Tertiary.) . PALZONTOLOGY OF VICTORIA. [ Mollusca. 
PLATES XV., XVI., XVII, AND XVIII. 
Prats XV.; Pirate XVI., Fie. 2; Puares XVII. anp XVIII., Fic. 1. 
CYPRAA (ARICIA) GIGAS (McCoy). 
[Genus CYPRABA (Lin,), (Sub-kingd. Mollusca. Class Gasteropoda. Order Pectinibran- 
chiata. Fam. Cypreide.) 
Gen. Char.—Shell ovato-oblong ; spire very short, or entirely covered by the body whorl ; 
back rounded ; inner and outer lips inrolled ; aperture narrow, as long as the shell, refiected at 
both ends, transversely toothed and ridged on each side. 
Sub-genus.—Aricia (Gray). Surface highly polished; gibbous above; flattened, thickened, 
and dilated at the sides below ; spire covered; aperture straight, narrow, outer and inner lips 
callous, thickened, wide, dentated.] 
Description.—Shell very large, thick; form ovate; back very gibbous, some- 
what spheroidally irregularly rounded; base flattened, oval, much thickened, ex- 
tending slightly in thick obtusely rounded margins on each side of the anterior and 
posterior ends of the shell (not in the middle); inner lip rounded, smooth within, 
flattened near the anterior channel, slightly concave before joining the tumid outer 
margin; outer lip inflected, tumid, broad, the edge smooth in the middle, with 9 or 
10 nearly obsolete obtuse teeth near the anterior end, and a few still fainter near 
the posterior end. Aperture narrow, moderately curved, widest towards the anterior 
end, terminating in deep narrow channels at each end, the anterior one reflected at 
an angle of about 70° from the base, projecting upwards, forming a re-entering 
angle of 65° with the back; the posterior channel reflexed at upwards of 140°, 
obliquely subtruncate, inclining forward, and adherent to the spire. Spire exposed, 
of two whorls; apex obtuse, large ; surface smooth. Length of large specimens, 8 
inches; proportional width, ~¢,',; height, ~°,; height of anterior channnel, =38; ; 
of posterior one, =%%;; diameter of spiral suture at base of spire, 343,; width of 
middle of mouth, 545. 
REFERENCE.—( McCoy), Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Dec. 1867, p. 488. 
This gigantic species far exceeds any known cowry in size ; and, 
like the large Upper Eocene or Oligocene Tertiary C. tuberosa and 
C. Coombi of the Paris Basin and the English Bracklesham beds, is 
so completely destitute of teeth on the inner lip as almost to belong 
to the genus Ovula. With the very oblique light of a candle, or 
by a delicate sense of touch, faint indications of teeth may be 
detected, but scarcely more than, under similar circumstances, may 
be found in the recent Ovula ovum. I, however, agree with Gray 
and Sowerby in referring the European species to Cyprea instead of 
to Ovula, as proposed by Deshayes, and therefore refer the present 
species also, which is congeneric with them, to the same genus. The 
flattened base and thickened inner lip forming an obtuse lateral 
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