Zoological Illustrations Volume I Part 10

OBS. _Testa plerumque spira elongata, apertura ad basin angustata, siphone superiore parvo aut nullo._

III. _Apertura supra ac.u.minata, extrinsecus recta, infra rotundata, dilatata, vel effusa._

_Mitrae papalis, episcopalis, &c._

OBS. _Testa plerumque laevi ad basin obtusa, truncata, labio exteriore margine crenato, gula laevi._

GENERIC CHARACTER.

Sh.e.l.l unequally fusiform; spire lengthened, attenuated; outer lip simple not toothed within. Columella plaited.

DIVISIONS.

I. Aperture narrow, linear, above angulated, below a little contracted.

_Mitrae vulpecula, plicata, &c._

OBS. Sh.e.l.l generally longitudinally plaited, equally fusiform; outer lip smooth, slightly waved; top of the inner lip much thickened within; throat striated.

II. Aperture above pointed, below narrowed, externally curved.

_Voluta mitra-abbatis._ Chemnitz, &c.

OBS. Sh.e.l.l generally with an elongated spire, the aperture below narrowed; upper syphon or channel small or wanting.

III. Aperture above pointed, externally straight, below rounded, widened or effuse.

_Mitrae papalis, episcopalis, &c._

OBS. Sh.e.l.l generally smooth, the base thick and truncated; margin of the outer lip crenated; throat smooth. The smaller sh.e.l.ls of this division connect the genera _Mitra_ and _Colombella_ (Lamarck).

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_M. testa angusta, basi cancellata; spira plicis carinatis; interst.i.tiis sulcis transversis confertis; columella 4-plicata; gula 4 aut 5 striis remotis._

Sh.e.l.l narrow, base cancellated. Spire with carinated plaits, the interstices with slender, crowded, transverse grooves. Pillar of four plaits; throat with four to five remote striae.

This superb sh.e.l.l is figured from a matchless specimen brought home by that ill.u.s.trious and lamented patron of science, the late Sir J. Banks, from the Pacific Ocean: it is now, together with his entire collection of sh.e.l.ls and insects, in the Museum of the Linnaean Society.

It is of great rarity, and the present specimen far exceeds in size any I have yet seen. A very perfect one exists in my father's collection which measures only two inches one line long: it differs slightly in wanting the lower white band and its inferior border: there is also an additional small plait between the second and third, a variation not uncommon in the Linnaean Volutes, and which lessens the importance of this character as a specific distinction.

It is unfigured, and I believe undescribed, unless perhaps in Solander's MSS. In its small state it may have been overlooked as one of the numerous varieties of _M. vulpecula_; but the sharp angulated plaitings, the cancellated base, and the numerous faintly-grooved lines on the spire, as well as the more slender and lengthened form, will at once distinguish it: its colours also are very striking and dissimilar.

Pl. 24

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CONOELIX.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

_Testa coniformis; spira brevissima; labium exterius simplex; columella plicata; apertura linearis, angusta, spira longior._

Typus Genericus _Conoelix lineatus_. n.o.bis.

Sh.e.l.l coniform. Spire very short. Outer lip simple. Columella or pillar plaited. Aperture linear, narrow, longer than the spire.

Generic Type _Conoelix lineatus_.

CONOELIX marmoratus.

_Marbled Conoelix--upper figures._

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_C. testa striis transversis, remotis, capillaribus; spira subproducta, ac.u.minata; anfractibus in medio linea sulcata; labio exteriore crenato._

Sh.e.l.l with remote capillary transverse striae. Spire slightly produced, ac.u.minated; the whorls with a central indented line. Outer lip crenated.

The rare little sh.e.l.ls composing the group I have now formed into the genus _Conoelix_, seem to have escaped the observation of modern systematic writers. They form a beautifully defined link connecting the Cones with the Volutes, strictly so termed, and their generic characters seem to be very constant and clear. The present species varies more or less in the regularity of its tessellated markings. The inside of the mouth is brown, and the pillar has five plaits. Several specimens are in the Banksian Cabinet, from the Pelew Islands. The figures are enlarged to one half more than the natural size.

CONOELIX lineatus.

_Lineated Conoelix--middle figures._

_C. testa laevi, albescente, lineis transversis, fulvis, capillaribus; spira depressa, apice prominulo; columella 6-plicata._

Sh.e.l.l smooth, whitish, with transverse capillary fulvous lines. Spire depressed, the apex prominent. Pillar six-plaited.

Figured of the natural size. The volutions of the spire are somewhat convex; the coloured lines are not indented. Inhabits the South Seas?