278 



COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 



in having no eye-stalks, the eyes being at the base of the 

 tentacles. They are obliged to come frequently to the 

 surface of the water to breathe. 



4. Prosobranchs. — These are aquatic Gasteropods, 

 breathing by gills situated in front of the heart. They 

 are the most highly organized and the most abundant of 

 the crawling Mollusks. Nearly all are marine, and all 

 have a shell. 



Among the lower forms are the singular Chiton, cov- 

 ered with eight shelly plates; Limpet {Patella), well 

 known to every sea-side visitor; and the beautiful Ear- 

 shell (Haliotis), frequently used for ornaments and inlaid- 

 work. 



In the higher Prosobranchs, the gills are comb-shaped 

 and the sexes are distinct. The group includes all the 

 spiral univalve sea-shells, and a few fresh- water shells. 

 Many have the aperture entire, which is closed with an 

 operculum: as the dull -colored Paludina and Melania 

 from fresh w T ater, and the pyramidal Trochus, pearly Tur- 

 bo, screw-like Turritella, common Periwinkle (Littorina), 

 and globular Natica from the sea. Others, the highest 

 of the race, have the margin of the aperture notched or 

 produced into a canal, and are carnivorous and marine : 



such are nearlv all the sea -shells remarkable for their 

 */ 



beautiful forms, enamelled surfaces, and brilliant tints, as 

 the Cowry (Cyprcea), Volute, Olive, Cone, Harp, Whelk 

 (Buccinum), Cameo -shell (Cassis), Rock -shell (Murex), 

 Truinpet-shell (Trito7i), Spindle-shell (Fusus), and Wing- 

 shell (Strombus). 



Class III. — Cephalopoda. 

 The Cephalopods stand at the head of the subkingdom. 

 The head is set off from the body by a slight constriction, 

 and furnished with a pair of large, staring eyes, a mouth 

 armed with a rasping tongue and a parrot-like beak, and 



