382 



THE LIGHTNING-COLORED SHELL. 



tide leaves the shores on which they are creeping ; and if laid upon their backs, they can 

 easily resume their original position by the use of the spreading foot. In spite of their 

 elegant and harmless aspect, the Olives are predaceous and hungry creatures, and can 

 readily be captured by the simple process of tying a piece of meat to a line, lowering it 

 towards the spot where the Olives are creeping, and hauling it up at intervals, carrying 

 with it the various molluscs that have attached themselves to the bait, and do not think 

 of loosening their hold until too late. 



The shell of the Black Olive is beautifully polished and of a deep rich black, through 

 which a slight tint of brown can be observed in certain lights. The inside is porcelain- 

 white, and the average length is not quite two inches. 



TOWARDS the right-hand of the illustration may be seen a little shell represented as 

 crawling upon the frond of a seaweed, and being covered with zigzag white streaks. 

 This is the LIGHTNING-COLORED SHELL or DOVE SHELL, its popular name being derived 

 from the peculiar appearance of its markings. 



BLACK OLIVE.- Ollva mauritana. LIGHTNING DOVE-SHELL.-Colutnbella fulguraos, 



BISHOP'S MITRE. Mitra episcopalis. 



The numbers of the Dove-shells are very great, at least two hundred living species 

 being known. They are all inhabitants of the warmer seas, and inhabit the flat sandy 

 shores where the water is shallow, or congregate about the stones scattered on rocky 

 coasts. All the Dove-shells are small, and prettily marked, the present species being 

 chosen an account of the quaint beauty pf the stripes with which its shell is decorated. 

 The ground color of the Lightning Dove-shell is jetty black, and the bold zigzag streaks 

 or flashes upon its surface are shining yellowish white. 



BEFORE describing the long and pointed shell in the centre of the engraving, we must 

 pass temporarily to the next illustration, representing two of the Cone-shells, or Conidx^ , 

 a family so called on account of their form. All the Cones have a similar external, 

 outline : the aperture is. long and narrow, the head of the living animal is more or less 

 lengthened, the foot is splay and abruptly cut off in front, the tentacles are rather widelj 

 separate, and the eyes are placed upon these organs. 



