V U L U M . 



Tlate I. 



Genus OVULUM, Bnii^uiar. 



Tsiilfi oijiila vi'l Iniircolalii, spird p/iia iiii/iiis immi-rsff, Sfe- 

 j)is.siiHe occiil/n, exlrcmilalibiis prudiic/is, biterdiim 

 eloiiijdlo-caiwUcHldlk, rosiratis, dorso pknimrjiw po- 

 ll/u, sa-pe trcDiSccr-sim biciso-drialo, cohnudJd inter- 

 diiiii iiiiiplicatd, iiiikc unperiii nunc infirnr, nperlard 

 snbtiiKjiistd, ill/erne m.n/iald. 



Shell ovate or lanceolate, spire more or less iiiinicrscd, 

 mostly concealed, extremities produced, sometimes 

 elongately channelled, beaked, back generallypolished, 

 often transversely incisely striated, columella some- 

 times one-])laited, now at the upper part, now on the 

 lower, aperture rather narrow, sinuated at the lower 

 part. 



Liiiiiicus is not tu lie complimented on his sagacity in 

 having referred the typical species of this group to the 

 genus Bulla. The resemblance of the shell of Oculum to 

 that of Cijprrfci is obvious enough, and there is a similar 

 affinity between the animals of the two genera. The Omi.- 

 liim is in fact a Cowry, witli the extremities more or less 

 produced, in some instances to the extent of being tubu- 

 larly channelled. But the Ocnla are characterized by 

 other not less striking peculiarities. A large proportion 

 of the shells are of a uniform ])orcelain-white substance, 

 and they are not diversified with marking like the Cowries. 

 A\ here colom' exists it is a uniform tint of rose, orange- 

 red, or livid purple. Very interesting figures of 0. verrn- 

 cosum and 0. volva were published in the 'MoUusca of the 

 Voyage of the Samarang,' from drawings made by Mr. 

 Arthur Adams, from living specimens captured in the Sea 

 of Mindoro. Touching the habits of the first, the author 

 remarks, " It is a verv slow-moving and sluggish mollusk, 

 with all the peculiarities of the Cowries, and exhibits a 

 singularly beautiful and striking appearnnce under the 

 calm, shallow water, as it glides tranquilly along the 

 bright, sandy bottom ;" the mantle and foot being prettily 

 spotted with black upon a white ground. The chief pe- 

 culiaritv in the animal of 0. colca is that the mantle is 

 margined with a row of nipples. 



The Ooiiht belong almost exclusively to the Eastern 

 Hemisphere, and the species are very widely distributed. 

 Out of fifteen species lately dredged by Mr. Arthur Adams 

 in .Japan, at a depth of from forty to fifty fathoms, only 

 one proved to be new. All the rest had been described 



from specimens previously ol)tained from the I'hilippinc 

 Islands, Singapore, Borneo, China Seas, and even New 

 Caledonia ; and there are about fifteen more from these 

 localities that were not taken in Japan. There is a cha- 

 racteristic European species, O. patidn, inhabiting our 

 shores, and there is a second species in the Mecliterranran. 

 0. cnnienm, not as yet found in British waters. Two 

 very sti'iking species, 0. lacli-niu and lunyirustratmn, an- 

 recorded from the Adriatic, one from Senegal, one from 

 Bombay, four from the Pacific, five from New Caledonia. 

 and three from Australia. The Ootila of the Western 

 Hemisphere are restricted to the striking 0. ijihhusnm. 

 which is a native of the shores of Brazil, 0. iniipticalaw, 

 which is said to have been collected both at Kio .laiu'ii'o 

 and South Carolina, and a few species of a small, livid- 

 purple type, inhabiting the shores the of \\'est Indies, Hon- 

 duras, C^alifornia, and Tananui. 



Species 1. (Fig. a, b, Mils. Cuming.) 



OyULUM LACTEUSl. Oo. fcstd ovatu, solidiiiSCltld, (libit, 

 dorso obscure costdlato, canullbus brevisaimis, culuincUd 

 ad basin unipUcatd, liibro siibconxpicue dtfuiiculatu, 

 aperlnrd angnstd. 



T'uii MILKY OvuLUM. Shell ovate, rather solid, white, 

 back obscurely finely ribbed, canals very short, colu- 

 mella onp-])laited at the base, li]) rather conspicuously 

 ilenliculateil, aperture narrow. 



L.iMARCK, Anim. sans vert. vol. x. p. 470. 



Calpurnus lactcus, Adams. 



Ilab. Tlnlippine Islands; Cuming. Kino-0-Sima, Jajian; 

 Adams. 

 Mr. Sowerby gives Pacific Ocean as (lie habitat of this 



species. Lamarck gives the island of'J'imor; and Mr. 



Cuming collected it at three or four of the Philippine 



Islands. 



Species 3. (Pig. c, b, Mus. Cuming.) 



OvuLUM VERRUCOSUM. Op. testd ovatd, Ci/prtefFformL 

 albd, solidissimd, dorso ijibboso-anyulato, ad exlmnUu- 

 tes profundi- vi-rrucosd, rosaced, ad lolcra callosd, colu- 

 mella tumidd, ad basin excaoald, labro valide den/icu- 

 lata. 



Mav, 180.-.. 



