104 UNIVALVES. 



the short herbage, must devour a prodigious 

 quantity of these mollusks, which early in the 

 morning ascend the short blades in quest of food. 

 Some very small Turbines, are found abundantly 

 on old walls amidst moss. 



TURBO Littoreus* 



PERIWINKLE. 



Specific Character. Shell strong, sub-oval ; 

 body- whorl large, the others, four or five in 

 number, small and nearly flat, separated only by 

 a fine line ; aperture suborbicular, outer lip 

 thin, inner flat and thick. When full grown, 

 this shell is nearly smooth and of an uniform 

 brownish colour, but the younger shells are more 

 distinctly striated and variously marked with 

 purple, white, yellow, or red bands ; size, about 

 three quarters of an inch long, and nearly 

 equally broad. 



The Periwinkle is extremely abundant on the 

 shores of Great Britain ; it is often sold in our 

 seaport towns, and when boiled, eaten by the lower 

 classes. It is found on rocks usually above low 

 water mark. The Swedish peasants affirm, that 

 when the animals of this species ascend the rocks, 

 it is a sure sign of an approaching storm, for that, 

 prompted by instinct, they thus place themselves 



* Littoreus is derived from the Latin word littus, a shore. 

 The littoral species are those which burrow in the sand, or 

 adhere to the rocks when left dry by the receding tide. 



