MELANOPSIS. 



Plate III. 



Species 6. (Fig. a, b, Mus. V. d. Busch.) 



Melanopsis variabilis. Mel. testa fus\formi-turritd, 

 modioli solidd, fulvescente, livido-purpureo plus minus 

 fasciata, anfractibus quinque ad sex, declivi-gibbosius- 

 culis, i>rfenjih,i longitudinaliter rude si rial is ,• aperturd 

 nvatd, columella excavatd, supernl snbca/losd, inferne 

 tenue contortd. 



The variable Melanopsis. Shell fusiformly turreted, 

 moderately solid, fulvous, more or less banded with 

 livid-purple, whorls five to six, slopingly gibbous, 

 sometimes longitudinally rudely striated ; aperture 

 ovate, columella excavated, slightly callous at the I 

 upper part, thinly twisted at the lower. 



Von dem Busch, Philippi, Abbild. und Besch. Conch, 

 vol. ii. p. 175. pi. 4. f. 7. u. 10 (not f. 8). 



Hab. Schiraz and Persepolis, Persia. 



Very closely allied to some varieties of M. prcrrosa, but 

 Dr. Busch's specimens have a characteristic lightness of 

 structure and livid-banded colouring. 



Species 7. (Mus. V. d. Busch.) 



Melanopsis Kotschyi. Mel. testa oblongo-conicd, so- 

 /ii/iiisc/i/ii, olivaceo-corned, anfractibus quinque ad sex, 

 superne concavo-declivibus, deitide rotundatis, undique 

 longitudinaliter corrugato-liraiis ; aperturd parvius- 

 culd, columella calloso-excavatd. 



Kotschy's Melanopsis. Shell oblong-conical, rather 

 solid, olive-horny, whorls five to six, concavely slop- 

 ing at the upper part, then rounded, longitudinally 

 wrinkle-ridged throughout ; aperture rather small, 

 columella callously excavated. 



Von dem Busch, Philippi, Abbild. und Besch. Conch, 

 vol. ii. p. 175. pi. 4. f. 11. 



Hub. Persepolis, Persia ; Kotschy. 



This is apparently the Persian representative of the 

 Spanish M. cariosa, in the same manner as the preceding 

 species is the Persian representative of the Spanish M. 

 praerosa. Both the Asiatic types are smaller than the 

 European, and the genus is not found any further south on 

 this side of the equator. More observations are needed 

 on the fresh-water conchology of this district before very 

 definite opinions can be formed of the value either of M. 

 variabilis or Kotschyi. 



Species 8. (Mus. Cuming.) 



Melanopsis Saulcyi. Mel. iestd oblongo-turritd, soli- 

 diusculd, purpureo-nigrd, anfractibus quinque ad sex, 

 superne' oblique breuicos/atis, costis obsolete nodulatis . 

 aperturd subangustii ovald, columella superne callosd, 

 deinde excavatd, inferne tenue contortd. 



Saulcy's Melanopsis. Shell oblong, turreted, rather 

 solid, purple-black, whorls five to six, obliquely 

 shortly ribbed at the upper part, ribs obsoletely no- 

 duled ; aperture rather narrowly ovate, columella 

 slightly callous at the upper part, then excavated. 

 thinly twisted at the lower. 



Bourguignat, MS. in Mus. Cuming. 



Hab. Syria. 



A slenderly turreted species, of a dark purple-black 

 colour, obliquely ribbed round the upper part of the 

 whorls, smooth round the lower ; and the columella is 

 more thinly twisted at the base than in the European 

 forms. 



Species 9. (Fig. a, b, Mus. Cuming.) 

 Melanopsis lentiginosa. Mel. testa ovatd, utrinque at- 

 tenuatd,solidd, nigrescente-olivaceo fasciata, punctis lu- 

 tescente-albidis prof use lentiginosa, anfractibus quinque, , 

 superne concavo-declivibus, delude tumidis, inferne con- 

 tracts ; aperturd oblongo-ovatd, superne anguste si- 

 viiatii, columella supra crasse callosd, infra curvatd. 

 The freckled Melanopsis. Shell ovate, attenuated 

 at each end, solid, banded with blackish-olive, pro- 

 fusely freckled with yellowish-white dots, whorls five, 

 concavely sloping round the upper part, then swollen, 

 contracted at the lower ; aperture oblong-ovate, nar- 

 rowly sinuated at the upper part, columella thickly 

 callous above, curved below. 

 Hab. New Caledonia. 



Of a different type from any of the preceding species, with 

 a somewhat MelampusAike aspect, banded with blackish- 

 olive on a yellowish ground, the bands being profusely 

 freckled with the ground colour, ft is quite unlike the 

 other southern species, M. Zelandica and Strangei. 



Species 10. (Fig. a, c, d, Mus. Cuming, 



Fig. b, Mus. V. tl. Busch.) 



Melanopsis pr.erosa. Mel. testa ovato-conicd, solidd, 



March, 1860. 



