C N U S. 



Plate XVI. 



Species 82. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Conus obscurus. Con. testd oblongd, tenui, inflatd, 

 violaced, maculis castaneo-fuscis varie nebulatd, ma- 



culis lineis transversis saturatioribus violaceo-punc- 

 tatis ornatis ; spird subelatd, spiraliter striatd, apice 

 roseo, mucronato ; basi eximie sulcata ; aperturd 

 dehiscente, fauce violaced. 



The obscure Cone. Shell oblong, thin, inflated, violet- 

 colour, variously clouded with bright chestnut- 

 brown blotches, blotches ornamented with violet- 

 dotted lines of a darker brown ; spire slightly raised, 

 spirally striated ; apex rose-colour, finely pointed ; 

 base delicately grooved ; aperture wide open, violet 

 within. 



Humphreys, MSS. 



Conus geographus,va.r., Sowerby, Conch. Illus.,f. 26. 



Hab. Island of Masbate, Philippines (found under stones 

 on the reefs at low water) ; Cuming. 



As this interesting little shell has been confounded 

 with the C. geographus, it is important to note the cha- 

 racters by which it is clearly distinct from that species. 

 In the first place, the violet spaces, which exhibit the 

 ground-colour of the shell, are not painted longitudinally 

 with waved lines ; secondly, the spire does not present 

 the slightest indication of being coronated ; and thirdly, 

 the shell is finely grooved about one-third up from the 

 base, whilst that part of the C. geographus is perfectly 

 smooth, beyond the irregularities occasioned by the 

 ordinary stria? of growth crossing in a contrary direction. 

 It agrees rather in these respects with the C. tulipa, but 

 that shell is always more or less indistinctly coronated ; 

 the C. obscurus has moreover a partially tufted epidermis, 

 and was dredged by Mr. Cuming in places where he did 

 not find a single specimen of either the Coni tulipa or 

 geographus. 



Species 83. (Fig. a and b, Mus. Stainforth.) 

 Conus mercator. Con. testd ovato-turbinatd, basem 

 versus atlenuatd, albicante out pallide caruled , fusco 

 fasciatim et varie reticulatd, fasciarum interstitiis 

 lineis pallide flavescentibus, subtilissime undatis, lon- 

 gitudinaliter piclis ; spird convexo-elatd, spiraliter 

 striatd ; basi leviter sulcata. 

 The merchant Cone. Shell ovately turbinated, atte- 

 nuated towards the base, whitish or pale blue, 



reticulated like a band or otherwise with brown, in- 

 terstices between the bands longitudinally painted 

 with faintly-waved yellowish lines ; spire convexly 

 raised, spirally striated ; base slightly grooved. 



Linn^us, Syst. Nat. (Gmelin's edit.), p. 3383. 



Lamarck, Anim. sans vert., vol. vii. p. 483 ; Enc. Meth., 

 pi. 333. f. 7 and 9. 



Hab. West Indies (found at Nevis, on the sands, by 

 Capt. Powers). 



The pretty net-work which serves to distinguish this 

 species sometimes covers the shell entirely ; it is how- 

 ever rarely to be met with in that state. 



Species 84. (Fig. a, Mus. Cuming ; Fig. b, Mus. 

 Stainforth.) 



Conus ctlindhaceus. Con. testd cylindraceo-fusiformi. 

 transversim subtilissime striatd, striis inferioribus 

 fortioribus, granulosis ; flavido-fuscd, albo irregulari- 

 ter strigatd ; spird rotundato-pyramidali, valdt elatd, 

 apice mucronato. 



The cylindrical Cone. Shell cylindrically fusiform, 

 transversely very finely striated, stria? stronger and 

 granulous towards the base ; yellowish-brown, ir- 

 regularly streaked with white ; spire rotundately 

 pyramidal, very much elevated ; apex pointed. 



Variety j3. (Fig. b.) 

 Testa rubido-fusca, superne albo-fasciata, fascia lineis 



fuscis sublilissimis longitudinaliter pictd. 

 Shell reddish-brown, upper part encircled with a broad 



white band, crossed longitudinally with very fine 



brown lines. 

 Broderip and Sowerby, Zool. Journ., vol. v. p. 51. 

 Hab. Ulietea, Society Islands (found on the reefs) ; 



Cuming. 



The most remarkable feature in this Cone is its very 

 elevated spire, caused by the comparatively rapid descent 

 which each whorl makes in its volution round the pillar. 



Species 85. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Conus legatus. Con. testd cylindraceo-turbinatd, an- 

 gustd, albo, aurantio, roseoque variegatd, lineis irrc- 

 gulariter reticulatd, fusco strigatd; strigis fuscis 



June 1843. 



