THE LOOPING SNAIL. 
327 
The Common, or False Wentletrap, is tolerably common upon European coasts. 
In this shell the whorls are united together and furnished with a number of circular eleva- 
tions, which, however, are not nearly so bold as those of the preceding species, but thick in 
proportion to their height, set obliquely on the shell, and smooth. 
The animal has a proboscis-like mouth, which can be retracted at the will of the owner ; 
the tentacles are tolerably long, placed near together ; and the eyes are set near the base of 
the tentacles. The foot is triangular, with the front rather obtuse, and supplied with a fold. 
When disturbed or alarmed, the creature is capable of exuding a dark purple fluid. Nearly 
one hundred species of W entletrap are known, all the largest examples being found in tropical 
regions. They live at a considerable depth, sometimes being captured in eighty fathoms of 
water, and little seems to be known of their habits. 
The color of the Common Wentletrap is rather varied. Sometimes it is dull white, some- 
times it is very pale brown, and in a few specimens the shell is reddish-violet, with the ribs 
purple. 
We now arrive at another family, termed the Litorinidse, or Shore Mollusks, because the 
greater number of them frequent the coasts, and feed upon the various algse. The shell is 
always spiral and never pearly, by which latter characteristic it may be distinguished from 
certain shells belonging to another family, but somewhat similar in external appearance. The 
aperture is rounded. The animal has its eyes set at the outer bases of the tentacles, and the 
foot is remarkable for a longitudinal groove along the sole, so that in the act of walking each 
side advances in its turn. The tongue is rather long, and is armed with a formidable series of 
sharp teeth, that serve admirably for the purpose of scraping away the vegetable matter on 
which the animal feeds. The operculum is horny, and rather spiral. 
The common Periwinkle ( Litorina litorea) is the most familiar example of this family, 
and is too well known to need any detailed description. The Periwinkle is found upon our 
rocks in great profusion, occupying the zone between high and low water, and always being 
found near the edge of the tide. There is, however, another species ( Litorina rudis ) which 
occupies a rather higher zone than the previous species, and which, though very plentiful, is 
not eaten, in consequence of its young obtaining their shells before eggs are laid, and having 
a gritty and unpleasant effect upon the teeth. Sea birds, however, are not very particular 
about this drawback, neither is the thrush, which, in winter, when the snails are hidden away 
in their dark recesses, finds a meal easier to be obtained on the sea-shore than in hunting for 
its usual prey. 
One of the prettiest members of this family is the Winding Staircase-shell, or Per- 
spective Trochus, so named on account of the peculiar formation of its whorls. 
If the shell be held with its top downwards, it looks exactly as if it had been wound 
around a conical centre which had afterwards been withdrawn, and the projecting edges of 
the whorls have a wonderful resemblance to the perspective view of a winding staircase 
seen from below. 
Perhaps the most remarkable point about this genus is the singular operculum of some of 
the species, which differs from that of any other mollusk. Instead of being a nearly flat plate, 
of horny or shelly substance, it is a conical structure of shelly matter with a riband of mem- 
branous substance wound round it, and projecting like the mechanical form so well known as 
Archimedes’ screw. The object of this singular variation is quite unknown. 
The color of the shell is rather variable, but consists of mottlings with brown, ochre, 
and white. 
A very curious member of this family is the Looping Snail ( Truncatella truncatida ), a 
little species that is remarkable for the habit which has earned for it its popular name. All 
these creatures inhabit the space between tide marks, and can live for many weeks without 
water. Their mode of progression is very peculiar, and closely resembles that of the leeches 
or looping geometric caterpillars with which we are so familar. When they walk they fix the 
head firmly, then draw up the body in an arch, fix the foot, and then push the head forward. 
The foot is short and rounded at each end. 
