CYPR^EA COWRY. 69 



great beauty and variety of colours. They are 

 readily distinguished from all other shells by their 

 lips being rolled inwards, and both of them 

 toothed. The history of the genus is very inte- 

 resting from the remarkable difference which occurs 

 in the appearance of the same shell at the various 

 stages of its growth. In its earliest state, the 

 shell is very thin, almost colourless, and dull; 

 the mouth rather wide, the outer lip not rolled 

 inwards, but having a sharp edge, and neither lip 

 denticulated. The shell which the animal first 

 forms is indeed so dissimilar to the perfect Cy- 

 prsea that it was formerly placed in another genus. 

 In the second, or intermediate period of growth, 

 the shell begins to approach the form that cha- 

 racterizes the genus ; the lips are curved inwards, 

 and the teeth become apparent ; but the shell is 

 still thin, its colour faint, and its markings seldom 

 more than ill-defined transverse bands. In its 

 third and perfect state, the Cyprsea has received 

 an additional coating of testaceous matter, the 

 pattern appears with its vivid tints, and delicate 

 markings, and the spire if not entirely hidden, 

 yet scarcely projects out of the body whorl. 



The animal itself undergoes a considerable 

 change during its growth, its mantle at first is 

 small, but it increases with its age, and expands 

 at the sides into two ample wings ; from these it 

 is that the final layer which completes the shell 

 is deposited. In the adult specimens, these ex- 

 pansions of the mantle completely cover the 



