ish or brownish, and many species are 

 spotted with red or white. 



A gToup of handsome molhtsks Hve in 

 the tropics wdiose shells have been named 

 Mitra b}^ the naturalist Lamarck from 

 their fancied resemblance to the Pope's 

 miter. The shells are fusiform, very 

 thick and heavy and beautifully orna- 

 mented with various colors. The sur- 

 face of the shells of some species is 

 smooth, others granulose and not a few 

 spirally lined and longitudinally ribbed, 

 while the columella is marked by sev- 

 eral heavy plaits or folds. There are 

 about two hundred species of this genus, 

 living- in all parts of the world but being 

 more numerous in tropical regions. The 

 Philippine Islands seem to be the me- 

 tropolis of this mollusk, as of others, 

 and their shores fairly teem with the 

 graceful creatures. Some of them live 

 among the coral reefs, concealing them- 

 selves ni holes or among the sea weeds 

 or. under stones. Others live on the 

 sandy or muddy beaches in which they 

 bury themselves when the tide recedes. 



The earlier naturalists were fond of 

 applying significant names to the shells 

 which they described and the Mitras 

 have received their share. Thus we 

 have the episcopal miter, having a white 

 shell with brilliant red spots and flame; 

 the papal miter, with a brown-spotted 

 white shell ; the pontifical miter, with a 

 red-spotted shell and a coronated spire, 

 and lastly the cardinal's miter. These 

 four species might be called the ecclesi- 

 astical quartette. 



The Harp shells, although few in spe- 

 cies, are among the most showy of the 

 marine snails. The shells are large and 

 marked by many elevated ribs extending 

 longitudinally, giving the effect of the 

 strings on a harp, hence the name of the 

 genus. The colors are different shades 

 of brown which form neat festoons of 

 dark brown lines between the ribs. The 

 inner lip of the shell is marked by a dark 

 brown spot and another spot is fre- 

 quently developed near the upper part of 

 the whorl. In one species (Harpa 



rosea) the shell is marked by several 

 rosy spots and tints, and is very beauti- 

 ful. The animal of this genus is no less 

 interesting than the shell, being varie- 

 gated with many beautiful colors. The 

 foot is long, crescent shaped in front and 

 becomes narrowed to a point behind. 

 The animal is said to voluntarily break 

 off a piece of its shell when irritated, as 

 it is not able to retreat within the shell, 

 being destitute of an operculum. It is 

 very active and crawls about with an 

 easy, graceful motion. Harpa lives only 

 in the tropics and is found in the Indian 

 and Pacific Oceans and on the w^est 

 coast of America. 



The Bubble shells include within their 

 number many curious and interesting- 

 animals. The typical genus, Bulla, num- 

 bers some fifty species of smooth, globu- 

 lar shells, frequently mottled like a 

 bird's egg. The aperture is as long as 

 the shell and the outer lip is thin and 

 sharp. The animal is large and fleshy 

 and partly envelops the shell. The bub- 

 ble shells love sandy mud flats in which 

 they bury themselves or find conceal- 

 ment under masses of sea weed. Like 

 many land shells they exude vast quanti- 

 ties of mucus to moisten their skin when 

 the tide is out. These animals are car- 

 nivorous, living on bivalves and snails, 

 which are swallowed whole and reduced 

 to fragments by the huge, calcareous 

 gizzard. Not all the mollusks of this 

 order have true shells. The so-called sea 

 hares, have large, flabby bodies in which 

 is lodged a small, oblong, transparent 

 shell. This animal lives among the sea 

 weed, feeding upon the weed as well as 

 upon mollusks and other animals. It 

 discharges a violet liquid when handled 

 which caused the ancients to believe that 

 it was poisonous. The old Greek philos- 

 ophers wrote a great deal on this sub- 

 ject, believing that to even touch the 

 animal with a stick would cause death. 

 Though repulsive looking creatures they 

 are perfectly harmless and are even eaten 

 raw by the natives of the Friendly and 

 the Society Islands. 



Frank Collins Baker. 



139 



