174 SHELLS OF LOWER CALIFORNIA— STEABNS. 



Bay; Mulege Bay and Tres Marias. Capt. Forrer collected tlie above 

 at La Paz ; Loreto, Gabb. 



This species exhibits extreme variation. In fact, the Olives from 

 the Gnlf region with the exception of two or three spei^ies are not 

 easy to determine. Reeve makes the above as well as 0. araneosa 

 Lam., 0. Timorea, 0. ohesina, and 0. pindarina as synonyms of O. retic- 

 ularis, the well-known AutiJleau species. I have never met with an 

 example from the West coast that so closely resembled reticularis as 

 to suggest such a connection. Carpenter makes O. Melchersi Mke., 

 1851, include 0. angulata junior, 0. siihangulata, 0. Cumingii, and 0. 

 polpaster. His 0. intertincta is nothing but a variety of Melchersi and 

 three specimens recorded by him as " f intertincta^'' were found upon 

 examination to be, (1) elegans, and (2) irisans, both Indo-Pacific forms. 

 I am quite sure, however, that this must have been in some way a 

 blunder on the part of an assistant. The La Paz examples (Ko. 32402, 

 U. S. N. M.) are typical. 0. vcnvlata runs all the way from closely retic- 

 ulated zigzag waves or Vs on a lightish warm ground with a purple 

 or brownish-purple stain on the terminal part of the columella, to 

 shells that are a warm cream-yellow, sometimes without any of the 

 V-shaped pencilings and sometimes with the same, but subordinated 

 more or less to the general yellowish tone of the surface. Again the Vs 

 are absolutely wanting and the markings are longitudinal, having 

 somewhat of a ligneous aspect, resembling the graining of wood, with 

 darker umber-colored zones blending and softening down to the lighter 

 tint of the ground work or general color. Examples thus colored are 

 the ligncola of Keeve (Mus. Steere), and the same author's O. Cumingii 

 is still another as])ect. The o])posite extreme of coloration is seen in 

 the beautiful dark, nearly black variety which has received the name 

 of oriole. In these the Vs can generally be seen under the rich glaze 

 that characterizes the numerous forms and varieties of this so-called 

 species. Often in the point of the VVs, there is a nebulous roundish 

 spot, such as would occur in painting, by the paint or color running 

 oft of the brush and filling up the sharp angle on the inner side of the 

 point of the V . This gives a beautiful spotted effect in some examples, 

 and occurs as a feature more or less conspicuous in many of the West 

 Coast olives. The examples fiom Los Animas Bay (No. 32438, U. S. 

 E. M.) suggest Juliettahy their dotted flames. At Boca de los Piedras, 

 Fisher obtained numerous examples (No. 32416, U. S. N. M.) of the short, 

 rather stumpy, light-colored variety, with rather obscure sienna-yellow 

 markings, (VVs) on a rich creamy yellow ground. Carpenter has com- 

 pared this variety to the reticularis of the Caribbean region, but the two 

 are readily separable by any moderately intelligent expert. Fisher's 

 Boca shells vary in size from .30 minimum to 1.12 maximum in length. 

 The purplish chocolate stain at the base of the columella is quite a 



