FAMILY 2. CAPULACEA. 3] 
gable traveller found a considerable number of the dead shells of this spe- 
cies lying on the sands ; and in his anxiety to procure living specimens, 
was led to the discovery—that they deposit a calcareous plate for their 
support, analogous, no doubt, to that already observed in the Hippony- 
ces*. This shelly plate, although shapen to the surface of the rocky 
* The following account, which Mr. Cuming has furnished us from his note-book, will be 
read with no little interest by conchologists :— 
«©On my arrival at the Island of Zebu, I found on coral reefs, which extend some distance 
from the shore, several shells similar to those commonly known as Calyptrea equestris lying 
dead amongst the debris. I sought for some days over a considerable space for living spe- 
cimens, but in vain; at last curiosity and perseverance induced me to look further, when 
I thought of removing a mass of dead Coral that lay sunk about two feet in the sand just 
about low-water mark. I caused my attendants to lift it with the help of levers, and after 
much labour they raised it sufficiently for me to observe a living specimen of the animal I 
was in search of. It was adhering to the under surface, and upon my attempting to take 
it off by the shell, I was surprised to find that it rested upon a strong calcareous plate, of the 
shape of a flat saucer, evidently deposited to facilitate its attachment. My anxiety to secure 
perfect this interesting mollusk employed us for more than an hour in attempting to cleave 
the mass of Coral; I did this to enable me to break off that portion of it to which the animal 
was adhering, and, after great fatigue, we accomplished the task before the tide had risen too 
high to prevent our remaining upon the reefs. The next day 1 repeated my search; I caused 
several pieces of Coral to be lifted, and some few specimens were found under them; but the 
heavy blows that were required to break off the portions to which they adhered, either split, 
in most cases, the accessory plates, or chipped off the edges. 
“© On my arrival at the Island of Bohol, another of the Philippines, I again found a number 
of dead shells of the same mollusk upon the reefs, as well as some living specimens, in the 
same concealed situations as at the Island of Zebu; here, however, I was fortunate enough 
to obtain a second species of it. Although there were many of the dead shells lying on the 
shore, I found no specimens alive but what were adhering in this way to the under parts of 
large masses of Coral resting immediately on the beds of coral sand. There was no hollow 
space around the shells ; they were absolutely pressed by the immense weight of the coral mass 
to some depth in the sand, and from the dark rusty appearance of the Coral when lifted up, I 
am led to conclude that they must have been in this extraordinarily confined situation for 
years, which accounts for their having so long escaped the notice of travellers. 
‘«“T have placed the animal of both species, which I brought home in spirits, in the hands 
of my friend Richard Owen, Esq., Professor of Comparative Anatomy at the College of Sur- 
geons, for dissection. 
«February 20th, 1842.” “ Huew Cumine.” 
