M U R E X. 



Plate VII. 



Species 27. (Fig. a, b, c, d, Mus. Cuming.) 



McREX ENDiviA. Mur. testa, mbgloboso-ovatd, ventricosd, 

 spira subturritd ; anfractibus (ransversim Uratis et 

 striatis ; sexfariam vel Sfptifariam varicosh, varicibus 

 frondom, frondibiis Jloridi-foliaceii, laciniato-muri- 

 catu ; pallide ferrugiueo-fuscd, frondibus nigricante- 

 fusds, vel albd, nigricante-fusco zonatd, frondibus al- 

 teniatim nigricaute-fuscis et albis, coliimeUd et aper- 

 tura fauce albis, rubro margiiiatis, varicibus rubro- 

 marginatis ; canali brevi, ascendente; nmhilico plernmqne 

 amplo. 



The endive Mueex. Shell somewhat globosely ovate, 

 ventricose, spire slightly tmreted ; whorls transversely 

 ridged and striated ; six- or seven-varicose, varices 

 frondose, fronds flowery foliaceous, laciuiately mm-i- 

 cated ; pale rusty brown, fronds blackish brown, or 

 white, zoned with blackish brown, fi-onds alternately 

 white and blackish brown, columella and interior of 

 the aperture wliite, edged with red, vai'ices edged 

 with red ; canal short, ascending ; umbilicus fi'e- 

 quently lai-ge. 



Variety /3. (Fig. 27 o.) 



Testa ociofariayn vel nonafariam varicosa, anfractibus su- 



peme declivibm, inferne contractis, varicibus octonis 



vel novenk, frondibus minoribus. 

 Shell eight- or nine-varicose, ivith the whorls bending 



downwards at the upper part, and contracted at the 



lower ; fronds smaller. 

 Lamarck, Anim. sans vert. (Deshayes' edit.), vol. ix. p. 353. 



Variety 0, Murex saxicola, Broderip. 

 Hob. Philippine Islands (found in great abundance in 



rocky places at low water) ; Cuming. 



The leading colour of this magnificent species is a rusty 

 or blackish browm, and it is so differently distributed in 

 different examples, that it woidd be useless to establish 

 any specific varieties upon so extremely variable a cha- 

 racter. The Murex endivia presents, however, a variety 

 of form which is of much greater importance, so much so, 

 that Ml'. Broderip described it in the Zoological Journal as 

 a new species, Murex saxicola. The numerous specimens 

 collected by Mr. Cuming at the Philippine Islands, abun- 

 dantly testify that the remarkable declination which cha- 

 racterises the upper portion of the whorls in this variety, 

 is no other than that structure of which we find a similar 

 modification in the common Murex trunculus of the Medi- 

 terranean. The red marginal colouring of the colimiella 

 and outer lips forms a characteristic feature in this species. 



May 1845. 



