36 



olive, dotted, and sometimes streaked with purple-rust; whorls 

 seven to nine, specially unequally striately ridged, slopingly angled 

 round the upper part, prickly spined at the angle, spines a little 

 descending in varices ; aperture ovate." (Reeve, Con. Icon.) 



Alt. 13-26, diam. 7-11 mm. 



Aperture : alt 6-11, diam. 2-5-5-5 mm. 



Hob. India ; Pondichery, Madras (Blanford), Poona, Coro- 

 inaudel, Cochin (Hanky $ Theobald) ; Ceylon (Humbert) also 

 Timor (Lamarck); Vanikoro (Quoy 6," Gaimard); Java (Mousson); 

 ISew Guinea (Less.)', Halmaheira (Landaner) also Mauritius and 

 Seychelles. 



Var. elegans (Benson). 



Melania elegans, Benson, J. A. S. B. v, 1836. p. 782, name only for the 

 unnamed turreted form in Gleanings in Science, ii, 1830, p. 22. 



Melania letter c, Hutton, J. A. S. B. xvii, pt. 1, 1849, p. 657 ; H. & 

 T., C. I. pi. 73, figs. 5-7 ; Brot, in Conch.-Cab. 1877, p. 274, 

 pi. 28, figs. 9, 9 a. 



" Testa turrita, solidiuscula, cornea, pallide rubro punctata vel 

 -eleganter interrupte flammulata. Spira integra ; anfr. 9 coavexi, 

 rsuperne subangulati, transverse plicato-costati, piicis ad angulum 

 spinulosis, longitudinaliter lirati, elegantissima granoso-clathrati. 

 Apertura ovata, basi subanguste rotundata ; columella vix arcuata, 

 margine dextro vix sinuoso." {Brot, in Conch.-Cab.) 



Alt. 16-32, diam. 7-5-12 mm. 



Aperture : alt. 7-11, diam. 4-6 mm. 



Hob. Rivers Guinti, Belwa and Cen. 



61. Tiara (Plotia) datura (Do7irn). 



Tiara (Plotia) datura (Dohrn), P. Z. S. 1858, p. 135 (as Melania) ; 

 Reeve, Con. Icon. pi. 32, sp. 213 ; H. & T., C. I. pi. 73, fi-. 10 ; 

 Nevill, Hand List, pt. 2, p, 281. 



Original description : Testa oblongo-pyramidata, fragilis, dia- 

 phana, fusco-nigricans, decollata : anfr. 3-4 ad suturam angulati ; 

 supra plani, subtus vix convexi, in augulo iongis spinis, infra 

 medium lineis elevatis ornati ; apertura caerulea oblonga. 



Alt. 21, diam. 11 mm. 



Aperture : alt. ,10, diam. 5 mm. 



Hob. Ceylon. 



62. Tiara (Plotia) acanthica (I. & H. Lea). 



Tiara (Plotia) acanthica (I. & H. Lea), P. Z. S. 1850, p. 194 (as 

 Melania); H. & T., C. I. pi. 110, fig. 10; Nevill, Hand List, 

 p. 281. 



Original description -.Testa, spinosa, ovato-turrita, varicosa, 

 transversim lineata, subtenui, f usca ; spira elongata, conica, scalari- 

 f orini ; apice truncata ; sutura lineari ; anfractibus superne angu- 

 latis varicibus distortis ; angulo spinis instructo ; varicibus magnis 



