412 Mr. W. H. Benson on Ianthina, Bolten. 
bloom devoid of lustre. Of the former, three are pale externally, 
the violet tinge being more vivid within the aperture near the 
outer lip; the fourth is altogether of a violet tint, more saturated 
within the aperture. Of the two shells with a-dull surface, one 
is suffused with violet, the other is paler at the upper part. My 
largest specimen is 18 mill. in length by 11 in breadth. Others 
were procured of a greater size. Specimens stated to be from 
the coast of Portugal exhibit a bluer tint than the rosy violet of 
the southern shell. 
I. ceruleata, Reeve, and var. 
In colour this shell was found to vary from that of J. ceruleata, 
Reeve, to that of J. grandis of the same author, and in form from 
I. ceruleata in the depressed type, through I. communis, R. 
(which, according to Morch, is a variety of J. bicolor, Costa), to- 
wards J. grandis, the perfect form and full size of which Mérch 
affirms that J. bicolor attains occasionally. Of seven specimens, 
taken chiefly in my casting net, I retain five, the largest of which 
is 29 mill. in height and 33 mill. in diameter. In my journal, 
under date 2nd Dec. 1834, in 32° 26! S. lat. and 82° 21! EK. long., 
I noted that I had missed some very large specimens at which 
I had thrown my net. 
Morch places J. bicolor (asI. Coste, Morch) and J. ceruleata, R., 
in the viviparous subgenus Jodes, Leach, while he includes L. gran- 
dis, R.,1n the oviparous subgenus Achates. The float of my species 
(under whatever name it may be retained) had a plane surface, 
and one side was thicker than the opposite edge. It was com- 
posed of large transverse bubbles. None of the specimens had 
egg-cells attached; but numerous large floats procured with 
them, and which, almost beyond question, belonged to the same 
species, were found bearing egg-cells, as noted in my journal on 
the 2nd and 3rd of December. The shells were taken daily, 
from the lst to the 5th of that month; and as the Janthine 
which accompanied them belonged to a little variety of J. pallida, 
and to I. exigua, the small size of those shells and the very dif- 
ferent formation of their floats precluded the assignment of the 
large egg-bearing floats to those species. More shell-less floats 
were observed than those which bore shells. 
The animal was dark blue, with the exception of the whitish 
tentacula, and it gave out a purple fluid which stained the nets 
with a greenish colour. The white basal band in the specimens 
which resemble J. ceruleata gives place in one conoid specimen 
to a pinkish-violet band; and in others the whole base is of a 
uniform deep-violet tint, which gradually fades into opake white 
towards the summit of the spire. The sculpture is more or less 
rough in different individuals. The right lip is rather deeply 
