PURPURA. 379 



The animal is noticed by Philippi. He describes it as 

 entirely black ; with long tentacles converging- at an acute 

 angle ; a short siphon : a foot shorter than the shell, retuse 

 in front, narrowed an<l obtuse behind ; operculum entire. 



It is an inhabitant of the littoral and especially of the 

 laminarian zones. In Britain it is confined to the 

 southern coast. Alive, at Jersey, creeping on rocks at 

 low-water, in company with Bissoa; ; dredged at Wey- 

 mouth, on weedy ground, in three or four fathoms, along 

 with Phasianella (S. H.) Torquay (Mrs. Richard Smith). 

 South of Devon (Rev. Dr. Goodall). Whitesand-bay 

 (Jeffreys). Cornwall, dead in twenty fathoms (M' Andrew 

 and E. F.) 



It ranges to the Mediterranean, and is essentially a 

 South of Europe species. 



PURPURA. Adanson. 



Shell strong, ovate or suborbicular, more or less tur- 

 reted, body whorl very large : surface sculptured with 

 striations, or sulcations, usually spirally, often forming 

 fimbriated ridges, and sometimes broken up into nodules or 

 tubercles. Aperture ovate or rotund, more or less dilated ; 

 the outer lip usually crenated or denticulated ; the colu- 

 mella often flattened or subexcavated ; base with a short 

 and strongly notched canal. Operculum corneous, sub- 

 quadrate, lamellar, with a lateral nucleus. 



Animal with a broad lunate flattened head, flanked by 

 two tentacula, which have broad and stout bases, composed 

 of the shortened eye-pedicles united with the true ten- 

 tacles for nearly half their lengths ; beyond the eyes the 

 tentacles are stoutly subulate ; proboscis reticulate, mode- 

 rately long, tongue long, armed with teeth, which are 



