GASTEROPODA OF THE UNITED STATES. H 



and longitudinal, unstripcd, nuclear fibres, and is the ori- 

 gin of the especial retractor muscles of different organs. 



Chapter iv. — of the digestive apparatus. 



LiMAX. The orifice of l^he mouth is bounded by a 

 pair of contractile hps, is situated at the anterior part of 

 the head, and opens into the cavity of the buccal body. 

 ^Yhen the latter is retracted by its peculiar muscle, the 

 oral orifice becomes lengthened into a canal by the in- 

 version of a portion of the external integument. 



The buccal body is an irregularly oval-shaped, muscu- 

 lar organ, resembling in appearance a gizzard, and con- 

 tains within it the masticatory apparatus. Just within 

 the upper lip, attached to the entrance of the buccal 

 body, is the dental plate, a crescentic, corneous lamina, 

 used for cutting the food. Its anterior face is convex, 

 and presents several vertical ridges. Into its upper 

 convex edge, a band of muscular fibres is inserted, by the 

 contraction of which the inferior, concave, cutting edge 

 is advanced beyond the line of the upper. The middle 

 of the cutting edge is extended into a short, conical 

 toothlet. This plate is brought into view when the ani- 

 mal is eating, by the advancement of the buccal body. 

 The floor of the cavity is occupied with a gouge-shaped, 

 muscular tongue, the tip and upper surface of which are 

 free, and are covered by a corneous lamina studded with 

 a great number of conical dentures, with the points pro- 

 jecting backwards, arranged in transverse rows. These 



