84 UN1VALVES_V0LUTA, 



VOLUTA.— VoLiitE OR Wreath. 



Animal— a Limax: Shell one-celled^ spirdl; apertnre 

 without a beak, and somewhat effuse ; pillar twisted or 

 plaited, generally without lips or perforation. 



It is far from an eaSy taskto determine whethei*, in point 

 of beauty or rarity, the geniis conns, or the genus Voluta, 

 sliould have Ihe precedence. However, the latter would 

 seem to have a right to claim it, for its species are princi- 

 pally admired for the elegance and variety of their forms ; 

 whereas the shape of the cones is so similar as to afford 

 little or no material variation. 



The one hundred and forty-four species of the Volutes 

 are more or less celebrated for their beauty or scarcity, 

 and are easily distinguished from all other Univalves, by 

 having several teeth or plaits on the columella or pillar- 

 lip. In some species, the number of teeth or plaits 

 amounts but to four or five; whereas, in others, as in the 

 olives, it is unlimited, and frequently extends to as many 

 as thirty or forty. However, they are then much smaller 

 and less articulate than when fewer. Among the innu- 

 merable varieties of the olives, the camp or panama 

 (Voluta castrensis) is most conspicuous, not only from its 

 peculiarityand beauty of marking, but also from the con- 

 siderable magnitude it attains. The rest of the species of 

 the olives, as the Voluta oliva, ispidula, and utriculus, 

 &c. &c. are not remarkable for their scarcity, but for 

 their astonishing beauty and variety, which is indeed in- 

 finite. Some of the rarer sorts of Volutes are the pro- 

 duce of the land, and are curiously distinguished from 

 the rest of their genus by having their mouths shaped ex- 



