. The popular natural history . Zoology. 510 CONE SHELLS. mollusc provide against such a fate by lengthening its shell and taking up its residence in the mouth. The most curious point, however, in the ecotiomy of the Magilus is, that as fast as it adds a new shell in front, it fills up the cavity behind with a solid concretion of shelly matter, very hard, and of an almost crystalline structure, so as to leave about the same amount of space as in the original shell. The animal is always to be found in the very front of the shelly tube, and closes the apenure with a strong operculum that effectu
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 510 CONE SHELLS. mollusc provide against such a fate by lengthening its shell and taking up its residence in the mouth. The most curious point, however, in the ecotiomy of the Magilus is, that as fast as it adds a new shell in front, it fills up the cavity behind with a solid concretion of shelly matter, very hard, and of an almost crystalline structure, so as to leave about the same amount of space as in the original shell. The animal is always to be found in the very front of the shelly tube, and closes the apenure with a strong operculum that effectually shields it against all foes. We now pass to the Cone-shells, or Conidae, a family so called on account of their form. All the Cones have a similar external outline : the aperture is long and narrow, the head of the living animal is more or less lengthened, the foot is splay and abruptly cut off in front, the tentacles are rather widely separate, and the eyes are placed upon these organs. The right-hand figure represents the Textile Cone-shell, brought from the Mauritius. This handsome species is about four or five inches in length and its markings are curiously disposed, so that it is impossible to say which. ADMIRAL CONE.—[Conus ammiralis.) TEXTILE —(Comis textilis.) \s the ground colour. The dark, narrow, angular lines are dark brown, accompanied by white, and variegated by dashes of yellow umber. The bold triangular spots are pure white, and the inside of the shell is of the same colour. The empty shell lying on the ground, at the left of the illustration, is the Admiral Cone, and is placed so as to exhibit the peculiarities of the long and narrow aperture. This species, in common with the other members of the genus, haunts the fissures and holes in rocks, and the warmer pools in coral reefs. They all take a moderate range of depth, varying from one to forty fathoms. We now come to the family of the Cowries, or Cyprasidas, two representa- tives of which famil
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
