210 HELICID^. 



16. H. VIRGA'TA*, Da Costa. 



H. virgata, Da Costa, Brit. Conch, p. 79, pi. iv. f. 7 ; F. &. H. iv. 

 p. 57, pi. cxvii. f. 10. 



BODY yellowish-white or ash-grey, coarsely tubercled : 

 mantle of ten dark- violet, indistinctly speckled with milk- white 

 and brown : tentacles rather thick, cylindrico-conic, greyish 

 with a dusky tinge; bulbs globular and reddish, speckled with 

 brown at their base : foot broad and rounded in front, gradually 

 narrowing behind and ending in a blunt but not keeled tail. 



SHELL conical, with a broad and convex base, rather solid 

 and opaque, moderately glossy, white or cream-colour, with 

 a single broad purplish-brown or chestnut band immediately 

 above the periphery and two or three other bands (some- 

 times as many as six or seven) below it ; the colour, how- 

 ever, is very variable, being occasionally plain yellowish, 

 white, or dark brown with white bands, or the dark bands 

 are streaked or interrupted so as to make the surface appear 

 spotted ; sculpture consisting only of striae in the line of 

 growth, which are closer on the upper whorls : periphery 

 rounded, except in young shells, which have a short but 

 rather sharp keel : epidermis scarcely perceptible : whorls 6, 

 convex but slightly compressed towards the suture, the last 

 occupying more than one-half of the shell : spire raised, 

 purplish-brown at the point : suture moderately deep : 

 mouth forming a segment of three-fourths of a circle, inside 

 purplish-brown with a strong rib of the same colour, or 

 white in the albino variety: outer lip sharp, reflected 

 towards and over the umbilicus, rather abruptly inflected 

 above : umbilicus narrow, but deep, and exposing nearly 

 all the interior of the spire. L. O4. B. 0*55. 



Var. 1. subaperta. Shell of a whiter hue : spire more 

 depressed : umbilicus wider. 



Var. 2. subglobosa. Shell smaller, with a double band 

 above the periphery, last whorl larger in proportion to the 

 others : umbilicus wider. 



Var. 3. submaritima, Des Moulins. Shell much smaller 

 and more deeply coloured, often with a violet tinge : spire 

 raised. L. 0*25. B. O325. 



Var. 4. carinata. Shell yellowish-white, compressed 

 above : periphery strongly keeled. 



HABITAT : Sandy downs and heaths in most parts of 



* Banded. 



