T.OROTITNT A 
Published by the Lorquin Natural History Club 
(Organized — August 1913) 
Volume I. No. 2. Los Angeles, Cal., September 1916. Free to Members 
EGG-CASES OF SOME LOCAL MOLLUSCA 
While collecting moUusca at the government breakwater at San 
Pedro on June 19th a few small egg-cases were found, one of which 
contained young shells. On examination with a strong lens these 
were seen to be the young of Fusinus luleopictus, Dall. (the painted 
spindle shell). A description may be of interest. 
The egg-cases were composed of a rather tough, transparent sub- 
stance, reminding one of thin celluloid. They were somewhat trian- 
gular in shape and quite flat, and were attached to the under side of 
rough rocks by a short stiff stem. All those seen were uniform in size, 
about 5 mm. wide and 5 mm, high, including the stem. Those which 
contained eggs were about i mm. thick, and the one containing small 
shells was somewhat thicker. The undeveloped eggs were pink in color 
and very minute. 
The shells taken from the egg-case are nearly globular in shape 
and about i mm. high. They are composed of two turns or whorls, the 
first or nuclear, is very small, yellow and smooth; on the second there 
are axial ribs, at first low and weak, but well developed on the last half 
turn, where five spiral ridges appear, making the surface reticulate. 
This whorl is light brown in color. The aperture is nearly round, ex- 
tending to a short broad canal below; outer lip wavy, columella straight, 
no umbilicus. In mature specimens the columella is longer in pro- 
portion and somewhat revolute and the canal is longer and narrower. 
There were seven young shells in this egg-case and they filled it more 
than half full. I believe that they would have burst the case soon and 
escaped, some to grow to maturity and others probably to become the 
food of fishes or crabs or possibly to be carried away from the rocks by 
the tide and dropped on some mud bank to smother in the soft silt. 
On July T9th, while collecting along the rocky coast south of 
Balboa, I gathered another lot of small egg-cases. These contained a 
single young shell each and on examination proved to be the young of 
