The Spindle Shells and Band Shells 



Vest" in Lamarck's day, is known in cabinets, but its habitat is 

 uncertain. Tryon doubtfully names Brazil and Cape of Good 

 Hope. Length, 3 to 5 inches. 



The Tulip Band Shell (F. tulipa, Linn.) is found in shallow 

 water, on pebbly coasts where water is calm and algae grow. 

 A collector found several feeding upon a dead king crab. They 

 made valiant attempts to escape, striking viciously about with 

 their operculums. 



This is one of the handsomest of our native shells, the equal 

 of any garden tulip, in form, if not in coloration. The graceful 

 rounded whorls taper away from the swollen centre to a sharp 

 spire and a straight canal. The surface is smooth, closely wound 

 with the pairs of dark hair lines that characterise the family. 

 Wavy lines of gray cross the whorls, over these are distinct ir- 

 regularly broken longitudinal bands of bright chestnut or darker 

 brown. In fact, colour and design vary greatly. A uniform dark 

 mahogany form is found. The thin lip is finely scalloped. The 

 columella is narrow, with three oblique folds. The aperture has 

 a flesh-coloured lining. Length, 4 to 8 inches. 



Habitat. — North Carolina to West Indies. 



Var. distans, Lam., has its revolving dark lines wide apart 

 on the whorls. It is a much smaller, smoother shell, and more 

 delicately painted, but similarly shaped and marked. It fre- 

 quents the same localities. It feeds upon Vermetus, thrusting 

 its long proboscis into the limy tubes of the "worm shell" and 

 sucking out the soft parts. 



The Giant Band Shell (F. giganiea, Kiener) is one of the 

 largest known univalves. Its shell is a ponderous affair, impres- 

 sive in size and weight. The surface is yellowish under a horny 

 brown epidermis. The aperture is a uniform orange-red, showing 

 no lines. The dark revolving lines are close outside. The keel 

 of each whorl bears large, remote, low tubercles. This is the only 

 adversary that comes off victorious in an encounter with Melon- 

 gena corona. Superior size and strength overcome the fighter, 

 which is smothered. Length, i to 2 feet. 



Habitat.— 'Honh CaroHna to West Indies and Brazil. 



The Prince Band Shell (F. princeps, Sby.) is a giant of the 

 tropical west coast of America. It is very graceful in form, its 

 keeled whorls strongly ridged and deeply grooved. The exterior 

 is a rich brown, with a persistent epidermis. The orange-red 



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