456 PELOKTDJE. 



be to form for the lanthinte, Scalariae, Naticas, Lamellaria, and 

 VelutinoB, a family, combining the respective characters of the 

 holostomatous and canaliferous divisions of the Gasteropoda, 

 as, by their entire apertures, they have, coiichologically, an 

 affinity with the former tribe, and by the retractile pro- 

 boscis, malacologically, the closest alliance with the Canali- 

 fera. Naturalists must therefore either raise each of the 

 above genera to the rank of families, which at best can only 

 have conchological variations, and scarcely any very essential 

 malacological distinction, or deposit them for conciseness' sake 

 in a neutral one, under an indifferent term, embracing the 

 principal attributes of the five genera. I propose the appel- 

 lation of the Peloridffi, from the Peloris of the ancients, pro- 

 bably a testaceous animal, but whether of the holostomatous 

 or muricidal race is doubtful ; the name is therefore the more 

 appropriate for a family of hybrid and transitive pretensions. 

 The position of the new family would be between the Pyra- 

 midellides and Muricidae : its genera, with the Chemnitzite and 

 Eulima, which also have an entire aperture and retractile 

 proboscis, may be said to occupy a sort of debateable ground 

 between two of the great divisions of the gasteropodan 

 domain. 



These anomalous genera must not be looked on as freaks of 

 nature ; they are her avenues from one division of a class to 

 another. Under the respective genera will be pointed out the 

 curious characters that connect them with particular groups, 

 and also the various points of difference between them, which, 

 though conchologically great in appearance, when malacolo- 

 gically examined will exhibit striking similarities : for instance, 

 lanthina and Scalaria are inseparable, as are Natica, Lamel- 

 laria and Velutina ; but notwithstanding their respective dis- 

 crepancies, they all have various connecting links, decidedly 

 showing that they form a single family about to blend with the 

 strict Muricidce. Many considerations have induced me to 

 propose the family Pelorida. Abstractedly, I would rather have 

 preferred the transfer of its proposed genera as sections of the 

 Muricida, with which group they appear to have the greater 

 approximation ; nevertheless, for the present I abandon this 



