The Volutes and Melon Shells 



not, posteriorly; aperture wide, oblong; columella with several 

 oblique folds; outer lip simple, acute, cut off in front. Tropical 

 carnivorous genus of three distinct species. The young are ar- 

 ranged in strings, without egg-shells, in the oviduct of the parent, 

 where they hatch and attain some degree of growth before being 

 extruded. 



The Indian Melon Shell {M. Indica, Gmel.) is lemon or 

 orange yellow, smooth, with some blotches of brown in three 

 obscure zones outside. The distinction of this species is the 

 drawing in of the posterior edge of the last whorl until it nearly 

 obliterates all signs of the very small spire. Length, 6 to 9 

 inches. 



Habitat. — Indian Ocean. 



The Diadem Melon Shell (M. diadema, Lam.) has a diadem 

 of stout, erect spines, set far apart around its depressed spire. 

 The ground colour is yellow, marked with zigzag lines and irreg- 

 ular patches of chestnut. Three revolving bars of dark chest- 

 nut cross the longitudinal zigzags. The lining is plain orange. 

 This shell is so deeply concave as to hold nearly a gallon of 

 water. Length, 6 to 13 inches. 



Habitat. — Indian Ocean, Australia. 



Genus CYMBIUM, Klein 



Shell oval-oblong, ventricose, thin; spire short, depressed, 

 deeply channelled, the outer whorl forming a flat edge encircling 

 the globose nucleus; aperture oblong, wide; lip thin, flaring, 

 simple; columella with several oblique plaits. Animal large; 

 foot partially covering shell which is embedded in it; mantle 

 reflected over shell; operculum, none. Four species. A peculi- 

 arity of the genus is that the shelly matter is deposited not only 

 by the mantle but also by the great foot. 



Habitat. — West Africa. 



The Snout Cymbium (C. proboscidale, Lam.) is a large, 

 thin, yellowish shell, with the characters of the genus. When 

 alive the shell has a glaze deposited upon it by the enveloping 

 mantle. 



The young are hatched within the parent's oviduct, and 

 remain there until the shells are an inch long. A brood consists 

 of four or five. When they are cast forth to take care of them- 



85 



