96 
South Jusfrnlian Shells. 
S.A. NAT., VOI.. XIV 
May, 19.1^. 
hix\\\ iiinuih a vc'vtical fissure \x\th lar.uc ami strom; jaws; 
ami'l l. ir angles (;l liead produced in two lentacul;ir lobes folded 
abo\'c; hinder or true pair of tentacles seinilubular, not unlike 
t!ie cars of a hare; e}'cs small, sessile. In front of the hinder or 
true tentacles; foot ]are:c, attached to the body throughout its 
whole length; it expands on each side, so as to form tw(j lobes, 
whicli ij'.tcrlcikl over the back and are used for swimming; eills 
in a catut}" towards the posterior part of the back, and protected 
by the mantle; stomach armed with cartilaginous no.lules; vent 
p]aci:d behind the gill. Kach individual has the sexes contbined; 
the organs of generation are separated and situated at the opposite 
extremities of the body. Rather large animals of flabby con- 
tisTcncy. remarkable lor the four large ear-like tentacles and iiigh 
b:ick which lune earned for them the name of sea-hares. At 
the hinder pan of tlie back two flaps of the mantle partly con- 
ceal a thin horny shell which serves as a I'rotccrion to the gills 
ami vita' organs beneath, d'heir colours in life arc often bright 
and vaiicgated. Being without shelly armour, they appear to 
l)c largely dejumdent upon imitative colouring for protection 
rmd so closely resemble shoots ol w^ecds that it is ciiflicnlt to 
c. i'tingiiish them. \\ hen molested they discharge a lari^e quan- 
tity of violet or pur]>lc fluid from the edge of the Interitai sur- 
fa.ee (tf the ntantie, which does not injure the skin, although tlic 
ancients iliought diilcrenily; ilicy also exj'el a milky fluid wfliicii 
It- nauseous. They not only crawl, but swim actively bv means 
of the suumming lobes. Sea-hares live chiefly on tnarlne plants 
also on oilier Molliisca as ^\■el] as small Crustacea and Annelids. 
'] hey are, like rabbits, salacious and prolific. Spawn cases gel- 
atinous, of a piiikisii hue, thread-like, and irregularly com'olutcd ; 
ova wdtitc and ver\' numerous, l\'lng !n the middle. 
Tethys 1 finne 17.SS (— Aplysia Linne 1767 and of subsequent 
authors: = Laplysia Linne 176/: = Stiphonoivs A. Adams and 
Reeve 1848). 4V*rh\ s. a marine goddess, w^ife of Oceaniis, mother 
ol the ri\'cr-gods and sea-inunphs ; the sea (personified). 
''Sea Hare.'' Shell oblong, very tliin, membranous, with a 
ililn calcareous Inner la\’cr, nearly as large as the mantle, con- 
ctu'e; posterior sinus coucavc; embryonic shell small, pointed, 
recurved. Type — T. Irporina Jdnnc, 
T. norfolkensis Sow'erh)' 1866 {Aplysia). PI. 1, fig. 21. 
Shell horny, brow'n, arched, vcntricose, (ibliquely siibovatc, thin, 
smooth; apex elevated, round, auriculated at the back; upper 
margin sloj'icd, excavated; outer lip rather convex; lower margin 
rounded; dorsal margin arched, rounded, thinly reflected near 
the apex, obliquely inedned tow'ards the lower end. Length 19, 
dlam. 16 mm. MacDonnell Bay under stones at low-tide during 
January spawning (Cotton). Type locality — Sydney Harbour. 
