A REVIEW OJ" THE VOLUTIDAE 



FAMILY VOLUTIDAE 

 Subfamily VOLUTINAE 



Genus VOLUTA (Llnn^) Lamarck 1799 



valuta Lamarck, 1799, Prodrome, p. 70; sole 



ex. V . musica. 

 Valuta (sp,) Llnn^: Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 



p. 729, 1758; ed. 12, p. 1186, 1766. 

 Musica anonymous, Mus. Calonnianum, p. 18, 



1797. 

 Plejana Roedlng, Mus. Boltenlanum, p. 59, 



1798. 

 Volutarius Prorlep's, Trans, of Dumerll, 



Zool. Anal., p. 167, 1806. 

 Barpula Swainson, Zool. Illust., p. 77> 



1832, type V. ebraea. 

 Hustca MSrch: Cat. Yoldl, p. 124, I852. 

 Chlarosina Gray, In Adam's Genera Rec. 



Moll., 2, p. 617, 1858; sole ex. V. 



poliizonalls Lamarck, now V. virescens 



Solander. 

 Volutolyria Crosse, J. de C, 25, p. 99, 



1877. Fischer, Man. de C, p. 6IO, 



l88it. 



Genotype: Valuta musica L,lnn6. 



Range : Tropical and subtropical shores of 

 the Atlantic, the Caribbean Seas and 

 Gulf of Mexico, living; fossil, from the 

 Eocene upward in the Tertiaries of 

 Europe and Antillean region. 



Dall considered the Antillean re- 

 gion to be the center of dispersion for 

 this group. In Valuta musica and Valuta 

 virescens, the nucleus is small, shelly, 

 planorbold and smooth, while in Valuta 

 ebraea is of the large bulbous type. Oper- 

 culum present, horny. 



The early species of this group, 

 which occur in the Eocene, resemble more 

 closely the recent Lyria than the fully 

 evolved Valuta. 



Voluta musica musica Linfie 1758 

 (Plate 1, Figure J>) 



Voluta musica Linne, Syst, Nat. ed. 10, 

 p. 133, number 570, 1758. Lamarck: 

 Prodr. Nouv. Class. Coq., p. 70, 1799. 



Reeve: Conch. Icon, plate 8, figs. l8a- 

 l8d; plate 9, fig. l8e, 1849. Tryon: 

 Man. Conch., vol. 4, p. 85, plate 24, 

 1882. Wood:- Index Test., p. 107, spe- 

 cies 147, plate 21, fig. l47, 1856. 

 Chenu: Man. de Conch., p. I90, fig. 972, 

 1859. 



Alt. 50-92 mm, 



Eab. Antilles and adjacent waters. The 



range of V . musica musica and its various 

 subspecies is known only in general way. 

 Specific and accurate locality records, 

 both in the Caribbean and upon African 

 shores are desired. Krebs reported that 

 the largest known specimens were taken 

 on Margarita Island off the coast of 

 Venezuela. 



Shell, buff or yellowish white under 

 the usual brownish pattern, six or seven 

 sub-spinose stout ribs at shoulder of 

 whorl; nucleus dark brown; Interior of aper- 

 ture usually white. 



This species, the music shell of 

 early writers, was first given a binomial 

 name by Linne. His references to figures 

 include both the subspecies afterwards named 

 by Lamarck carnealata and that which is re- 

 garded as the typical. 



Voluta musica carneolata Lamarck I8II 

 (Plate 1, Figure l) 



Voluta carneolata Lamarck. Ann. du Mus., 17, 

 p. 67, 1811 ; Encycl. Meth., plate 379, 

 fig. 4, 1780. Klener: species plate 29, 

 fig. 2. 



Voluta musica var . corneal ata. Sowerby: 

 Thes. Conch., vol. 1, p. 219, plate 49, 

 fig. 37, 1847. 



Valuta ruiifera Lamarck, (considered by 

 Dall as pathological). 



Alt. (Sufficient material unavailable to 

 determine average size.) 



Hab. Barbados (Rawson); Liberia (Osborne); 



