512 
MOLLUSCA. 
THE STKOMB. 
THE STROMBIDJE. 
The animals of this family, called Whip Shells, have the outer lip of their shell much ex- 
panded ; the foot is narrow and ill-adapted for creeping : 
the proboscis is large and thick, and the eyes large, sup- 
ported on long, stout footstalks, from the sides of which the 
short tentacles rise. The species feed principally on car- 
rion, and for molluscous animals they are very active. They 
progress by a sort of leaping movement, turning their heavy 
shell from side to side. 
The Stromb, Stromhus pugilis, is found in the West In- 
dies, the Red Sea, India, Mauritius, and various other seas. 
The Fountain Shell, S. gigas, found in the West Indies, 
is one of the largest of living shell-fish, sometimes weighing 
four or five pounds. As it becomes old, the apex and spires 
are filled with solid shell. Immense quantities are annually 
exported from the Bahamas for the manufacture of cameos 
and for porcelain works. In 1850, three hundred thou- 
sand were brought to Liverpool alone. 
The Conch Shells, formerly much used in this country 
by farmers to call their workmen to their meals, are of this 
genus. 
The Scorpion Shell, Pteroceras lamhis — found in India 
and China — is of this family. Ten living and a hundred fossil species are known. 
TEE TURRITELLID^. 
In these, which may be called Toiver Shells, and which derive their name from the Latin, 
turris, a tower, the shell exhibits a great variety of form, sometimes being semi-globular and 
sometimes elongated, and 
tapering gradually to the 
apex. The Turrilella 
rosea has the shell elon- 
gate, conical, smooth, 
and of a rosy color : 
found in New Zealand. 
The T. terebra, is found 
in tlie African and Indian seas. There are fifty living and one hundred and seventy fossil species 
of this family. 
THE LITTORINID^. 
This includes the Common Periwinkle, Littorina littorea, found on tbe sea-shore in all parts 
of the world. It is oviparous, and inhabits the 
lowest zones of sea-weed between tide-marks. 
The L. rudis frequents a higher region, where 
it is scarcely reached by the tide. The peri- 
winkles are exceedingly small, but their tongue 
is two inches lonsr. Immense numbers of them 
are devoured by birds of various kinds. Nearly 
allied to the periwinkle, are the Stair-Case 
Shell, of the genus Solarium, the Carrier 
Shell, of the genus Phorus, and the Looping 
Snail, of the genus Truncatella. 
To this tribe belongs the genus Scalaria, pop- 
ularly called Wentle-Traps ; the shell is mostly white and lustrous, turreted and many-whorled ; 
TEE TTTEEITELLA. TEEEBKA. 
THE WENTLE-TRAP. 
