CON US. 



Plate XXXVIII. 



Species 207. (Mus. Stainforth.) 



2onus flavidus. Con. testa turbinatd, solidiusculd, su- 

 pern'e subrotundatd, transversim striata, striis eleva- 

 tiusculis, subdistantibus, inferioribus plus minusve 

 yranosis ; favido-rubente, baited pallida angustd sub- 

 indistinctd in medio cinctd ; spird obtuso-convexd, im- 

 maculatd, spiraliter striata, apice rosaceo ; aperturce 

 fauce superne et inferne purpureo-violaeeo tinctd. 



Tn% yellow-tinged Cone. Shell turbinated, rather 

 solid, somewhat rounded at the upper part, trans- 

 versely striated, strife rather elevated, lower strife 

 more or less granulous ; warm yellowish red, encir- 

 cled round the middle with a pale indistinct narrow 

 belt ; spire obtusely convex, unspotted, spirally 

 striated, apex rose-tinted ; interior of the aperture 

 stained at the upper and lower parts with deep 

 purple-violet. 



Lamarck, Anim. sans vert., vol. vii. p. 468. 



Hob. Taheite, Society Islands (found on coral reefs) ; 

 Cuming. 



Lamarck very justly observes that the Conns flavidus 

 differs from the Conus vulpinus in the spire not being 

 spotted ; it is however with the Conus lividus that a com- 

 parison should be instituted : the former is a shell of 

 lighter composition, and altogether of essential specific 

 difference ; the latter differs only in colour and in being 

 coronated, differences which are not essentially specific. 



Species 208. (Fig. a and b, Mus. Stainforth.) 



Conus verriculum. Con. testa cylindraceo-turbinatd, 

 ventricosd, subrotundatd, luvi, basirn versus striata; 

 dlbidd, marulis aurantiis irregularibus bifasciatim 

 cinctd, aurautio-fusco aliter latissime reticulata; ma- 

 culis lineis undulatis nunc transversim, nunc longitu- 

 dinalilcr strigatis ; spird concavo-acuminatd. 



The drag-net Cone. Shell cylindrically turbinated, 

 ventricose, somewhat rounded, smooth, striated to- 

 wards the base ; whitish, encircled with two rows of 

 irregular orange spots, and very widely reticulated 

 elsewhere with orange-brown ; spots streaked with 

 waved brown lines, sometimes transversely (as in 

 Fig. a), sometimes longitudinally (as in Fig. b) ; 

 spire concavely acuminated. 

 Conus textile, var. /, Lamarck. 



Hah. Ceylon, &c. 



Many persons will no doubt cavil at my attaching a 

 new specific name to this long-established variety of the 

 Conus textile, but how can Lamarck's Conus vicarius stand, 

 unless this shell be elevated to the same rank ? Its inflated 

 growth and the wide open character of the net- work are 

 somewhat constant, and it may as well be noticed that 

 the Conus verriculum has long been erroneously set apart 

 by collectors for the Conus archiepiscopus (Plate XLI. 

 Species 223.), a very different shell, and one of much 

 greater rarity. Either the Conus verriculum must be 

 adopted ; or the Conus vicarius must be rejected, and 

 both considered as varieties of the Conus textile. 



There can, however, be no law for the adjudication of 

 species, whilst a species remains to be defined. If the 

 Coni vicarius and verriculum be discarded, so must the 

 Conus flavidus just spoken of, and hundreds of species 

 maybe banished in like manner from the nomenclature, 

 as the links in the grand chain of affinity between the 

 Aspergillum and the Argonaut become gradually re- 

 vealed to observation. 



Species 209. (Mus. Rucker.) 



Conus textile. Con. testa cylindraceo-ovatd, Icevi, ba- 

 sirn versus striata ; albd, maculis grandibus aurantiis, 

 irregularibus bifasciatim cinctd, aurantio-fusco aliter 

 trigono-reticulald ; maculis lineis fuscis undulatis lon- 

 gitudinaliter strigatis ; spird concavo-acuminatd. 



The cloth-of-gold Cone. Shell cylindrically ovate, 

 smooth, striated towards the base ; white, encircled 

 with two rows of large irregular orange blotches, 

 and triangularly reticulated elsewhere with orange- 

 brown ; spots streaked longitudinally with waved 

 brown lines ; spire concavely acuminated. 



Linnjsus (Gmel. edit.), p. 3393. 



Lamarck, Anim. sans vert., vol. vii. p. 523. 



Hub. Ceylon, Society Islands, &c. 



Lamarck enumerates eleven varieties of this speciies 

 but they are all so exceedingly variable, and of such in- 

 timate connection, that it is cpaite unnecessary to follow 

 them in detail. 



December 1843. 



