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THE COMMON TOP. 
The shell is very small, about the size of a split sweet pea, and would escape the eye of 
ordinary observers. The animal is famished with short and diverging tentacles, the head is 
divided into two lobes, and the eyes are placed in the centre behind the tentacles. 
The Indian Phorus, or Mineralogist, a name given to the creature in allusion to its 
extraordinary habit of agglutinating bits of stones and other substances to its shell, has a 
rather long proboscis, and long tentacles, with the eyes set at their outer bases. The foot is 
long and narrow behind. 
The outer lip is very curious in its structure, being extremely thin, projecting above and 
receding below. The operculum is homy, and formed by overlapping scales. The color of 
the Indian Phorus is yellowish-brown above, and pearly-white within. The edges of the lip 
are ragged and crumpled like those of a withered leaf. Sometimes it prefers other shells, 
either in fragments or entire, and is then termed the Conciiologist. In one example shown 
to me by Mr. Sowerby, the creature had selected a number of shells of a tiny bivalve, and had 
stuck them round the edges of its own shell in such a manner that they form a spiral line, 
marking the growth of the shell. One or two little bits of stone accompany them, and they 
all lie with the hollow upwards. 
A magnificent species is the Shell-collecting Phortjs. The long-pointed shells are 
clubs, or cerithime, a Venus-shell is seen at the mouth, and a lucina at the base. The name 
Phorus is of Greek origin, and signifies a carrier. The movements of the Phorus are said to 
be very clumsy, the animal staggering and tumbling about like the stromb-skells already 
described. 
In former days, the Pheasant -shells were articles of great price and rarity, some speci- 
mens almost rivalling the precious wentletrap in the enormous sums asked and obtained for 
them. Now, however, that their habitations have been discovered, and more frequent voyages 
are made, they have become comparatively plentiful, although, from the fragility of their 
structure, a perfect specimen is not at all common, and will still bring a good price in the 
conchological market. 
The Pheasant-shells are now found in great numbers on the sandy beaches of several 
shores, being especially plentiful un the coast of Port Western, in Bass’s Straits. The high 
tide sweeps them towards the shore, where they are left by the receding waters, and seek for 
shelter beneath the masses of sea- weed that are always flung on the beach by the tide. On 
lifting these sheltering weeds, the Pheasant-shells may be found crowded together under their 
wet fronds. They can move with some speed, the duplicate nature of the foot aiding them 
greatly in progression. 
We now arrive at the Top-shells, or Turbiniiee, a rather large and important family. 
In all these creatures the shell is spiral, and beautifully pearly in the interior, the nacre 
appearing when the outer coating is removed. The animal has a short head, rather long 
tentacles, with eyes mounted on footstalks at their base, and the head and sides are decorated 
with fringed lobes. They are all inhabitants of the sea and are vegetarians in their diet, their 
array of sharp teeth being very useful in rasping away the substances on which they feed. 
Order Scutibranchia. The Top-shells, so called from their resemblance to a boy’s top, 
and the Neritas, of which the interesting Bleeding-tooth Shell is a representative, are mem- 
bers of this order. An example of the singular distribution of animals was noticed by the 
editor of this edition on one of the keys or islands of the Florida Reef. The beautiful 
Bleeding-tooth Nerita was found in considerable numbers on one of the islands, and on no 
other of the entire reef, along a series of islands one hundred and fifty miles in length. A 
large Chiton w r as found on the same island, and in no other locality within the same range. 
The Common Top is a little pointed shell. 
This shell is a most plentiful species, and may be found by hundreds either crawling 
among the sea-weeds at low water, or flung upon the sands by the tide. The shell of this 
