OLIVA.— Plate XIV. 



round the base and at the sutures, sometimes mottled 



or retieulated with purple-flesh colom-. 

 Valuta cruenta, Dillwyn, Catalogue of Shells, vol. i. p. 514. 



Oliva guttata and leucophcEa, Lamarck. 



OUva maculata and mantichora, Duclos. 



Eadem var. Valuta, annulata, Guielui. 

 Hah. Zanzibar, East Africa; Thoru. Australia; Jukes. 



Island of Siquijor, Philippines (on sand-banks at low 



water) ; Cuming. Society Islands (in coral sand at 



low water) ; Cuming. 

 This is a species of a very distinct character, and stands 

 nlone in the genus. The typical variety, Fig. 30 a, is of 

 a brownish cream-colour, covered with violet-purple spots, 

 wliich are obscured by an overcoating of cream-colour, 

 except round the base and along the edge of the whorls 

 next the sutures. Fig. 30 h, c, represent a state of the 



species (0. mantichora, Duclos) in which the shell is mot- 

 tled with a delicate flesh-purple net-work, and the spots 

 are smaller, patched with white and scattered more in-e- 

 gularly. In the variety at Rg. 30 d (0. leucopJuea, La- 

 marck) the spots have the character of scattered triangular 

 blotches, and the ground is frequently of a ruddy tinge. 

 Sometimes the shell is characterized by a more or less 

 obsolete ring, which variety Gmelin named V. annulata. 



The 0. cruenta has a remarkably wide range. At the 

 Society Islands it occurs in the fine state represented at 

 Fig. a. At Zanzibar the shell is nearly colourless, the 

 spots being only faintly indicated and fewer in number. 

 The specimens from the Philippines are of a warm hue, 

 but nearly colourless ; while those from Australia are 

 small and characterized by the confused style of painting 

 represented at Fig. i, c. 



