SCALARIA. 89 



aspect, it almost vanished. Ever since the cultivation 

 of conchology (in the limited sense of the word and not 

 as a science), the true " wentletrap " or " windeltreppe " 

 has been regarded as an object of especial , admiration 

 for its graceful shape and exquisite sculpture ; it fetched 

 at one time as high a price as some of the rarest cones 

 and cowries, which (in my opinion) it far excels in 

 beautv. Lamarck states that the ridges which adorn 

 the shell are marks of growth, each forming in succes- 

 sion the border of the mouth. This is probably the 

 case, if we consider them marks of periodical rather than 

 annual growth : a full-grown S. communis has about 100 

 of these ridges, and we can hardly suppose that it lives 

 as many years. The number of varices or stronger 

 ridges, distributed at intervals and observable in S. Tur- 

 tonce and other species, may indicate the age. Scalari<e 

 inhabit every sea, although frequenting more the Indian 

 Ocean. About 200 species have been described, recent 

 and fossil. We are told by Nyst that many of the latter 

 occur in -the cretaceous and tertiary formations ; one 

 has been recorded from the Coral Rag, and another as 

 Silurian. 



Among the synonyms are Scala of Klein (pre-Lin- 

 nean), Scalarus of Montfort, and Clathrus of Oken. 



1. Scalaria Tub/ton,*:"*, [Turtonis) Turton. 



Turbo Turtonis, Turt. Conch. Diet. p. 208, f. 97. S. Turtonis, F. & H. 

 iii. p. 204, pi. kx. f. 1, 2. 



Body dark-coloured : proboscis long : eyes placed on promi- 

 nent tubercles : foot white behind and underneath, folded in 

 front when withdrawn into the shell. (Bixona, Jicle Philippi). 



Shell slender, solid, opaque, somewhat glossy : sculpture, 

 slightly curved, flattened, and more or less imbricated longi- 



* Earned after a daughter of Dr. Turton. 



