154 Mr. A. Hancock^s Notes on Buccinum undatum. 



by the Rev. George Cooper Abbs : it is almost without undula- 

 tions, and is finely and regularly striated. There can be little 

 doubt that this individual is a mere modification of variety 2. 



The B. Zetlandicum seems to be different from B. fusiforme of 

 Broderip, with which Professor Edw. Forbes, howevei*, is disposed 

 to unite it. It is probable that B. fusiforme occurs in the seas 

 around Zetland, for I have seen a drawing of a shell brought from 

 thence by Br. Charlton which agrees very accurately with Bro- 

 derip's figure, particularly in the form of the columella and mouth, 

 the peculiarities of which would appear to distinguish this spe- 

 cies from all its allies. 



In the Newcastle Museum there is a very much elongated 

 shell with the whorls flattened and the apex much acuminated. 

 This specimen was taken on the Durham coast by the Rev. J. 

 Law, and is undoubtedly a mere lusus belonging to variety 2 : it 

 is only an inch and a half long, and is imperfectly and obscurely 

 undulated. In other respects it is a very good representation of 

 B. acuminatum of Broderip ; it lacks however somewhat of the 

 perfect symmetry of that shell, but has the strong plait and ge- 

 neral form of the columella, thus proving it to be a slight modi- 

 fication of Broderip^ s shell, which however most probably belongs 

 to variety 1, as it is described to have an epidermis. 



After a careful examination of the specimen in the Newcastle 

 Museum, it seems to me impossible to insist on the specific di- 

 stinctness of B, acuminatum ; and it is satisfactory to observe that 

 Mr. Gray considers the specimen of that reputed species in the 

 British Muaum to be merely a variety of B. undatum. The flat- 

 tened whorls and the shape of the spire are evidently of no 

 importance as specific characters ; and the form of the mouth and 

 columella does not distinguish it from B. undatum. It is true 

 the characters of these parts are considerably exaggerated, but 

 certainly not more so than might be expected in a lusus, whose 

 deviation from the normal form is mainly dependent on the ex- 

 traordinary growth of the pillar. 



Variety 3. occurs between tide-marks on rocks and mud. 



This variety is not uncommon on the coasts of Northumber- 

 land and Durham ; I have received it also from the east coast of 

 Scotland and the west coast of England, and Mr. Alder has taken 

 it in the Isles of Bute and Arran. It may always be distinguished 

 from the two preceding varieties by its short, conical spire and 

 large body whorl; the mouth is longer than the spire, and the undu- 

 lations are never very strong, and are sometimes quite obliterated ; 

 the whorls are somewhat flattened; the epidermis, which is fre- 

 quently wanting, is occasionally strong and hairy ; and the shell 

 is generally of a uniform darkish brown colour, occasionally of a 

 yellowish hue, sometimes white ; I have never seen it with co- 



