MUEEX.— Plate XXI. 



that " the varieties of the Murex rarispina are very numer- 

 ous, and have served for the establishment of several spe- 

 cies which cannot be preserved, such as the M. pUcat/is, 

 plici/erus, and Mmdanensis." It is only necessary to refer 

 my readers to the descriptions and figures of those species 

 to show that M. Kiener must have been totally unacquainted 

 with them, for their specific characters ai-e really determin- 

 able at a glance. 



Species 87. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Mdrex plicattjs. Mttr. testa, Mreviato-clava/ormi, 

 crassiuscula, transversim uodoso-liratd, longitudinaliter 

 pUcatd; trifariam varicosd, varicibns rotmidk, spinosis, 

 spinis breviius, obtusis; canali subelongato, recto, tri- 

 fariam spinoso, spinis obesis, longioribus ,- fuscescente, 

 piirptireo-cinereo tinctd etfasciatd. 



The plicated Murex. Shell abbreviately club-shaped, 

 rather thick, transversely nodosely ridged, longitudi- 



nally plicated, three-varicose, varices round, spinous, 



spines short, obtuse ; canal somewhat elongated ; 



straight, armed with three rows of stout longer spines ; 



pale brown, tinged and banded with purple ash 



coloiu-. 

 SowERBY, Pro. Zool. Soc, 1840. 

 Hob. Gulf of Nicoiyo (found in coarse sand at the depth 



of twelve fathoms) ; Cuming 



No two species of a group could be pronounced to be 

 more tnUy distinct than this and the Murex rarispina. 

 The latter is a light delicately formed shell, distinguished 

 by the prominent developement of the extreme anterior spine 

 of each varix over the rest which are very short, irregular, 

 and scale-like ; the latter is a shell of rather rude obtuse 

 sfructm-e, in which the spines are stout and solid, and exhibit 

 this peculiarity of distribution, — that whilst upon the va- 

 rices they are extremely short and in some cases almost ob- 

 solete, upon the canal they are comparatively long. 



