GENUS BUCCINU M . 5 



87. BUCCINUM MUTABILE, LINN., GMEL. The Girdled Buc- 



^i* 



(Collect. MASS. LAM.) LIST., Conch., t. 975, fig. 30. 



PL XXIV, fig. 93. 



B. testa ovato-conica, Isevi, nitida, basi striata, waperne longitudinaliter 

 plicata, fulvo aut luteo-nebulosa, venlricosa ; anfractibus convexis, prop& 

 suturas fascia albo et rufo articulata cinctis; spira exsertd, apice acuta; 

 labro intus striato. 



vn ..*.>. -*,*v&, 



Shell ovate, conical, smooth, slightly ventricose ; spire com- 

 posed of seven whirls, rounded and swollen at the upper part, 

 especially the lowest, which is larger than all the others unit- 

 ed. The three upper whirls are finely plaited ; the lower 

 whirl has a few fine, transverse striae near the base. Aperture 

 white and ovate, pretty strongly emarginated, and oblique at 

 the base ; the depth of the cavity chestnut-colored ; right lip 

 thin, white, very finely striated internally ; left lip thin, white 

 and shining, partially covering the body of the shell. Colu- 

 mella arcuated, terminated at the base by a sharp, and slightly 

 projecting keel. The exterior of the shell is red or fawn- 

 colored, ornamented with an articulated band of white and 

 violet upon the upper edge of the whirls, with waved longitu- 

 dinal yellow or red spots, the tint of which is sometimes 

 very deep, and often very pale. 



Length 15 lines. Width 9 lines. 



Inhabits the Mediterranean, the coasts of France, of Cor- 

 sica, of Naples, of Sicily, and the Adriatic Sea. 



This shell, which is very common, presents somewhat remark- 

 able varieties of color. Sometimes its ground is red ; and white, 

 undulated, very crowded flames, or brown and distant longitudinal 

 lines ornament it from one end to the other ; at other times it is 

 whitish, which happens when it has been a long time exposed to 

 the light ; and in this case transverse striae are perceptible on its 

 surface ; but the articulated band about the suture always ap- 



