FISSURELLA. 149 



rather narrow, its sides excavated in the middle ; whitish rayed 

 with light red, the rays being blotched with blackish -purple ; inter- 

 nal margin broadly tessellated. {Eve.) 



Valparaiso. 



F. stellata Rve. Conch. Icon. f. 80, 1850. — Sowb. Thes. Conch, 

 iii, p. 187, f. 82. 



This is unquestionably a young shell of one of the larger species, 

 but without series from young to adult, it is impossible to determine 

 which. 



Group of F. limbata Sowb. 



F. nigra Lesson. PL 35, figs. 1, 2. 



Shell large, oval, conical, the summit in front of the middle ; color 

 black or purplish black, not rayed ; surface nearly smooth, but with 

 fine, obsolescent radiating stria. Perforation oblong, about one- 

 tenth the length of the shell, its sides in young specimens bidentate. 



The form is oval, conical ; surface nearly smooth, of an inky 

 purplish-black hue. Inside white with a black border. 



Length 100, breadth 70, alt. 32 mill. 



Valparaiso and Isl. of Chiloe, Chili ; Peru. 



F. nigra Lesson Voy. de la Coquille, Zool., vol. ii, p. 412, 1830. 

 — Reeve, Conch. Icon., f. 11. — Sowerby, Thes. Conch, iii, p. 184, 

 f. 14.— F. grandis Sowerby P. Z. S. 1834, p. 123 ; Conchol. Illust., 

 f. 48. — Philippi, Abbild. ii, t. 2, f. 2. — F. violacea Fscholz, 

 Philippi, Abbild. ii, t. 2, f. 3. 



Readily recognized by its large size, purplish-black inky color, 

 and the nearly smooth surface. 



F. limbata Sowerby. PI. 32, figs. 26, 39. 



Shell oval, conical, the summit a little in front of the middle ; 

 surface nearly smooth, not striate ; perforation long and rather nar- 

 row, more than twice as long as broad, the sides nearly straight, 

 usually more or less bidentate ; length of hole contained 7 to 8 times 

 in total length of shell. 



The form is ovate, slightly narrower in front, conical, the height 

 of the cone being between one-fourth and one-fifth the length of the 

 shell. It is solid, of a light grayish color conspicuously rayed with 

 reddish-purple, the rays having a tendency to split into two ; and 

 usually a tract around the hole is stained deep blackish-purple. 

 Old specimens, however, are almost always eroded or dull and cor- 



