456 PELORID A. 
be to form for the Janthine, Scalarie, Natice, Lamellarie, and 
Velutine, a family, combining the respective characters of the 
holostomatous and canaliferous divisions of the Gasteropoda, 
as, by their entire apertures, they have, conchologically, an 
affinity with the former tribe, and by the retractile pro- 
boscis, malacologically, the closest alliance with the Canali- 
fera. Naturalists must therefore either raise each of the 
above genera to the rank of families, which at best can only 
have conchological variations, and scarcely any very essential 
malacological distinction, or deposit them for conciseness’ sake 
in a neutral one, under an indifferent term, embracing the 
principal attributes of the five genera. I propose the appel- 
lation of the Peloride, from the Peloris of the ancients, pro- 
bably a testaceous animal, but whether of the holostomatous 
or muricidal race is doubtful; the name is therefore the more 
appropriate for a family of hybrid and transitive pretensions. 
The position of the new family would be between the Pyra- 
midellide and Muricide : its genera, with the Chemnitzie and 
Eulime, which also have an entire aperture and retractile 
proboscis, may be said to occupy a sort of debateable ground 
between two of the great divisions of the gasteropodan 
domain. 
These anomalous genera must not be looked on as freaks of 
nature; they are her avenues from one division of a class to 
another. Under the respective genera will be pomted out the 
curious characters that connect them with particular groups, 
and also the various points of difference between them, which, 
though conchologically great in appearance, when malacolo- 
gically examined will exhibit striking similarities : for instance, 
Tanthina and Scalaria are inseparable, as are Natica, Lamel- 
laria and Velutina ; but notwithstanding their respective dis- 
crepancies, they all have various connecting links, decidedly 
showing that they form a single family about to blend with the 
strict Muricide. Many considerations have induced me to 
propose the family Peloride. Abstractedly, I would rather have 
preferred the transfer of its proposed genera as sections of the 
Muricide, with which group they appear to have the greater 
approximation ; nevertheless, for the present I abandon this 
