TRITON. 



Species 11, a and b. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Triton exilis. Trit. testa clavaformi, varice unico 

 parvo ; spird breviusculd ; anfractibus superiw angu- 

 latis, in/erne coarctatis, transversim subirregulariter 

 costatis, costis /iris parvis longitudinalibus decussatis, 

 tuberculatis, tuberculis grandibus, prominentibus, sub- 

 compressis ; alba, aurantio-fusco sparsim tinctd ; co- 

 lumella plicatd, plicis superioribus va/d'e majoribus, 

 ape r t une fau ce albd, labro intus rugoso-denticulato . 

 canali loiigissimo, superne pcculiariter contorto. 

 The slender Triton. Shell club-shaped, with a single 

 small varix ; spire rather short ; whorls angulated 

 at the upper part, contracted at the lower, trans- 

 versely rather irregularly ribbed, ribs crossed by 

 small longitudinal ridges, tuberculated, tubercles 

 large, prominent, rather compressed ; white, stained 

 in places with orange-brown; columella plaited, 

 upper plaits much the larger, aperture white within, 

 lip rugosely denticulated ; canal very long, pecu- 

 liarly twisted at the upper part. 

 Reeve, Pro. Zool. Soc, 1S44. 



Hab. San Nicolas, island of Zebu, Philippines (found in 

 sandy mud at the depth of ten fathoms) ; Cuming. 

 This highly interesting species has been erroneously 

 published by Mr. Sowerby in his ' Genera of Shells,' and 

 by myself in my ' Conchologia Systematica,' vol. ii. 

 plate 243. fig. 3, for the Triton clavator, and demon- 

 strates how necessary is the examination of an entire 

 genus by comparison for the proper discrimination of the 

 species. No question as to the specific difference of 

 these two shells could however be urged, for they vary 

 materially both in form and detail of sculpture. The 

 Triton clavator is comparatively full and ventricose, with 

 the upper ribs only moderately tubercled ; the Triton 

 exilis is small, peculiarly contracted round the lower 

 part, with the tubercles very prominently developed en- 

 tirely across the whorls : in the former species there is 

 a varix on the penultimate whorl as well as upon the 

 last whorl ; in the latter species, as in the Triton cana- 

 liferus, there is no varix upon the penultimate whorl ; 

 lastly, the mouth of the former species is either yellowish 

 or yellowish scarlet, whilst that of the latter exhibits 

 not the slightest indication of colour, and the stains of 

 orange-bri.wn with which it is marked externally are of 

 a character not to be misunderstood. 



Species 12. (Fig. a, Mus. Cuming.) 

 Triton australis. 



(For description of this species see Plate V.) 



Species 13. (Mus. Cuming.) 

 Triton clandestinus. Trit. testa fusiformi-oblonga, 

 varice aut unico out nullo ; spird mediocri , an- 

 fractibus rotundis, pallide. spadiceis, liris angustis, 

 prominentibus, Icevibus, luteo-fuscis, aquidistantibus, 

 e.camussimfuniculatis, interstitiis liiiigitiii/inalitcr siib- 

 tilissime striatis ; columella superne callositute albd 

 unicd armatd, infern'r subobsolete rugulosd ; aperturte 

 fauce albd, labro intus fusco-denticulato ; canali bre- 

 viusculo, subascendente. 

 The clandestine Triton. Shell fusiformly oblong, 

 with either a single varix or none at all ; spire 

 middling ; whorls round, light bay-colour, corded 

 with great precision by equidistant, narrow, pro- 

 minent, smooth, yellowish brown ridges ; upper 

 part of the columella armed with a single white 

 callosity, lower part rather obsoletely wrinkled ; 

 interior of the aperture white, lip denticulated 

 within, denticulations brown ; canal rather short, 

 slightly turned upwards. 

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

 p. 639. 



Murex clandestinus, Chemnitz. 

 Hub. San Nicolas, island of Zebu, Philippine- (found in 

 sandy mud at the depth of six fathoms) ; Galapa- 

 gos Islands (found under stones) ; Cuming. 

 This shell is remarkable for its extreme regularity of 

 growth, the entire surface being corded with narrow, 

 equidistant ridges, increasing gradually in volume with 

 the increase of the whorls. The example figured by 

 Kiener has a varix down the middle of the last whorl, 

 but the specimen here represented (as well as that 

 figured by Chemnitz) has not any. 



Species 14. (Mus. Cuming.) 

 Triton Pfeifferianus. Trit. testa fusiform/ . raricibus 

 septem prominentibus. acutangularibus ; spird elatd . 

 anfractibus subirregulariter convolutis, convexis, su- 

 per n'e plano-dcpressis, Ice iter canaliculatis. transver- 



