THE HUNGARIAN CAPS Genus CAPULUS, Montf.
Shell conical, without internal plate or cup; apex spiral, posterior; muscle scar horseshoe-shaped.
A genus of few species, widely distributed.
The Hungarian Cap (C. Hungaricus, Linn. ) has no tassel to pull its peak over to one side and downward, but it is a perfect cap without it. The shell has fine, close, radiating lines crossed by less frequent lines of growth. A horny epidermis, often hairy, covers the outer surface, which is as white when cleaned as the polished lining. The animal is held in the shell by a strong muscular attachment. In British waters it is found attached to shells and large rocks, especially near beds of oysters and scallops, at depths varying from seven to eighty-five fathoms.
The mollusks are sedentary, shaping the shell margins to fit the station, forming shallow excavations, sometimes depositing a shelly floor. They feed on minute animal organisms and seaweed. The-eggs are laid in membraneous cases which are attached in a single tuft to the foot under the neck.
152 The Slipper Shells. Cup-and-saucer Limpets This strange limpet-like creature is found near Iceland and off Martha's Vineyard, at 69 to 458 fathoms depth. In the South it appears off the Florida Keys and the West Indies. The average specimen is i I to 2 inches across, at base, and t to i inches high.
Twenty fossil species are known, the earliest from Silurian rocks.