TRITON. 



[i. 



Species 3. (Fig. 3 b, Mus. Cuming.) 



Triton variegatus. Trit. testa elongato-conicd, tuba- 

 formi, infernl ventricosd ; varicibus tredecim aut 

 quatuordecim, /ilaniusen/is : sjiird elatd, prope apicem 

 subtilissimi nodulosd ; anfractibus irregulariter con- 

 volutis, transversim obtuso-costatis, liris quaternis vel 

 quints crenato-crispis juxta suturam cingulatis ; al- 

 bidii aut pallide luteold, purpureo-rubro spadiceoque 

 lautl variegatd et tessellatd ; columelld nigricante- 

 purpured, mgis plurimis lacteis encausticis ornatd, 

 rugd superd maximd, plicaformi ; apertura fauce 

 rufescente ; labro denticulate, intus interdum albo bi- 

 dentato ; canali brevissimo, subrecurvo. 



The variegated Triton. Shell elongately conical, 

 trumpet-shaped, ventricose at the lower part ; va- 

 rices thirteen or fourteen in number, rather flat ; 

 spire elevated, very finely noduled near the apex ; 

 whorls irregularly convoluted, transversely obtusely 

 ribbed, encircled next the suture with four or five 

 crenately crisped or beaded ridges ; whitish or pale 

 yellow, gaudily variegated and tessellated with 

 purple-red and bay colour ; columella blackish 

 purple, ornamented with numerous cream-coloured 

 enamelled wrinkles, the uppermost wrinkle being 

 very large and plait-like ; interior of the aperture 

 reddish; lip denticulated, sometimes double-toothed 

 on the inner edge with white ; canal very short, 

 somewhat recurved. 



Lamarck, Anim. sans vert. (Deshayes' edit.), vol. ix. 

 p. b'23. Encyclopedie Methodique, pi. 421. f. 2, 

 a and b. 



Buccinium variegatum, Fabius Columna. 

 Murex Tritonis, Linnaeus. 

 Lampusia Tritonis, Schumacher. 



Hab. Eastern Seas. 



Variety /3. (Plate I. Fig. 3 a, Mus. Cuming.) 

 Testa brevior, anfractibus superne obtuso-angulatis, no- 



dnlis prope apicem fere oiiso/etis. 

 Shell shorter, whorls obtusely angled round the upper 



part, nodules near the apex almost obsolete. 

 De Blainville, Malacologie, pi. IS. f. 3 and 3 a. 

 Hab. West Indies. 



Two very distinct varieties of this ancient species ap- 

 pear to have been figured by authors without particular 



discrimination ; and it is important to notice that one is 

 from the eastern, the other from the western hemisphere. 

 The former, Fig. 3 b, is the more elongated and grace- 

 fully convoluted shell, and attains rather the larger size; 

 the latter, Fig. 3 a, Plate I., forms a peculiar angle or 

 hump round the upper part of the whorls, and the spire 

 is smoother towards the apex. 



Species 4. (Fig. a and b, Mus. Cuming.) 

 Thiton lineatus. Trit. testa nvato-fttsifurmi, varicibus 

 quinque, crassis.prominentibus, subcompressis ; sjiird 

 mediocri ; anfractibus inferne attenuatis, subirregula- 

 riter coiwo/utis, superne retuso-angulatis, nodosis, 

 nodis qrandibus, laiii/itialiiniliter undato-plicatis ; spa- 

 diceo-fiavd, lineis derails castaneo-fiiseis, alternatim 

 minoribus, undiquefuniculatd,lineis interstitiisque cre- 

 nulatis; columella rugosd, callositate superne armatd, 

 apertures fauce atro-purpured, labro i/itiis irregula- 

 riter albidenticulato ; canali breviusculo. 

 The lineated Triton. Shell ovately fusiform, with 

 five thick, prominent, rather compressed varices ; 

 spire middling ; whorls attenuated at the lower 

 part, rather irregularly convoluted, bluntly angled 

 at the upper part, knobbed, knobs large and longi- 

 tudinally plicated in a waved manner ; yellowish 

 bay-colour, everywhere corded with raised chestnut 

 brown lines, the alternate of which are smaller, lines 

 as well as the interstices between them crenulated; 

 columella wrinkled, armed at the upper part with 

 a callosity ; columella and interior of the aperture 

 blackish purple, lip irregularly denticidated within, 

 denticulations white ; canal rather short. 

 Broderip, Pro. Zool. Soc, 1S33. 



Hab. Galapagos Islands, Pacific Ocean (found in coral 

 sand at the depth of about six fathoms) ; Cuming. 

 Mr. Cuming may be justly proud of this remarkable 

 species of Triton ; it is of a yellowish bay-colour, every- 

 where encircled with finely crenulated chestnut-brown 

 cords, which mount with exceeding regularity over the 

 varices ; the columella and interior of the aperture are 

 lined with dark blackish purple, and form a striking 

 contrast with the wrinkles and denticulated sculpture 

 around them, which are of pure white. 



March 1S44. 



