Fig. 264. Ovulum volva (Linnæus).
The genus Ovulum, so called from their egg-shaped form, occupy a place near the cones in some systems. The shell is highly polished, white or rose-coloured, oblong or oval, convex, attenuate, and acuminate at the extremities without apparent spiral, the edges milled within the long, narrow, and curved opening, with teeth upon the left edge, and with a few ripples on the right edge. The Ovula are inhabitants of the Indian Ocean and Chinese Seas. Some few species, however, belong to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The three species represented in Figs. 262, 263, and 264, present very singular contrasts of form and size.
The second family, Volutidæ, contains Mitra and Voluta.
Mitra.
The Mitres are so called from their resemblance to the bishop's mitre. They are natives of warm climates, such as the Indian Ocean, the Australian Seas, and the Moluccas. The shell of the Mitra is long, slender, and spiral, the spire ending in a point at the summit; the opening is small, narrow, and triangular, and notched in front. The inhabitant of the shell has the peculiarity of projecting from its mouth a sort of cylindrical trunk, which is long, very extensible as well as flexible, and probably prehensile, the use of which is only the subject of surmise. Mitra episcopalis (Fig. 265), from the Indian Ocean, is white, ornamented with square spots of a fine red, and capable of high polish.
Fig. 265. Mitra episcopalis (Lamarck).
Fig. 266. Mitra papalis (Lamarck).
Mitra papalis (Fig. 266) has dentiform folds round the opening, which also crown each turn of the spiral; the spots are smaller, and much more numerous and varied in form than those of M. episcopalis.