venus. 335 



and bordered by a reddish line : tubes short, only separate at 

 their extremities, sulphur-yellow with pale-red flaky markings 

 towards the orifices, covered with minute sand-like red points ; 

 orifices margined with a fine red line and fringed with white 

 cirri, of which the incurrent (or branchial) tube has about 

 20, and the other 15 ; the excurrent (or anal) tube is the 

 smaller, slightly curves upwards, and is furnished with a 

 flexible hyaline valve : gills nearly oval, pale brown, the upper 

 being much the smaller and strongly striated on both sur- 

 faces : palps small, pointed, and triangular, externally smooth, 

 but striated across the inner surface : foot thick, moderately 

 strong, lanceolate, and pure white ; when at rest it is axe- 

 shaped, and appears amalgamated with the rest of the body. 



Shell triangularly rounded, with a somewhat oblique out- 

 line, more or less compressed, very solid and opaque, slightly 

 but not decidedly glossy : sculpture, concentric laminar ridges, 

 which are numerous, sharp, close-set, and alternately large 

 and small in the earlier stages of growth, but afterwards 

 become fewer, broader, and equal ; the whole surface is crossed 

 by minute, extremely crowded and fine hair-like longitudinal 

 striae, as in V. exoleta and V. lincta : colour extraordinarily 

 diversified, red, pink, yellow, or brown, of every shade, varie- 

 gated by rays, streaks, blotches, or zigzag markings disposed in 

 the most lovely fashion, sometimes white: epidermis very slight, 

 only apparent at the edges : margins obtusely angled on each 

 side, semicircular in front, with a curved dorsal slope and an 

 excavation belowthe beaks for the lunule : beaks small, consider- 

 ably recurved and diverging, as in the above-named species : 

 lunule lanceolate, reddish-brown, defined by a slight but dis- 

 tinct groove, finely and closely striated lengthwise ; lips sharp 

 and somewhat prominent : corselet long and deep, excavated 

 like a furrow with shelving sides : ligament narrow, golden- 

 yellow or horncolour, for the most part concealed within the 

 corselet : hinge-line obtusely angular : hinge-plate as in all the 

 preceding species : teeth, in the right valve three divergent 

 cardinals, the posterior of which is much slighter and longer 

 than the Test, double or grooved lengthwise, and parallel 

 with the hinge-line ; the left valve has also three similar car- 

 dinals, with the addition of a slighter but longer laminar 

 tooth just inside the ligamental groove on the dorsal slope ; 

 laterals indistinct or merged in the hinge-plate : inside of a dull 

 hue in the middle, with a deep tinge of purple towards the 

 beaks, and often having a white callosity below the cardinal 



