510 CONE SHELLS. 
mollusc provide against such a fate by lengthening its shell and taking up 
its residence in the mouth. 
The most curious point, however, in the ecoriomy of the Magilus is, that 
as fast as it adds a new shell in front, it fills up the cavity behind with a solid 
concretion of shelly matter, very hard, and of an almost crystalline structure, 
so as to leave about the same amount of space as in the original shell. The 
animal is always to be found in the very front of the shelly tubé, and closes 
the aperture with a strong operculum that effectually shields it against all foes, 
WE now pass to the CONE-SHELLS, or Conidz, a family so called on 
account of their form. All the Cones have a similar external outline: the 
aperture is long and narrow, the head of the living animal is more or less 
lengthened, the foot is splay and abruptly cut off in front, the tentacles are 
rather widely separate, and the eyes are placed upon these organs. 
The right-hand figure represents the TEXTILE CUNE-SHELL, brought from 
the Mauritius. This handsome species is about four or five inches in length 
and its markings are curiously disposed, so that it is impossible to say which 
ADMIRAL CONE.—(Conus ammiralis.) TEXTILE CONE.—(Conus textilis.) 
is the ground colour. The dark, narrow, angular lines are dark brown, 
accompanied by white, and variegated by dashes of yellowumber. The bold 
triangular spots are pure white, and the inside of the shell is of the same colour. 
The empty shell lying on the ground, at the left of the illustration, is the 
ADMIRAL CONE, and is placed so as to exhibit the peculiarities of the long 
and narrow aperture. This species, in common with the other members of 
the genus, haunts the fissures and holes in rocks, and the warmer pools in 
coral reefs. They all take a moderate range of depth, varying from one to 
forty fathoms. 
WE now come to the family of the Cowries, or Cypraide, two representa- 
tives of which family aregiven on page 511. 
All the Cowries are lovers of the shallow waters near shore, and are 
carnivorous in their habits, feeding mostly unon the numerous zoophytes 
that inhabit the same coasts. These shells change their forms in a truly 
remarkable manner. When young, the shell is very like that of a volute 
having a prominent spire and a rather wide-spreading lip ; but in process of 
