The Hares Ear

THE HARE'S EAR Genus CONCHOLEPAS, Lam.

Shell heavy, ovate, last whorl disproportionately expanded;. spire short, turned obliquely to left, aperture wide, with slight channel at anterior margin; inner lip flattened; outer, with two small teeth; operculum small, inadequate; exterior of shell strongly ribbed and set with lamellate scales. Foot large, occupy ing the whole aperture.

Conoholepas Peruvianum, Linn.,

looks like a great limpet or Haliotis, clinging to rocks on the Peruvian coast by the suction of its broad foot. The Chilians pound the rubbery flesh until it is tender, then cook it and esteem it an excellent sea food. Down the west coast the tribes use the shells for drinking as they are of handy size and shape.

Genus MAGILUS, Mond.

Shell spiral when young, thin, few-whorled, with wide mouth; operculum ovate; later the shell is extended into a long, keeled tube. Animal highly organised.

M. Antiquus,

Linn., begins life with a pretty, smooth shell," like that of a whelk. Soon it attaches itself to a coral. As the polyps grow, adding thickness to the solid wall, the mollusk extends its aperture, and keeps it flush with the surface. The animal, too, keeps moving outward, closing the shell behind it with solid lime.

Habitat.— Red Sea, Indian Ocean.

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