210 HELICID^. 



16. H. virga'ta*, Da Costa. 



H. virgata, Da Costa, Brit. Conch, p. 79, pi. iv. f. 7 ; F. & H. iv. p. 57, 

 pi. cxvii. f. 10. 



Body yellowish-white or ash-grey, coarsely tubercled : 

 mantle often dark- violet, indistinctly speckled with milk-white 

 and brown: tentacles rather thick, cylindrico-conic, greyish 

 with a dusky tinge ; bulbs globular and reddish, speckled with 

 brown at their base : foot broad and rounded in front, gradually 

 narrowing behind and ending in a blunt but not keeled tail. 



Shell conical, with a broad and convex base, rather solid 

 and opaque, moderately glossy, white or cream-colour, with a 

 single broad purplish-brown or chestnut band immediately 

 above the periphery and two or three other bands (sometimes 

 as many as six or seven) below it ; the colour, however, is 

 very variable, being occasionally plain yellowish, white, or dark 

 brown with white bands, or the dark bands are streaked or 

 interrupted so as to make the surface appear spotted ; sculp- 

 ture consisting only of stria3 in the line of growth, which are 

 closer on the upper whorls : 'periphery rounded, except in 

 young shells, which have a short but rather sharp keel : epi- 

 dermis scarcely perceptible : whorls 6, convex but slightly 

 compressed towards the suture, the last occupying more than 

 one-half of the shell : spire raised, purplish-brown at the 

 point : suture moderately deep : mouth forming a segment of 

 three-fourths of a circle, inside purplish-brown with a strong 

 rib of the same colour, or white in the albino variety : outer 

 lip sharp, reflected towards and over the umbilicus, rather 

 abruptly inflected above : umbilicus narrow, but deep, and ex- 

 posing nearly all the interior of the spire. L. 0*4. B. 0-55. 



Yar. 1. suhaperta. Shell of a whiter hue : spire more de- 

 pressed : umbilicus wider. 



Var. 2. subglobosa. Shell smaller, Avith a double band above 

 the periphery, last whorl larger in proportion to the others : 

 umbilicus wider. 



Var. 3. submaritima, Des Moulins. Shell much smaller and 

 more deeply coloured, often with a violet tinge : spire raised. 

 L. 0-25. B. 0-325. 



Yar. 4. carinata. Shell yellowish-white, compressed above : 

 periphery strongly keeled. 



Habitat : Sandy downs and heaths in most parts of 



* Banded. 



