TRITON.— Plate III. 



fractuum parte superiori obtuse angulatd, fortiter 

 liratd, liris lavibus ; albd, rubro-fuscescente nebu- 

 latd et tessellatd ; columelld supeme plicatd, plied 

 sitperd valde prominente ; aperturd ampld, fauce albd, 

 labro intas crenato-denticulato ; eanali brevi. 

 The knobbed Triton. Shell ovately conical, trumpet- 

 shaped, ventricose towards the lower part, very 

 much inflated, sparingly covered with a very slight 

 epidermis ; varices eleven or twelve in number, 

 knobbed ; spire rather short, acuminated ; whorls 

 convex, rather irregularly convoluted, transversely 

 rather obsoletely ridged, encircled round the mid- 

 dle with two rows of knobs, which almost disappear 

 upon the last whorl, upper part of the whorls ob- 

 tusely angled, strongly ridged, ridges smooth ; 

 white, clouded and tessellated with reddish brown ; 

 columella plaited at the upper part, uppermost 

 plait very prominent ; aperture large, interior white, 

 lip crenately denticulated within ; canal short. 

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



p. 624. 

 Kiener, Iconographie Coq. viv., pi. 1. 



Murex nerei (pars), Dillwyn. 

 Hab. Mediterranean. 



This species is characterized by its ventricose and in- 

 flated growth, as well as by the absence of any tinge of 

 red or purple, either externally or internally. It is not 

 the only nodiferousof the large trumpet-shaped Tritons, 

 for the Triton australis is nodiferous ; nor is it the most 

 strongly nodiferous, for in the Triton Saulite, Plate V . 

 Fig. 17, a new species collected by Mr. Cuming in the 

 Philippine Islands, the knobs are much more strongly 

 developed than in either of the species just spoken of. 



The Triton nodiferus is a common inhabitant of the 

 Mediterranean : having lately received upwards of sixty 

 or seventy specimens collected by a gentleman for 

 amusement during a short residence at Messina, I can 

 fully testify of its abundance ; and Philippi mentions 



that certain portions of the animal are esteemed as de- 

 licious (though probably tough) eating by the Neapo- 

 litan ttshermen. 



Species 10. (Mus. Cuming.) 

 Triton Ranelloides. Trit. testd Ranellceformi, vari- 

 cibus decern, nodiferis ; spird elevatd ; anfractibus. 

 superficie totd subtilissime reticulata, svperne de- 

 pressis, infra nodis grandibus biseriatim, anfractu ul- 

 timo triseriatim, cinetis, nodis inferioribus minoribus ; 

 luteo-albidd , fuscescente varid, taniis unbtilissimiit 

 fuscescente alboque articulatis, lineis fuscis fortiori- 

 bus inter nodos, cinctd ; columelld maculd purpurea 

 albirugosd superue tinctd ; apertunr fauce albd, labro 

 ■intas leviter denticulato j eanali brevissimo. 



| The Ranella-like Triton. Shell Ranella-shaped, 

 with ten nodiferous varices ; spire raised ; whorls 

 very finely or minutely reticulated over their entire 

 surface, depressed at the upper part, encircled be- 

 neath with two rows of large knobs, the lower of 

 which are the smaller, last whorl exhibiting three 

 rows of knobs ; whitish yellow, variegated with 

 light brown, encircled with exceedingly fine fillets 

 of articulated brown and white, with very much 

 stronger brown lines between the knobs ; colu- 

 mella stained at the upper part with a purple spot, 

 crossed with white wrinkles ; interior of the aper- 

 ture white, lip slightly denticulated within ; canal 

 very short. 

 Reeve, Pro. Zool. Soc, 1844. 



Hab. Matnog, Province of Albay, Island of Luzon, 

 Philippines (found on the reefs) ; Cuming. 

 Partaking as this shell does in almost equal propor- 

 tion of the characters of both Triton and Ranella, it has 



I been a matter of some difficulty to decide to which of 



| the two genera it might with the greater propriety be 



| referred. 



