THE SMALLER SEA-SHELLS 209 
alive it is one of our most beautiful shells. Dead 
specimens, which have been knocked about and de- 
faced are far less bright and glossy. 
The little Coffee-bean shell, Trivia 
californica, Gray, two views of which 
are shown in Figure 223, is eagerly 
sought by many children, who search 
in the sands for pretty treasures. Like 
the real coffee-bean, one side is flat, while the other 
is rounded and plump. The surface is marked by 
a dozen sharp ribs, and the long, narrow aperture 
is set with many small teeth. The general color of 
the shell is a reddish chocolate, though the interior 
is white. 
Trivia solandri, Gray, Solander’s Trivia, is a 
Mexican species, but it reaches as far northward 
as Santa Barbara. It resembles the last shell, but 
is twice as large, and is marked by a deep, longi- 
tudinal canal on the back of the shell. 
Somewhat like a very long and narrow 
Cowry is our next species, named Ovula 
defléxa, Sby., var. barbarénse, Dall, the 
Pink Egg-shell, (Ovulum formicarium), 
Figure 224. In appearance it is unique, 
looking more like a roll of shell than a 
spiral whorl, and tapering almost 
equally towards either end. The aperture is very 
long, the outer lip thickened, the spire concealed, 
and the seculpturing microscopic. The color is 
pink, and the length rather less than an inch. It 
is found sparingly at Monterey, Santa Barbara 
and elsewhere. 
