428 VENERIDiE. 



A. ExoLETA, Linnaeus. 



Strife not very closely arranged ; surface generally rayed, or 

 variegated ; hinder dorsal edge straightish, and scarcely sloping ; 

 lunule generally coloured ; hinder dorsal area not flattened. 



Plate XXIII. fig. 3,4. 



Venics exolcta, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 12, p, 1134.— Penn. Brit. Zool. ed. 4, vol. iv. 

 p. 95. pi. 54, f. 49, A. (as variety.) — Pulteney, Hutchins, Hist. 

 Dorset, p. 34.— Donov. Brit. Shells, vol. ii. pi. 42, f. 1. — Mont. 

 Test. Brit. p. 116 (chiefly). — Linn. Trans, vol. viii. p. 87, pi. 

 3, f. 1.— Dorset Catalog, p. 35, pi. 8, f. 5 — Turt. Conch. Dic- 

 tion, p. 241 Born, Mus. Cks. Vind. pi. 5, f. 9. — Chemn. 



Conch. Cab. vol. vii. p. 18 (partly), pi. 38, f. 404.— Poli, Test. 



Sicil. pi. 21, f. 9, 10, ] I.— DiLLW. Recent Shells, vol. i. p. 195 



(partly). — Index Testaceol. pi. 8, f. 83.— Blainv. Manuel Ma- 



lacol. pi. 74, f. 2. 



Pec(u7iculus capillaceus. Da Costa, Brit. Conch, p. 187, pi. 12, f. 5. 



Cythcrea exoleta, Lam. Anim. s. Vert, (ed Desh.) vol. vi. p. 314. — Turt. Dithyra 



Brit. p. 162, pi. 8, f. 7, and (as simiata) pi. 10, f. 10, 11.— 



Flem. Brit. Anim. p. 445. — Macgilliv, Moll. ALerd. p. 



262.— Brit. Marine Conch, p. 84. — Philippi, Moll. Sicil. 



vol. i. p. 41, and vol. ii. p. 32. — Hanl. Recent Shells, p. 102. 



ArthemU exoleta, Desh. Eleni. Conch, pi. 20, f. 9, 10, 11. — Philippi, Neu. 



Conch, vol. i. p. 171. 

 Artemis exoleta, Yo'RB^s, Malac. Monensis, p. 51. — Brown, 111. Conch. G. B. 

 p. 92, pi. 36, f. 1, 3. 



The shape is suborbicular, but with a slight tendency to 

 squareness ; the length is more usually (but not invariably) 

 slightly superior to the breadth. The valves, which are 

 opaque, solid, occasionally ponderous, and, when adult, al- 

 most entirely devoid of lustre, are probably, although not 

 vieing in this respect with the succeeding species, rather 

 above than below the average convexity of this genus, being 

 subventricose ; they are decidedly inequilateral, the hinder 

 side being nearly twice as long as the front one. The 

 , external surface, which is never of a pure white, is of a pale 

 cream colour, almost invariably adorned with livid red 



