374- THE RED WHELK. 



The left-hand figure shows the creature as it appears when crawling, and is given for 

 the purpose of showing one of the strange peculiarities of the genus. The long siphon 

 is seen protruding from the projecting canal, whose structure is shown in the right-hand 

 figure ; the slender body, with the round black eyes set at the base of the tentacles, is 

 placed under the siphon; the broad leaf-like foot sustains the shell and serves it as 

 an organ of progression, and the mantle forms lobes on the sides which nearly meet over 

 the back of the shell The foot is abruptly cut off, or truncated in front, and modified so 

 as to form a short horn or partial crescent at each side. 



Nearly forty species of Pear-shell are known to conchologists, and are spread over the 

 warmer seas of the world, living in moderately deep water, varying from sixteen to thirty- 

 five fathoms of depth. 



This is a thin and delicate shell, the large expanded lip being especially so, and, 

 in consequence, is very light when the inmate has been removed. The colour is very pale 

 yellow, with brown and white arranged in wavy mottlings. Its average length is about 

 four inches. 



The delicate thinness of the shell is not, however, a character common to the entire 

 genus, for another species, the BAT-LIKE PEAK-SHELL (Pyrula carndn'a), is quite as 

 remarkable in the opposite direction, its shell being peculiarly large and ponderously 

 constructed. This shell is found in the Indian Ocean, and its general colour is dark bay. 

 In all these shells, however, the long canal which projects from the front of the shell is 

 always open, not being filled up with solid matter as the animal increases in age ; and the 

 columella, or pillar of shelly substance, which runs up the centre of the whorls, like the 

 solid centre of a screw, is always smooth. 



WITH the two shells represented in the accompanying illustration, our examples of the 

 Muricidse end. 



THE large and boldly mottled shell is popularly known by the really appropriate name 

 of TULIP WHELK, its rich and variegated colouring bearing some analogy to that of the 

 flower from which it derives its name ; while the general shape is sufficiently like that of 

 the whelk to warrant its use, even though the two shells belong to different families. 

 The generic name of this shell is derived from a Latin word signifying a band, and 

 is given to it on account of the boldly banded stripes in which the colours are 

 disposed. As in the last-mentioned genus, the canal, thou^b not so elongated, is 

 always kept open. 



Comparatively few living species of Tulip-shells are known to conchologists, sixteen 

 or seventeen being their utmost limit. These shells inhabit the warmer seas, and some of 

 them attain a great size, such as the GEEAT TULIP-SHELL, which sometimes reaches a 

 length of nearly two feet. 



Although extremely variable, the colouring of the Tulip-shell is always rich and 

 striking. In the present species the groifcd colour is mostly cream-white, on which are 

 dashed bold mottlings of deepest mahogany-brown alternating with purest white. The 

 interior of the shell is orange -brown, and the point is black. In some specimens, how- 

 ever, the creamy white ground is replaced by warm orange, and the lip is streaked 

 within. All the Fasciolarise are fond of muddy grounds, and are mostly taken within a 

 depth of seven fathoms. The siphon of this animal is very long, the eyes are set at the 

 base of the tentacles, and the small and practically useless operculum is placed at the end 

 of a short and stout footstalk. 



THE lower figure represents the empty shell of the SPINDLE or DISTAFF SHELL, 

 so called in allusion to its form. Its scientific names are both given in consequence 

 of its general resemblance to these objects, the former signifying a spindle, and the 

 latter a distaff. 



At least a hundred species of Spindle-shells are known, and their range extends over 

 the greater part of the globe. One large species (Fusus antiquus), called, from its colour, 

 the RED WHELK, is common on our shores, and off some of the coasts of Scotland is 

 extensively captured for sale. When the empty shell is held to the ear, the reverberations 



