PULMONARY GASTEROPODS. 437 



Among the more remarkable species may be noted Fusus prolos- 

 cidiferus (Fig. 292J, Fusus pagodus (Fig. 293), and Fusus colus 

 (Fig. 294). 



The sixth family is Strombidse, of which we give as types, 

 Rostellaria, Pteroceras, and Strombus. Strombus is a marine shell, 

 belonging to Equatorial seas, of whose habits and manners very little 

 is known. It is probable that they are long-lived, for their shells, 

 when found perfect, have acquired a very considerable thickness and 

 weight. They are even found encrusted in the interior with numerous 

 layers of soft earthy sediment, and covered externally with small corals 

 and other marine productions. Strombus gigas is represented in Figs. 

 295 and 296. 



Fig. 295. Strombus gigas (Lionseus), with the animal. 



Some species of Strombus attain great size, and are placed as orna- 

 ments in halls and dining-rooms. In some of them the opening is 

 brilliantly shaded, and those are chiefly sought after to decorate 

 grottoes in gardens, or for collections of shells, where, from their 

 size, they necessarily occupy a prominent place. 



These shells are tun-bellied, terminating at their base by a short 

 canal, notched or truncated ; the right edge gets dilated with age ; 

 simple on one wing, lobed or cuneated in the upper part, and pre- 

 senting in its lower part a groove or cavity separated from the canal 

 or from the notch at the base. But these shells are not merely 

 ornamental, for some of the streets of Yera Cruz are said to be paved 

 with Strombus gigas. 



The animal which inhabits this shell presents a distinct head, pro- 

 vided with a trunk or snout, and with two tentacles or horns, each 



