96 Mr. E. A. Smith on 



described by Sowerby under the name of V. piperita, and at 

 the time was unique. 



Volufa macgillivrai/i, Cox''*', from Woodlark Island, is a 

 light-coloured variety of the present species, and V. rucken\ 

 Crosse, is also regarded as a highly coloured form. 



Valuta ohlita^ nom. no v. 



J'olufa norrisii, Sowerby (uou Gray), Proc. Zool. Soc. 1844, p. 150 ; 



Thes. Concli. vol. i. p. 201, pi. li. Mg. 65 ; Reeve, Conch. Icon. vol. vi. 



pi. vii. tig. 15. 

 Scapha norrisii, Sowb. (non Gray"), Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1855, p. 56 ; 



List Moll. Brit. Mu8. part i. Yolutidae', p. 10 (1855). 

 Valuta ( Vespertilio) norrisii, Tryon, Alan. Conch, vol. iv. p. 86, 



pi. XXV. fig. 55. 



Ilab. Depuch Island (Dring) ; Nichol Bay [Cox] ; Monte- 

 bello Islands (T. H. Idaynes) ; Tien Tsin, Flying Foam 

 Passage, and Camden Harbour {Petterd) ; King George's 

 Sound {Angras). Tlie last locality is doubtful. 



This well-known species is the Voluta norrisii of all authors, 

 but not the species described by Gray in 1838 under that 

 name. It is closely related to V. nivosa^ Lamarck, but is 

 separable on account of the general tone of its coloration, 

 usually shorter fornij usually more strongly spinose coronation 

 of the whorls, and much less distinct lineations on the trans- 

 verse bands. These lines also, as a rule, are not so wavy. In 

 the spaces between the lineated zones there is a mottling of 

 brown or olivaceous markings, which does not occur in 

 V. nivosi. 



If we consider this shell a variety of V. nivosa, we must 

 then, to be consistent, also unite with it V. sopliia, Gray, 

 which, with the exception of the rows of black spots and the 

 white columellar folds, does not present any distinguishing 

 features from the present species. Still the three forms, 

 judging from the series of specimens which have been 

 examined, are nearly always readily separable and have 

 different geographical ranges. There is, however, a short 

 coronated variety of nivosa which approaches very closely to 

 some forms of ohlita. 



Voluta Sophia y Gray. 



Totuta Sophia, Gray, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1846, vol. xviii. p. 431 ; 

 id. in Jukes's Voy. 'Fly,' vol. ii. p. 355, pi. i. figts. 1,2 (1847); 

 Pieeve, Conch. Icon. vol. vi. pi. x. fig. 21 (1849) ; Sowerby, The- 

 saurus Conch, vol. iii. p. 270, pi. cclxi. lig. 132 (1864). 



Vohita ( Vespertilio) sophia, Trvon, Man. Conch, vol. iv. p. 87, pi. xxv. 

 fig. 59 (1882) ; Crosse, J. de Conch. 1871, vol. xix. p. 279. 



* Proc. Zool. Soc. 187.'^., p. 568, pi. xlviii. fig. 9. 



i\_ 



( 



I 



