THE PINK OVULUM. 6l 



the strong body-whorl, which is chestnut-brown 

 along the back, but white near the toothed margin 

 of the aperture. 



Dead shells of this species may occasionally be 

 found along the shore, and if one is very watchful, 

 he may sometimes find a specimen, also, of the 

 little Erato cohnnbella^ Mke., col-um-bel'-la, 

 shown in Fig. 46. It is so small and delicate, 

 however, that one may be pardoned for over- 

 ^^^■^^- looking so minute a shell. As shown in the 

 figure, it has a visible, though very short spire, and a 

 long aperture with finely- toothed margins ; its length 

 is not more than one-fourth of an inch. The lips 

 are white, and the back is olive. It has been dredged 

 from a depth of from twenty to forty fathoms. 



Still more rare along the shore, but occasionally 

 brought up by the fishermen from deep water, is the 

 peculiar shell represented in Fig. 47, and 

 whose name is Oviihim formicaritun^ Sowb., 

 O'-vu-lum for-mi-ca'-ri-um. 



In appearance it is unique, looking more 



like a roll of shell than like a spiral whorl, 



and tapering almost equally toward either 



Fig. 47. end. The aperture is very long, the outer 



lip thickened, the spire concealed, and the sculpturing 



microscopic. The color is pink, and the length is 



rather less than an inch. 



Now we must turn for a few minutes and examine 

 a few very small shells, one of the smallest of which 

 is Diala mannorea^ Cpr., Di-a'-la mar-mo^-re-a. Its 

 shell is minute, conical, six-whorled, solid and glossy. 

 It is of k brownish color, clouded with red, and the 

 aperture is nearly circular. The length is only one- 

 eighth of an inch. 



