MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 67 



Family CONID^. 



This family, being chiefly composed of littoral or comparatively shallow 

 water forms, is hardly represented in the Blake collections. A clean-up of a 

 number of dead shells obtained in various places affords some notes of interest. 



Genus CONUS Linne. 



Conus Mazei Deshates. 



C. Mazei Deshayes, Journ. de Conchyl., XXII. p. 64, pi. i. fig. 1, 1874. Tryon, Man., 



Conus, p. 39, pi. ii. fig. 10 (bad), 1884. 

 1 C. gracilis Sowerby, P. Z. S. 1875, p. 125, pi. xxiv. fig. 6. 



Station 262, 92 fms., Grenada, bottom of coral and shells; Barbados, 100 

 fms. ; Station 132, 115 fms., Santa Cruz, bottom rock and broken shells, bottom 

 temperature 65° F. 



This remarkable cone, recalling in its normal painting Scaphella Junonia, as 

 observed by Deshayes, was not obtained by the Blake in perfect condition 

 except for a few young specimens; broken specimens, however, nearly as large 

 as the figured type, are included in the collection, and afford the following 

 observations. 



The middle surface of the species is not always, nor it would seem gener- 

 ally, smooth as in the type. None of the Blake specimens are smooth. All 

 are strongly and rather uniformly sulcate all over ; the revolving ribs flat and 

 smooth, broadest in the middle of the whorl, while the narrower sulcations are 

 prettily reticulated by raised, close transverse threads. The nucleus is small, 

 smooth, glassy, and rather loosely coiled, in three turns. 



The nine revolving series of squarish brown spots may be faint, or even ab- 

 sent. There may exist with them a series of three obscure pale bands begin- 

 ning at the carina, and alternating with cloudy brownish bands with the color 

 more or less distributed in the shape of ill-defined transverse narrow flam- 

 mules. The spots may be superposed on this, or absent. It may also be 

 nearly uniform brown with whitish spots. The anterior end of the columella 

 may also be of a darkish brown. The width varies in proportion to the length. 

 The young shells are proportionately wider. The nearest relative of G. Mazei 

 appears to be C. Orbignyi Audouin (planicostatus Sowerby), which apparently 

 differs from the above mentioned banded variety, chiefly in being wider. 

 Sowerby's C. gracilis may perhaps be an unusually brown specimen, though 

 of this I am not confident. 



Conus cedonulli Lamarck. 



C. cedonulli Lamarck, Reeve, Conch. Icon. Conus, pi. ix. fig. 46 f. 



Two small specimens from Barbados; Station 290, in 73 fms., coarse coral 

 bottom, temperature at the bottom 71° F. 



