110 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



OF THE BUCCINUM. GENUS XXIT. 



BUCCINUM. 



" Animal a Limax. Shell univalve, spiral, gibbous ; aperture ovate, ter- 

 minating in a canal (blunt hollow) to the right ; tail obtuse ; inner lip 

 smooth." — Linn. 



The shape of the aperture or moutli of the shell varies much 

 in this genus. Some species have a straight narrow mouth 

 almost like the Cypraa, toothed sometimes on one side, but 

 oftener on both, as B. tuberosum, Testiciihis (^pl. 6. /. 84), &c. ; 

 these commonly have the canal at the end furthest from the 

 spire, a little bent towards the right side, when you hold the 

 shell with the mouth upwards, with the canal forwards ; but 

 if you turn the shell over, that is, place it in its natural posi- 

 tion, when the animal is crawling on the ground, then the 

 canal bends towards the left side. These shells ai'e mostly 

 placed in the second division of Linnasus, and by him called 

 Cassidea. Some of the other species have a hollow only in 

 place of the canal before mentioned, appearing somewhat as 

 if truncate, with the mouth very large, as Dolium (jpl. 6. 

 /. 82), Galea, &c. : these belong to Linnaeus's first division, 

 Ampnllacea. There are many species intermediate between 

 these, composing the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh 



