42 



POPULAR CONCHOLOGY. 



very flat, enclosed in a thin mantle ; peduncle 

 often very long. — 10 recent species. 



These curious but common shells are found 

 in all seas, particularly on the coasts of Africa. 

 They are affixed to marine bodies, generally in 

 numerous groups, and the peduncle is some- 

 times found a foot long. The inhabitants of 

 Goree eat a large species of Anatifa, which is 

 considered a great delicacy. Some species live 

 at a distance from each other, others are often 

 united in large masses ; they prefer a situation 

 where the sea is much agitated. 



" The Anatifa, as well as the other genera 

 of this tribe, are found attached to ships, logs 

 of wood, bottles, corks of nets, fuci, floating 

 testaceous Mollusca, (the Iantha, for instance,) 

 and even on whales, turtles, and serpents. A 

 large log of timber covered with these animals, 

 twisting and diverging in all directions, and so 

 thick as entirely to hide the surface of the log, 

 is a strange sight. They look like an enor- 

 mous collection of serpents to the ignorant; 

 and a living mass of this description, casually 

 thrown into shallow water, and left by the 

 tide, has been so termed. Their growth must 



