244 



LIFE BY THE SEASHORE. 



bulk of water. In such living specimens notice the strong 

 operculum (o) with which the shell can be entirely closed, 

 the large creeping foot (/) beautifully mottled and speckled 



with black, the long 

 siphon (s) which is 

 protruded along the 

 canal of the shell 

 and waves freely in 

 the air as the animal 

 walks, the broad 

 head (h) with the 

 pointed flattened 

 tentacles bearing 

 the distinct eyes, 

 and the long pro- 



Fio. 70. Common whelk (Buccinum undatum), show- boscis which can 

 ing the animal as it appears when crawling. For *, nro trndpd from 

 explanation of letters see text. 3 protru 



the mouth. The 



shell varies considerably in colour, but is usually more or 

 less brownish; it is spirally grooved and striated, and 

 usually marked with oblique transverse undulations which 

 do not traverse the whole of the body-whorl. It is very 

 thick and strong, especially in forms from deep water. It 

 is not usual to find the whelk abundant between tide- 

 marks except in the North, but, as already noticed, it is 

 very common on the coasts of the Forth. 



Allied to Buccinum is the genus Fusus, whose members 

 are called spindle-shells, or red whelks, or buckies. The 

 two commonest species in the North are F. antiquus and 

 F. islandicvs. Both are inhabitants of deep water, but are 

 sometimes thrown up in the living state by storms. The 

 shells are common on the shore at all seasons, and are not 

 infrequently found in rock pools occupied by hermit-crabs. 

 A full-grown hermit requires for his accommodation an 

 adult shell of Buccinum or Fusus antiquus, and when the 

 latter is chosen the result is singularly beautiful. The shell 

 is usually pure white, the colour deepening into yellow 

 within the large aperture. It may reach a length of over 

 six inches and is always peculiarly graceful in shape. The 

 shell of Buccinum, on the other hand, is only beautiful 

 when small, the large specimens tending to become thick 



