CONUS. 



Plate XV. 



Species 76. (Fig. 77 a*, Mus. Belcher.) 



Conus Sinensis. Con. testd obeso-fusiformi, transver- 

 sim sulcata, svlcis interdum latis, subtilissim'r pertu- 

 sis ; albidd, ferrugineo-fusco pallid'e maculatd et va- 

 riegatd ; labro tenui, acuto, arcuato, junta spiram 

 emarginato ; spird valde elatd, striatd, angulato- 

 carinatd, apice mucronato. 



The Chinese Cone. Shell stoutly fusiform, trans- 

 versely grooved, grooves sometimes broad, very 

 finely pricked ; whitish, spotted and variegated with 

 light rusty brown ; lip thin, sharp, arched, emar- 

 ginated next the spire ; spire considerably elevated, 

 striated, angularly carinated, apex pointed. 



Sowerbt, Conch. Illus., f. 56. 



Hab. Feejee Islands (found on a reef) ; Hinds. 



The remarkable elevation of the spire forms a very 

 characteristic peculiarity in this shell. The spots as- 

 sume a rhomboidal form, separated with some degree 

 of regularity on the upper portion of "%he shell, but 

 ranging in longitudinal streaks on the lower. 



Species 77. (Fig. 77 b, Mus. Cuming.) 



Conus arc'uatus. Con. testd obeso-fusifornii, superne 

 subangulatd, longitudinaliter striatd, striis arcuatis ; 

 transversim sulcata, sulcis angustis, subdistantibus ; 

 albidd, castaneo marmorutd et strigatd ; labro tenui, 

 acuta, arcuato, juxta spiram emarginato ; spird elatd, 

 acutissime carinatd, apice valde exserto. 



The arched Cone. Shell stoutly fusiform, rather an- 

 gulated at the upper part, longitudinally striated, 

 striae arched; transversely grooved, grooves narrow 

 and rather distant ; whitish, marbled or streaked 

 with chestnut-brown ; lip thin, sharp, arched, and 

 emarginated next the spire ; spire elevated, sharply 

 carinated, apex exserted like a fine screw. 



BRonERii- and Sowerby, Zool. Journ., vol. iv. p. 379. 



Hab. Near Mazatlan, Pacific Ocean. 



The spire is less proportionably elevated in this species 



* [At the time this plate was lithographed, the shell numbered 76 

 (an obscure variety of the Comupnelatiu, for an account of which, 

 see Plate XXI.) was thought to be a new species, and those numbered 

 77 a and 77 b were supposed to be varieties of one and the same.] 



than in the preceding, though the first four or five whorls 

 are considerably more erect and pointed. The grooves 

 are not pricked in this shell, and the painting is of a 

 somewhat different style and pattern, more streaked and 

 much more sparingly distributed. The emargination of 

 the lip next the spire, in both, presents a strong indica- 

 tion of the affinity supposed to exist (vide Conch. Syst. 

 vol. ii. p. 269) between the Cones and the Pleurotomm. 



Species 78. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Conus Taheitensis. Con. testd subsolido-turbinatd, 

 transversim striatd, basem versus sulcatd, olivaced 

 vel violaceo-nigricante, superne maculis albis gruu- 

 dibus, iiiferne punctis sparsis omatd; spird obtuso- 

 convexd, olivaceo alboque tessellutd ; apertures fauce 

 violaced. 



The Taheite Cone. Shell rather solidly turbinated, 

 transversely striated, grooved towards the base ; 

 olive or blackish violet, ornamented round the upper 

 part with large white spots, round the lower with 

 scattered white dots ; spire obtusely convex, tes- 

 sellated with white and olive ; aperture violet 

 within. 



Hwass, Enc. Meth. vers, vol. i. part 2. p. 713. 



Lamarck, Anim. sans vert., vol. vii. p. 502. 



Variety p. 



Testa lecvior, in medio albo-macu/ata, maculis fasciatim 

 commistis. 



Shell smoother, white-spotted round the middle, spots 



intermingled with each other, assuming the nature 



of a band. 



Conus rattus, Lamarck. 

 Hab. Islands of Taheite, Annaa, &c. (found on the reefs) ; 



Cuming. 



I have attentively examined the shell described by 

 Lamarck under the title of C. rattus, and have no hesi- 

 tation in pronouncing it to be an ordinary variety of the 

 common C. Taheitensis, as above described. The species 

 varies in the size and distribution of the spots, as also in 

 being more or less strongly grooved from the base up. 

 but not considerably. 



June 1843. 



