This fine shell 

 was dredged in Bering Sea. 



Figure 131 represents a 

 magnificent shell from the 

 waters around the Aleutian 

 Islands and other cold cur- 

 rents in that vicinity. Its 

 name is Bering/ us crebricos- 

 tatus, Dall, the Ribbed 

 Bering-shell. It grows to a 



Fig. 132. X ^i (*) 



Fig. 131, X I (*) 



length of five inches. The color 

 is white, with a darker flush in 

 the throat, while the epidermis is 

 of a bright yellowish tint. Like 

 many of these northern shells it 

 will be seen by comparatively 

 few of our readers, and yet it is 

 a good thing to know what kind 

 of creatures have their home at 

 the bottom of those apparently 

 inhospitable seas. It shows us 

 that abundance of life is by no 



