Dwellers of the sea and shore dwellersofseasho00crow Year: 1935 32 Dwellers of the Sea and Shore from natural enemies or other accidents. These ene- mies are sometimes large, sometimes small; they may be microscopic. Surprising as it may appear, after long resistance to the former, many animals reach a ripe old age only to succumb to the insidious attacks of the latter. Of course, the weaknesses due to old age make them especially liable to the invasions of these invisible hordes; nevertheless, sooner or later, the great majority of marine animals meet a premature death. Thus it has been wit
Dwellers of the sea and shore dwellersofseasho00crow Year: 1935 32 Dwellers of the Sea and Shore from natural enemies or other accidents. These ene- mies are sometimes large, sometimes small; they may be microscopic. Surprising as it may appear, after long resistance to the former, many animals reach a ripe old age only to succumb to the insidious attacks of the latter. Of course, the weaknesses due to old age make them especially liable to the invasions of these invisible hordes; nevertheless, sooner or later, the great majority of marine animals meet a premature death. Thus it has been with the occupants of the shells on HOLE DRILLED IN THE SHELL OF A MUSSEL BY A MOON SNAIL. the beach. In the case of the many, both the bivalves and the univalves show one unmistakable clue to the identity of the assassin who dispatched them. This is a small round perforation in the shell through which a wheat straw can be passed. It is the mark of the moon snail or one of its carnivorous brethren. The moon snail {Lunatia heros) is easily the largest shell-bearing mollusk in these waters. When full grown its rounded, w^hitish, spirally coiled shell is about four inches long. But like the familiar pond snail, the ani- mal crawls on a large fleshy foot. This foot with its
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Photo credit: © Bookend / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: archive, book, drawing, historical, history, illustration, image, page, picture, print, reference, vintage
