GASTEROPODS 399 
V. junonia. This volute has never been taken alive in shallow water 
near the shore, but is occasionally found cast upon the beach after vio- 
lent storms. Sanibel Island is the best locality. V. junonia has an 
obtuse apex, a long aperture, and a shell from three to three and a half 
inches in length. The color is cream-white, painted with rows of large 
deep-red spots. In his “‘ American Marine Shells,” published nearly 
thirty years ago, Mr. Tryon says: ‘‘ This is the most rare and valuable 
American marine shell; specimens in good condition sell for from fifty to 
one hundred dollars.” A good specimen is probably not worth so much 
to-day as when Mr. Tryon wrote, but it is at least worth a careful survey 
of a Floridian beach after a storm. 
FAMILY MARGINELLIDE 
Genus Marginella 
This is a family of exquisite little shells. In point of beauty 
they would rival the volutes were they not so much handicapped 
by their small size. The largest Marginella is not more than an 
inch and a half in length, while the great majority of its two hun- 
dred tropical species do not exceed one half aninch. The animal 
is very similar to that of Voluta; indeed, the marginellas were 
until recently included in the Volutide. The shell is also sug- 
gestive of Voluta. It is porcelanous, highly polished, and shin- 
ing like all shells which are covered by a portion of the mantle 
when the animal is extended. Forty-seven species of Marginella 
are recorded from the Atlantic coast of the United States. The 
marginellas frequent sandy or muddy sheltered spots, and may be 
collected between tide-marks. In California there are several 
species, which are so minute that it seems hardly worth while to 
attempt a description of them. They are white and very incon- 
spicuous little shells. One is tempted, however, to speak of some 
of the fine marginellas of the Bahamas. The animals are quite 
as beautifully marked as the shells themselves, while the shell of 
one species is used in jewelry on account of its pearly luster suf- 
fused with the most delicate pink. 
M. apicina. The most abundant Floridian species of this genus. 
It is not more than one third of an inch long, with a depressed spire, a 
large body-whorl, a long aperture nearly equaling the entire length of 
the shell, a thickened outer lip, and four very prominent plaits on the 
columella. The surface is smooth. The white, enlarged outer lip is 
glazed or highly polished, and bluish or brown in color, with red spots. 
(Plate LXXVII.) 
