THE SMALLER SEA-SHELLS 165 



lowish epidermis. Its real length is 14 mm. It was 

 dredged from deep water off the Santa Barbara 

 Islands. 



Amphissa versicolor, Dall, the Joseph- 

 coat Amphissa, Figure 152, is a very com- 

 mon shell along the coast of California. 

 The drawing gives a very correct idea of 

 the appearance of the shell, though it is pjg 152, ^ 1 

 considerably enlarged, the common length 

 being eight or ten millimeters. The color varies 

 exceedingly, as the name indicates. Some shells are 

 reddish, others yellow, while still others are various 

 shades of gray, and even almost black. A collec- 

 tion of these shells furnishes a very pretty assort- 

 ment of tints. Living specimens are not so often 

 found as dead shells, but at low water they may 

 often be discovered, clinging to the rocks. 



Amphissa corrugata, Rve., the Wrinkled Am- 

 phissa, is the name of the species which lives chiefly 

 in northern waters. It was formerly supposed to 

 include the last species, but it is now believed to be 

 quite distinct. Its shell is much larger in the first 

 place, the average length being three-fourths of an 

 inch. It has a less ventricose body-whorl and rela- 

 tively finer sculpturing. It is usually of a light 

 yellowish-brown color. 



A?npkissa undata, Cpr., the Wavy Amphissa, is 

 shown greatly magnified in Figure 153. This shell 

 also has been confounded with A. versicolor, but it 

 is really another species, though it is of about the 

 same size. In the enlarged figure the sculpturing is 

 distinctly brought out, though the color pattern is 



