Volume I Part 10 (2/2)

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?

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