CASSIS.— Plate I. 



Species 2. (Mus. Brit.) 



Cassis cohnuta. Cass, testa maxima, ovatd, ventricosd, 

 spird depressd, apice amdd; aiifraclilms univaricosis, 

 superne (iiigulalis,forlittr tuheradatis, itiierenlis erecto- 

 conicis, infra cingulk duohm callosis obsohte tubercu- 

 latis, tubereulis cetate crescentibus, ciugulonim inter- 

 stiliis scroiicttlis parvis, Iiexagoitis, nunc regul-aribus, 

 nunc irreffularibttS, ereberrime reliciilatis ; coluimlld 

 concavo-depressd, lahroqiie exlerno rude et fortiter 

 rugatis, lahns plus mhmsve plauo-expamis et supenie 

 jmictis; laded, ferrwjineo-rufescente lie illic pallide 

 tinctd, varicibm dngulisqiie fusco grandimaculatis, 

 coltimelldet aperlurd fulm-titrims, rugis albieantibus, 

 scrobiculis sub eiicauslum peculiariter opaco-albis. 



The horned Helmet. Sliell very large, ovate, ventri- 

 cose, spii-e depressed, sharp at tlie apex ; whorls one- 

 varicose, angulated round the upper part, strongly 

 tubercled, tubercles erectly conical, two callous ob- 

 soletely tubercled belts beneath, the tubercles in- 

 creasing vrith age, interstices between the belts 

 closely reticulated with small liexagonal pits, some- 

 times regular, sometimes irregular ; columella con- 

 cavely depressed, and, with the outer lip, nidely and 

 strongly wrinkled, lips more or less flatly expanded, 

 joined at the upper part: cream-coloured, palely 

 tinged here and there with rusty red, varices and 

 belts stained with large brown blotches, columella 

 and aperture fulvous citron, wriukles whitish, pits 

 beneath the enamel pecidiarly opake-white. 



Lamarck, Auim. sans vert. (Deshaycs' edit.) vol.x. p. 20. 

 Buccimim cormdum, Linnrcus. 

 Cassidea cormda, Bruguiere. 

 Eadem, Cassk labiata, Chemnitz. 



Halj. Moluccas, West Indies, Pacific 



This fine species, the largest of the genus, grows to an 

 immense size, yet examples are not unfrequently met 

 with, of comparatively small dimensions, bearing all the 

 characters of the adult shell, except in having little indi- 

 cation of tubercles on the two central callous belts. The 

 interstices between these, and other parts of the surface, 

 are distinguished in all stages of growth by a beautiful 

 hoiiey-coud)ed structure, consisting of a number of hexa- 



gonal cells, which in that part of the body -whorl overlaid 

 by the columellar lip, become filled up with opake-white 

 matter. The tubercles along the upper angle of the 

 whorls are always very prominent, and sometimes rather 

 compressed. 



The C. cornuta assumes two very distinct varieties of 

 form : one extremely broad and ventricose at the base of 

 the spire, attaining rather the lai-ger size ; the other of a 

 more oblong form, in which the lip is more widely es- 

 paned into a flattened plane. It is the latter variety of 

 which Chemnitz has given two admu-able figures in the 

 Conchylien Cabinet, vol. Lx. pi. IS-l and 185, uuder the 

 name Cassis labiata. 



Species 3. (JIus. Cuming.) 

 Cassis semigranosa. Cass, testa ovatd, bad contractd, 

 spird acuminatd, apice subpapillari, anfractibus evari- 

 cosis, rotundaiis, lavibus, basi striatis, superne gra- 

 Horuni seriebus quinque vel sex compicue eiugulatis, 

 granis sub plicas descetdentes ; colmnelld teuuiplicatd, 

 basi truncatd, labro reflexo, lievigato ; aUiidd, fulvo- 

 ferrugineo plus minusve tinctd. 

 The half-grained Cassis. Shell ovate, contracted at 

 the base, spire acuminated, somewhat papdlary at 

 the apex; whorls destitute of varices, rounded, 

 smooth, striated at the base, encircled round the 

 upper part with five or six conspicuous rows of 

 grains, which are upon descending folds ; columella 

 finely plicated, truncated at the base, lip reflected, 

 smooth ; whitish, more or less stained with fulvous 

 rust colour. 

 Lamarck, Anim. sans vert. (Deshayes' edit.) vol. x. p. 37. 

 Hab. Van Dieman's Land. 



The rows of gi'ains which are ranged along the summit 

 of the descending folds roimd the upper portion of the 

 whorls arc extremely characteristic, the columella is pccu- 

 Uarly short and truncated, and the smoothness of the 

 outer lip is an unusual featui-e. The shell is usually 

 stained with a kind of fulvous rust colour, whilst the 

 apex is of ivory whiteness with a .somewhat papillary 

 aspect. 



