26 



A REVIEW OP THE VOLUTIDAE 



Alt. 80, diam. kl mm. Angle of spire 50°. 



Hab. Spirits Bay, North Island (C. Cooper, 

 Captain Bollons), New Zealand. 



Shell moderately large, ovate, 

 solid, with a short spire and a large aper- 

 ture, the last two or three whorls with 

 nodules on the angle of the shoulder, with 

 a few brown zig-zag lines. Sculpture: The 

 penultimate whorl with a row of distant 

 roundish nodules above the suture, the 

 body-whorl with a row of elongated promi- 

 nent nodules on the angle of the shoulder, 

 their number being about 8 or 10. Color 

 yellowish-white, with a few longitudinal 

 fulvous zig-zag bands, indistinctly ar- 

 ranged in 3 spiral bands on the body-whorl 

 and a fourth above the fasclole, outer lip 

 with a few brown spots. Spire low, conoid- 

 al, its height about one-third of the aper- 

 ture. Protoconch much worn and the nu- 

 cleus lost in examples available. Whorls 

 about 7} the last very large, the upper 

 whorls slightly convex, the last two broad- 

 ly shouldered, the slope, flattish, body- 

 whorl flatly convex at the periphery and 

 somewhat contracted below; the fascicle 

 broad, hardly raised, flattish. Suture 

 distinct but not deep. Aperture high, tri- 

 angular, narrow above, widened below, with 

 a narrow upper channel, very broadly 

 truncated and rather deeply notched at the 

 base. Outer lip oblique, its upper part 

 nearly straight, the lower moderately 

 curved, much thickened, rounded, smooth, 

 but not reflected, retrocurrent toward the 

 suture. Coliunella subvertical, straight, 

 with 5 or G somewhat inequidistant subequal 

 strong and flat plaits, sometimes with an 

 additional small plait above; the columel- 

 la slightly twisted below and produced 

 into a narrowly rounded beak, extending 

 beyond the Inferior end of the outer lip. 

 Inner lip thin, spreading broadly over the 

 body and the lightly convex wall, with a 

 rounded raised outer edge below. 



Alcithoe f estiva (Lamarck^ 

 (Plate 9, Figure 69) 



1822 



Valuta f estiva Lamarck, An. s. Vert., vol. 

 7, p. 347, 1822; 2nd ed., vol. 10, p. 

 404, 1844. Kiener: Icon. Coq Viv., 

 p. 31, plate 22, fig, 2 (type, half- 



grown), 1839. Kuster, Conch. Cab,, 2nd 

 ed.. Vol. 5, Pt. 2, p. 184, plate 38, 

 fig. 4 (copy of Kiener), l84l. Sowerby: 

 Thes. Conch., vol. 1, p, 218, plate 52, 

 figs. 79, 80, (original from Lamarck's 

 type). Reeve: Conch. Icon., vol. 6, 

 plate 12, figs. 28a-c (28a, adult, b 

 and c young), 1849. Chenu: Man, de 

 Conch., p. 188, fig, 960 (after Reeve), 

 1859. Tryon: Man. Conch., vol. 4, 

 p. 95, plate 30, fig, 125 (after Reeve), 

 1882, 



Alt. 100-125 mm. 



Hab. Southeast Africa, Natal coast (Sower- 

 by). 



Nucleus consisting of one and one- 

 half whorls; post-nuclear whorls, four to 

 five, with obtuse, longitudinal ribs, which 

 are nearly obsolete at the suture; last 

 whorl, transversely striated; columella 

 with three oblique, anterior plaits. 



Said to be one of the rarest 

 Volutes. 



Alcithoe gracilis (Swalnson) 1821 

 (Plate 9, Figure 74) 



Valuta iracills Swalnson, Journ. Sci., vol. 

 17, p. 32, 1821. Reeve: Conch. Icon., 

 plate 17, fig. 40, 1849. Sowerby: Thes. 

 Conch., vol. 1, p. 206, plate 55, figs. 

 177, 188. Suter: Man, New Zealand 

 Moll,, p. 448, plate 48, fig. 8, 1913- 

 15. Powell: Shell Pish New Zealand, 

 p. 81, species 1088, plate 12, fig. 4, 

 1937. 



Valuta paclfica iracilis Swalnson, Tryon: 

 Man, Conch,, vol. 4, p. 94, plate 28, 

 fig. 99, 1882, 



Alt. 55, diam, 23 mm. 



Hab. New Zealand; also occurs in the 

 ■Castlecliff fossil beds. 



Nucleus consisting of two whorls; 

 post-nuclear whorls, four; suture, moder- 

 ately Impressed; nodules upon periphery 

 comparatively Indistinct, about twelve upon 

 body whorl; surface with occasional, part- 

 ly oblique broken, Incised lines, which 

 are most apparent upon the spire and upon 



i 



