8 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



Distr., Martha's Vineyard, 126 fathoms, 

 to Greenland, etc. 



Bela harpularia, Couth. Bost. Journ. 

 Nat. Hist., II. 106, 1839. 



Distr., Long Island Sound to Nova 

 Scotia. Off Block Island, 20 to 28 fathoms. 



Bela concinnula, Verrill. sp. nov. Cat. 

 Mar. Moll., 468, 1882. 



Distr., off Newport and Martha's Vineyard, 

 252 to 487 fathoms, to Nova Scotia. 



Bela hebes, Verrill. Proc. U. S. Mus. 

 Nat., III. 367, 1880. 



Distr., five specimens off Newport, 282 

 to 500 fathoms. 



Bela pygmsea, Verrill. sp. nov. Cat. 

 Mar. Moll., 460, 1882. 



Distr., off Martha's Vineyard, 365 fath- 

 ms. 



Bela incisula, Verrill. sp. nov. Cat. 

 Mar. 3Ioll.,461, 1882. 



Distr., off Newport, 500 fathoms, to Nova 

 Scotia. 



Bela tenuilirata, Dall. Am. J. Conch.., 

 VII. 98, 1871. 



Distr., one dead specimen off Martha's 

 Vineyard. 



Bela pleurotomaria, Couth. Bost. Journ. 

 Nat. Hist., II. 107, 1839. 



Distr., off Martha's Vineyard, 255 fath- 

 oms, to Labrador. 



Daphnella cerina, Kurtz and Stimpson. 

 Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., IV. 115, 1851. 



Distr., Buzzard's Bay, at Quisset, 3 to 5 

 fathoms. Long Island Sound to Tampa 

 Bay, Florida. 



Daphnella Carpenter!, Verrill and Smith. 

 Am. J. Sc, XX. 391, 395, 1880. 



Daphnella comatotropis, Dall. Bull. 

 Mus. Comp. ZooL, IX. 58, 1881. 



Distr., off Martha's Vineyard, 100 fath- 

 oms. One dead specimen. 



Daphnella limacina, Dall. Bull. Mus. 

 Comp. ZooL, IX. 55, 1851. 



Distr., four specimens, Martha's Vine- 

 yard, 368 fathoms. 



Taranis Morchii, (Malm.) Jeffreys. 



Distr., off Newport, 365 fathoms, two 

 specimens. Gulf of Mexico, 805 fathoms. 

 (Dall.) 



Taranis pulchella, Verrill. Proc. U. S. 

 Nat. Mus., III. 368, 1880. 



Distr., off Martha's Vineyard, 487 fath- 

 oms. One specimen. 



Pleurotomella Agassizii, Verrill and 

 Smith. Am. J. Sc, XX. 394, 1880. 



Distr., off Newport and Martha's Vine- 

 yard, 65 to 252 fathoms. Off Delaware 

 Bay, 435 fathoms. 



Pleurotomella pandionis, Verrill. Proc. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus., III. 368, 1880. 



Distr., off Martha's Vineyard, 310 fath- 

 oms. 



Family 15. Conidse, with about three 

 hundred living and nearly one hundred fos- 

 sil species, all foreign to our fauna. 



Family 16. Strombidae, eighteen genera 

 and more than one hundred species, all ab- 

 sent from our waters. 



Family 17. Cypraidse. 



Family 18. Ovulidse. 



Family 19. Cassididse. 



Family 20. Doliidse, all foreign to our 

 shores, excepting one species of Dolium, 

 dredged off Martha's Vineyard in 202 fath- 

 oms ; this is the 



Dolium Bairdii, Verrill and Smith. Am. 

 Jour. Sci., XXII. 296, 1881. 



Family 21. Naticidse contains about 

 three hundred or more species, a few of 

 which inhabit our shores. The naticidae 

 are a family of carnivorous gasteropods, 

 which inhabit all parts of the world, and are 

 found on sandy shores from high-water mark 

 to 100 fathoms. They are exceedingly 

 voracious, feeding upon dead fish, and upoa 

 all animal substances thrown up by the 

 tide, and are in turn devoured in large num- 

 bers by the codfish and haddock. Thfr 

 small round holes, seen in dead bivalves, 

 are bored by species of this family. How 

 they accomplish this is not certain ; some 

 authors suppose that they secrete an acid 

 which dissolves the shell of its victim. I da 

 not believe this theory, but can offer no 

 satisfactory one. If any of the readers of 

 Random Notes can explain how they do it, 

 I would be happy to be informed. They 

 certainly do drill these holes in the bivalve 

 shells, and suck out the contents through 

 the hole thus made. They have an enorm- 

 ous foot, capable of enveloping completely 

 the object on which they prey ; when ex- 

 tended on the sand it is four times the size 

 of its shell, and can be reflected back so as 

 to cover and hide the shell from sight ; it is 

 also doubled up in front so as to form a 

 wedge-shaped digger, with which it plows 

 up the wet sand in search of bivalves, as 

 soon as the tide begins to uncover it. Its 

 head is hidden behind the plow, and as its. 



