462 



THE OCEAN WORLD. 



The genus Fusus (or spindle- shells) is distinguished by the 

 elegance of its form rather than by the brilliancy of its colours. The 

 species are spindle-shaped, spire many-whorled, canal long, operculum 

 egg-shaped. Among the more remarkable species may be noted 

 Fusus proboscidiferus (Fig. 300), Fusus pagodus (Fig. 301), and 

 Fusus colus (Fig. 302). 



The sixth family is Sirombidc?^ of which we give as typical genera, 

 RostcUaria, Fte?'occras, and Strombus. Strombus is a marine genus, 

 belonging to equatorial seas, of whose habits and manners very little 

 is known. It is probable that the species are long lived, for their 

 shells, when found perfect, have acquired a very considerable thick- 



Fig. 303. — Strombus gigas (LinnKus), with the animal. 



ness and weight. They are even found encrusted in the interior with 

 numerous layers of soft earthy sediment, and covered externally with 

 small corals and other marine productions. Strombus gigas is repre- 

 sented in Figs. 303 and 304. 



Some species of Strombus attain great size, and are placed as orna- 

 ments in halls and dining-rooms. In some of them the opening is 

 brilliantly shaded, and those are chiefly sought after to decorate 

 grottoes in gardens, or for collections of shells, where, from their size, 

 they necessarily occupy a prominent place. 



These shells are rather ventricose, terminating at their base by a 

 short canal, notched or truncated ; the right edge gets dilated with 

 age ; simple on one wing, lobed or cuneated in the upper part, and 

 presenting in its lower part a groove or cavity separated from the 

 canal or from the notch at the base. But these shells are not merely 



