434 
THE OCEAN WORLD. 
The English sailor had drawn it up from the bottom of the sea with 
the sounding-lead from a bed of rocks oft’ the coast of Australia. 
The genus Fusus, or spindle shells, is distinguished by the elegance 
of its form rather than by the brilliancy of its colours. They al ' e 
spindle-shaped, spire many whorled, canal long, operculum egg-shaped- 
Among the more remarkable species may be noted Fusus preibos 
cidiferus (Fig. 286), Fusus pagodus (Fig. 287), and Fusus coU s 
(Fig. 288). ' _ 
The genus /S 'trombus is a marine sholl, belonging to Equatorial sea • 
of whose habits and manners very little is known. It is probable tba 
they are long-lived, for their shells, when found perfect, have acquire 1 ^ 
a very considerable thickness and weight. They are even fo nn 
Fig. 239. Stxorabns gigas (TJnmcus), with the* animal. 
encrusted in the interior with numerous layers of soft earthy sediw eIJ ’’ 
and covered externally with small polypiers and other marine t " 0 
ductions, as represented in Strombus gigas (Fig. 289). 
Some species of Strombus attain great size and are placed as ° rI1 ‘^ 
ments in halls and dining-rooms. In some of them the opening ^ 
brilliantly shaded, and those are chiefly sought after to decoi ^ 
grottoes in gardens, or for collections of shells, where, from 
size, they necessarily occupy a prominent place. ^ 
These shells are tun-bellied, terminating at their base by a ^° r 
canal, notched or truncated ; the right edge gets dilated with &g e ^’ 
simple on one wing, lobed or cuneated in the upper part, and P r 
sent in" in its lower part a groove or cavity separated from the can 
or from the notch at the base. 
