64 THE WEST AMEKICAN SCIENTIST. 



simplex, abundant at low water on the sandy shores of San Diego bay, is the only 

 shell found in our waters of this mostly tropical family (Terebridae), of which the 

 well-known 'marlin spike,' is a member. 



The nearly related family of Pleurotoraidae, of world-wide distribution, is well 

 represented at San Diego by Carpenter's Drillia moesta, D. inermis, Maugilia angu- 

 lata and Mitromorpha filosa. 



The great family of cones (Conidae), characterized by the thick shell with the 

 whorls enrolled upon themselves, by the short or not elevated spire and the nar- 

 row elongated aperature with parallel margins and truncated at base, are principally 

 inhabitants of the equatorial seas. Conus Calif o-nicus, of this coast, grows to the 

 length of an inch or more, and is covered with a coarse dark-brown epidermis. 



We now come to the large tropical and subtropical cowry family, represented 

 in California by the beautiful nut-brown cowry, Cypraea spadicea, and the much 

 admired ' bug-shells ' or trivia. The trivias are easily distinguished by the striae 

 extending over the back of the smill cowry -like shell. The larger San Die^o trivia 

 is named Solandri, and the smaller, Californica. The latter is sometimes called the 

 ' Cotfee-bean shell,' from its rich brown color, shipe and size. 



The Naticidae, or sea-snail family, are characterized by the globular or oval shell 

 with usually short spire, semilunar aperture without canal or anterior notch, sharp 

 outer lip and the callous columellar lip more or less reflected over the umbilicus. 

 Lunatia Lewissii, Gld., is our largest species of which dead shells are often washed up 

 on the ocean beaches. This subgenus of Natica has a corneous operculum while the 

 next sub-genus has a horny one. Neverita recluziana, Petit, is the large snail gen- 

 erally credited with forming the curious sand ribbons when depositing its eggs. 

 These sand or sea ribbons, or as they are sometimes called, the sand saucers — from 

 their resemblance to the rim of a saucer with the bottom knocked out, are abundant 

 along our bay and ocean shores at certain seasons (in the winter and spring) in shal- 

 low depressions in the mud and sand. Something more definite about them would 

 be desirable. The shell of this species is two or three inches across, the reflected 

 white columellar lip complete'y covering the umbilicus; the inside of the aperture 

 partly of a rich brown. 



Sigeretus debilis, very rare at San Diego, more abundant south, is a much smal- 

 ler, white, ear-shaped shell with revolving striae and is much more delicate than the 

 last, but stouter than the next shell requiring mention, a recently described species 

 of Lamellaria, named Lamellaria diegoensis by Mr. Dall, in Proc. U. S. Natl. Muse- 

 um, ISgS, p. 538. 



The animal of Lamellaria diegoensis is much larger than the thin and fragile 

 shell which is completely concealed by the soft parts' when living. It has been found 

 at San Diego and at Cape San Lucas. 



• 



The metric system of weights and measures which was adopted in many labor- 

 atories when first introduced, is said to be rapidly losing ground, having been the 

 cause of some serious errors. The fact that the misplacement of a single dot will 

 turn a comparatively harmless dose of medicine into a deadly poison bears strongly 

 against it. 



