THE BISHOP'S MITRE. 3 g 



The right-hand figure represents the TEXTILE CONE-SHELL, brought from the Mauri- 

 tius. This handsome species is about four or five inches in length, and its markings are 

 curiously disposed, so that it is impossible to say which is the ground color. The dark 

 narrow, angular lines are dark brown, accompanied by white, and variegated by dashes 

 of yellow umber. The bold triangular spots are pure white, and the inside of the shell 

 is of the same color. 



ADMIRAL CONE.-CWIUS ammlmHs, TEXTILE CONE.-OMUM teztllls. 



THE empty shell lying on the ground, at the left of the illustration, is the ADMIRAL 

 CONE, and is placed so as to exhibit the peculiarities of the long and narrow aperture. 

 This species, in common with the other members of the genus, haunts the fissures and 

 holes in rocks, and the warmer pools in coral reefs. They all take a moderate range of 

 depth, varying from one to forty fathoms. Though slow in their movements, they are 

 extremely voracious, their formidable teeth being well adapted for their predatory habits, 

 and sometimes, it is said, being used effectively upon the hand of their captor. Conus 

 aulicus has a bad reputation for such conduct, rather unexpected on the part of a shell- 

 bearing and apparently helpless mollusc. 



The Admiral Cone is not so large as the preceding species, but its comparatively 

 small dimensions are outweighed by the elegance of its coloring. The light-colored 

 bands that surround the shell are very pale yellow, and the remainder is brown of 

 different shades, boldly mottled with white. The interior of the shell is white. This is 

 one of the very large genera, comprising about two hundred and seventy species, all 

 inhabiting the hotter seas, and being most common in the tropics. Two species only are 

 known in the Mediterranean. 



RETURNING to the illustration on page 382, we find a long pointed shell with regular 

 spiral markings, occupying the centre of the engraving. This is the BISHOP'S Mi 

 a shell belonging to another family, termed the Volutidae. In these shells the aperture 

 is rather deeply notched in front ; the animal has its siphon recurved, and the foot i 

 very large, in some species partly hiding the shell. The eyes are either placed upon the 

 tentacles or near their base. 



The shell of the Bishop's Mitre is spindle-shaped, long-spired, and stout in substance. 

 As may be seen by the illustration, the proboscis is very long. This mollusc possesses, 

 in common with many oth^s of its class, the capability of protecting itself when alarmed 



