CUBAN SUBFAMILY CHONDROPOMINAE TORRE AND BARTSCH 205 



CHONDROPOMETES (CHONDROPOMETES) VIGNALENSE (Wright) Pfeiffer 



Shell rather large, turbinate, thin, semitranslucent, openly nmbili- 

 cated, varying in color from plain gronnd-glass \Yhite through horn- 

 color to brown or even purplish, unicolor or marked with interrupted 

 spiral bands. Nuclear whorls 2 or more, strongly rounded, forming 

 a somewhat truncated apex, the first half strongly granulose, the 

 next turn minutely granulose, while the last half of the last turn 

 shows faint indications of the beginnings of the axial threads, which 

 become stronger as the shell increases in size and eventually merge 

 into the postnuclear axial sculpture. Postnuclear wdiorls inflated, 

 strongly rounded wath the summit roundly shouldered, marked by 

 retractively curved, closely spaced, sublamellar axial riblets, which 

 are rendered wavy by the weakly developed spiral cords. At ir- 

 regular intervals the axial riblets are more closely approximated 

 than the succeeding or preceding ones, which lends the whorls a 

 somewhat scalariform pattern. Suture strongly constricted. Pe- 

 ripliery of the last whorl strongly rounded; base inflated, strongly 

 rounded, openly broadly umbilicated, marked by the continuation of 

 the axial ribs and spiral threads, the latter becoming usually more 

 intensified on the umbilical wall within the umbilicus. The last 

 whorl in adult shells is usually solute for some little distance; the 

 outside of the parietal wall being there marked by the continuation 

 of the axial ribs. Aperture varying from very broadly oval to sub- 

 circular with a slight angulation at the posterior angle. The 

 peristome is very narrowly expanded and reflected. The operculum 

 is thin, multispiral, horny with a fine granulose, calluslike deposit 

 which is heaviest on the inner margin and thins out, vanishing about 

 the middle or a little beyond the middle of the whorls. This deposit 

 is present in more or less wavy or threadlike depositions and lends 

 to the outer surface of the operculum a slightly corrugated pattern. 



The animal of Chondropometes {Ghondropometes) mgiiaJense is 

 rather short and has the sole of the foot divided by a median longi- 

 tudinal cleft, the locomotion being efi^ected alternately by tlie two 

 sides. The tentacles are slightly expanded laterally near the tip. 



In C . {C.) vignalense vignalense the body is pale smoky gray on 

 the sides. Forehead and top of the body darker. Sole of the foot 

 flesh -color, with smoky suffusion, which is also the color of the snout. 

 Tentacles smoky gray at base, gradually changing to yellowish-olive 

 toward the tip. This is also the color of C. (C.) mgnalense clappi. 



The animal of C. {C.) vignalense puertecitense may be described 

 as follows: Flesh-color, with a smoky-gray tinge. Tip of the head, 

 snout, and basal half of the tentacles bluish smoky gray, the snout 

 portion having a brownish flush. The tip of the tentacles is olive- 



