The Cowries. Venus Shells 



The animal is very active but also shy, quick to withdraw into 

 the shell at the first sign of danger. "Nun" and "Stick-farthing" 

 are names by which this plentiful mollusk is known on some parts 

 of the English Coast. "Gowry" was the old form of "Cowry." 

 Charles Kingsley describes this mollusk as hanging a few inches 

 below a rock to which it has attached itself by a glutinous thread. 

 He also saw it float in an aquarium by means of a glutinous bubble 

 to which it had a similar thread attachment. 



The distribution of this species on stony bottoms from low 

 water to loo fathoms depth, and from the Mediterranean to the 

 Norwegian coasts, indicates unusual powers of adaptation to 

 different temperatures and depths. The largest forms occur 

 farthest north. 



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