44 MNNEAN GENERA. 



Genus 23.— VOL UT A. 



Animal a Limax; shell single celled and spiral; aperture 

 without a beak and somewhat effuse ; pillar twisted or plaited, 

 generally without lips or perforation. 



Linne divides this very extensive genus of shells into five distinct families : 

 *aperture or opening entire ; **somewhat cylindrical and emarginate ; 

 ***obovate, effuse, and emarginate j ****fusiform ; *****ventricose, spire 

 papillary at the top. 



Valuta episcopaUs. The Episcopal Voluta. Plate VIII. 

 fig. 29. (Mitra episcopaUs, Lamarck.) Emarginated, smooth, 

 margin of the volutions entire; lip denticulated; columella with 

 four plaits. Five inches long. Inhabits the Indian ocean. Vari- 

 ously spotted with orange. 



Voluta oliva. The Olive Voluta. Plate II. fig. 7. (Oliva, 

 Lamarck.) Shell smooth and glossy, spire reflected at the 

 base ; pillar with four plaits ; clouded, or covered with zigz-ig 

 or waved lines of a pale brown colour. Found in the Indian 

 seas, in endless varieties of colours and markings. 



A Apex, I front, n outer lip, z plaits of the pillar-lip or columella. 



The Volutes have only b.-eu found in the occ-an, and are most common in 

 inter-tropical climates. 



Ge«ws24.-BUCCINUM. 



Animal a Limax ; shell univalve, spiral, gibbous ; aperture 

 ovate terminating in a short canal, leaning to the right, with a 

 retuse beak or projection ; pillar-lip expanded. 



The Buccina are divided by Linne into nine families : *inflated, rounded, 

 thin, sub-diaphanous, and brittle ; ** with a short, excerted, reflected beak, 

 lip unarmed outwardly ; *** lip aculeated on the outside of the posterior 

 pnrt ; in other respects resembling the la!^t division ; **** pillar-lip dilated 

 and thickened; ***** pillar-lip appearing as if worn flat; ****** smooth, 

 and not enumerated in the former divisions ; *******angular, and not includ- 

 ed in the former divisions ; ********taperiug, subulate, and smooth. 



Buccinum Lapillus. — The Stone Buccxnum. Plate VIII. 

 fig. 24. (Purpura Lapillus, Lamarck.) Oval, pointed, spirally 

 ridged, and faintly striated ; columella broad, fiattish, and im- 

 pressed near the top : yellow, white, chestnut, orange or brown, 

 sometimes with spiral bands ; aperture oval, acute, lip thin, and 

 slightly crenate. One inch long. Inhabits the European seas. 

 This is one of the shells, from which the ancients are supposed to have ex- 

 tracted their indelible purple dye, called the Tyrian purple. The part con- 



