BULIMUS. 279 



•which is also black. Whorls about seven, a little con- 

 vex; suture delicate; aperture rounded-ovate, a little 

 more than one-third the length of the shell ; lip acute ; 

 columella straight, widening upwards, and protecting a 

 minute umbilical opening. 



Length of axis one inch; diameter two-fifths of an 

 inch. 



Geographioal Distribution. Found at Key West, 

 East Florida. 



Remarks. B. virgulatus is a species very variable 

 in its form and coloring, inhabiting many of the West 

 India Islands, and deserving of the local name applied 

 to it by Lamarck. If it has any constant character in 

 coloration, it would seem to be its piceous columella. As 

 to the shell above described, it was regarded by Dr. Bin- 

 ney as a variety of this species ; and the plate -was 

 engraved and lettered accordingly. But it seems rather 

 to be entitled to a specific rank, on account of its thinner 

 and more polished, ivory-like structure, its proportionally 

 shorter and more rounded aperture, and its coloring. 



Mr. Say's description of B. multilmeatus, corresponds 

 with our shell, except in size, and, indeed, agrees exactly 

 with an immature specimen in our collection. If it be a 

 distinct species it should bear his name. It is unques- 

 tionably the shell described by Reeve under the name of 

 B. venosus. From Mr. Reeve's delineations and the 

 specimens in our possession, it would seem that its char- 

 acters are constant. He has expressed some doubt as 



