PECTUNCULUS. 



Plate II. 



Species 5. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Pectunculus stellatus. Pect. testa orbiculuri-cordutd, 

 luteo-violaced, umbonibus peculiariter albo-stellatis, 

 striis longitudinalibus, remotiusculis, fere obsoletis, 

 ornatd. 



The starred Pectunculus. Shell orbicularly heart- 

 shaped, yellowish violet ; umbones peculiarly starred 

 with white, ornamented with very faint, rather re- 

 mote longitudinal striae. 



Lamarck, Anim. sans vert., vol. vi. p. 491. 

 Area stellatu, Bruguiere. 

 Venus stellata, Gmelin. 



Hab. Coast of Portugal ; Lamarck. 



This interesting shell may be immediately recognised 

 by the peculiar manner in which the umbones exhibit, 

 on a full aspect, a complete star, one half of the star 

 depicted upon each umboue. 



Species 6. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Pectunculus scriptus. Pect. testa orbicular'), convexo- 



depressd, decussatim striata, pallide carneold, lineis 



rubidis angulatis profuse pictd. 

 The written Pectunculus. Shell orbicular, convexly 



depressed, striated longitudinally and transversely, 



pale flesh-colour, profusely painted with reddish 



angular lines. 

 Lamarck, Anim. sans vert., vol. vi. p. 490 ; Enc. Meth., 



pi. 311. f. 8. 



Area scripta, Born. 

 Hab. Island of St. Domingo ; Lamarck. 



This is a very excellent species, and cannot well be 

 confounded with any of the varieties of Pectunculus pi- 

 losiis, as Deshayes ventures to intimate. The angular 

 zigzag marking in the very richly coloured specimen 

 before me is no less prominent a feature than the finely 

 decussating stria; which ornament its entire surface. 



Species 7. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Pectunculus flammeus. Pect. testd subtrigond, albd, 

 maculis trigonis flammeis rubido-fuscis vivide pictd ; 

 dentibus minutis ; ligamenti area ' parvd. 



The flaming Pectunculus. Shell rather triangular, 



white, vividly painted with reddish brown, flaming 

 triangular lines ; teeth comparatively minute ; area 

 of the ligament small. 



Reeve, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1843. 



Hab. ? 



I have met with at least a dozen odd valves of this 

 shell, but no true pair. It differs eminently in shape 

 from any hitherto-described species. It is triangularly 

 contracted towards the umbones with a hinge of com- 

 paratively small dimensions, and the painting, though not 

 usually regarded of specific importance, is distributed 

 with a great deal of character. 



Species 8. (Fig. a and b, Mus. Cuming.) 



Pectunculus laticostatus. Pect. testd orbiculari vel 

 ovato-convexd, longitudinaliter costatd, albido-car- 

 neold, costis latis (in juniore angustioribus) maculis 

 rubidis irregulariter pictd. 



The broad-ribbed Pectunculus. Shell orbicularly or 

 ovately convex, longitudinally ribbed, pale flesh- 

 colour; ribs broad (narrower in earlier growth), 

 irregularly painted with reddish spots. 



Quoy and Gaimard, Voy. de l'Astrol., pi. 77. f. 1 to 6. 



Enc. Meth., pi. 310. f. 4. ? 



Testa adultior. 



Pectunculus ovatus, Quoy (not of Sowerby). 



Hab. Bay of Islands, New Zealand. 



Although the two shells here figured present a some- 

 what different aspect, they are unquestionably the same 

 species in different stages of growth. The title of 

 laticostatus is referred by MM. Quoy and Gaimard (I 

 should imagine by mistake) to the younger shell, which 

 scarcely differs from the older except in that the ribs 

 are narrower. I have no hesitation in pronouncing them 

 to be of one and the same species ; indeed, the charac- 

 ters which the above naturalists cite as distinctive are 

 no other than the common indications of age. 



Species 9. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Pectunculus violascens. Pect. testd orbiculari-cor- 

 datd, tumidd, cinereo-violaced, longitudinaliter sulcata, 



Feb. 1843. 



