CHAPTER XXI: THE EGG SHELLS 

 Family Ovulid^ 



Shell involute, body whorl covering the spire, smooth, 

 porcellanous, whitish or dull in colouring; aperture long, its 

 extremities usually drawn out to form two canals; inner lip 

 smooth, outer usually ridged, bent inward; foot large; mantle 

 reflected over shell when in use. One genus of fifty species in 

 warm seas. 



Genus OVULA, Brug. 



The egg shells are close to the cowries in structure and habits. 

 Unlike them, the spire of the shell is concealed from the first, 

 and the columellar lip is rarely toothed. The egg form is modi- 

 fied by the two terminal canals. 



The Swollen Egg Shell (0. gihhosa, Linn.), somewhat 

 over an inch long, has a thick shell, blunt at the ends, highly 

 polished, with brown clouding on a pale ground. The lips are 

 thick and free from teeth. A swollen band encircles the shell 

 midway between the ends. 



Habitat. — Florida. 



O. acicularis, Lam., is very smooth, slender and thin; colour, 

 purplish or yellow. It is found closely attached to stems of sea 

 fan. Length, § inch. 



Habitat. — South Carolina, Florida, West Indies. 



O. uniplicata. Sby., of similar habits, colour, shape and 

 size, is distinguished by a distinct fold on the columella near the 

 posterior end of the shell. Length, § inch. 



Habitat. — North Carolina to Florida, Southern California. 



The Californian forms are purple or violet, with pale lips. 

 In the southeast thete are two solid colours, yellow and purple, 

 as in the sea fans on which this mollusk lives. If a yellow fan, 

 then it will require sharp eyes to find the yellow shells closely 

 applied to the stems. If the fan is purple, the shells are purple. 



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