26 



The fBmily Conulnriidir has been dumped into the Class Ftero- 

 poda, by somo authors, and into the Class Gastropodd, by otherp, 

 and, probably, the reason has been about as good in the one case 

 as in the other; for it may have no near relation to either. It is 

 like the 6rnp{olUid<v, no one knows to what Class it belongs, 

 though every author, having anything to do with the family, will 

 drop it into some Class, and say nothing about the reason for 

 doing so. 



It is not scientific to name a Class, in the subkingdom Mollusca, 

 when the definition of the Class and a single order belonging to 

 it must, necessarily, be the same. We have gone as far, in Classi- 

 fication, by briefly defining a new Order, as it is practicable to go, 

 in the present state of the learning, besides, we anticipate future 

 discoveries will throw important light upon the subject. Cotiukiria 

 belonged to the great ocean, but whether its home was in the 

 depths or near the surface, we do not know. If it had been a 

 littoral shell, it would not have found a place in so many Groups 

 of rocks, where other littoral shells are unknown. It possessed a 

 hardy shell, capable of preservation in nearly all deposits, or we 

 would not find it, with its peculiar purple, phosphatic lustre, in 

 sandstones, clays, shales, and limestones. We find it scattered 

 here and there, generally very rare, and never in abundance, which 

 indicates that we have not found it in its best and favored habi- 

 tations. When we find it in abundance, we may find and recog- 

 nize its relatives, and, even before that time, or at any time, we 

 are liable to see them unearthed, for we have seen only a very 

 small part of the rocks belonging to our country. 



CONULABIA ROEPERI, U. Sp. 



Plate III, Fig. 1, middle part of a specimen, wider side; Fig. 

 2, transverse section. 



Species large, long, slowly expanding, pyramidal, subquadrate, in 

 transverse section. Transverse diameter a little greater between 

 the sides one way than the other. Sides slightly conevx. The 

 four angles deeply furrowed. Longitudinal line in the middle of 

 each of the four sides, but it cannot be called a furrow, as it 

 does not, in all cases, break the transverse costtc. Surface orna- 

 mented with transverse arches, shallow, smooth furrows, that are 

 separated by fine lines or costio. In passing across the sides the 

 cost;© curve forward toward the aperture, and sometimes alternate 

 in the middle, and at other times cross the mesial line almost with- 

 out interruption. The distance between these transverse lines does 



