THK NAUTILUS. 11 



inicns of both species from several localities in the West Indies, and 

 the characters described in the books do not hold good to separate 

 them. It is a pity that some naturalist has not examined the 

 animals. 



It is also doubtful if C. exusta Sowerby, and C. talpa, Linn, are 

 distinct. I have a si)ecimen of the typical C. exusta from Mr. 

 Sowerby, and another which I received from Mr. Damon, of Wey- 

 mouth, England, seems to me to connect the two species. Weinkauff 

 may be right in making C. exusta a variety of C. talpa. 



The opinion hekl by some that C. decipiens Smith, was a dwarf 

 variety of C. thersites Gaskoin, has been definitely set at rest by Mr. 

 Sowerby receiving last summer, a number of fine specimens of C. 

 decipiens from Australia. I was fortunate enough to obtain one of 

 them — probably the first specimen that has reached America. It is 

 certainly a good species, and one of the most beautiful of all the 

 Cyprieas. The palm of beauty probably lies between it and C. 

 aurantiiim Martyn. By the way, the fabulous prices given for the 

 last-named shell are things of the past. Instead of costing anywhere 

 from SoO to 8100, a good specimen can be obtained for .S15, and the 

 finest kind of one for $20 to $22. It is no longer a rare species, but 

 can readily be obtained from any of the prominent shell-dealers of 

 Europe. 



Philadelphia, April 10, 1889. 



THE SHELL-BEARING MOLLITSCA OF RHODE ISLAND. 



BY HORACE F. CARPENTER. 



Chapter XLV. 



SUB-ORDER INTEGRIPALLIATA. 



Sij)hons short, not retractile ; pallial impression sim])Ie, without 

 sinus. This sub-order, contains fifteen families. 



FAMILY CYREMD.E. 



Shell regular, oval or sub-trigonal, covered with an epidermis ; 

 hinge with two or three teeth in each valve ; lateral teeth, two, simple 

 or striated ; ligament external ; pallial impression simple, or with a 

 short sinus. 



This family has been made the s])ecial study of Mr. Temple Prime, 

 a lawyer of N. Y. Citv, who is authority on this subject. He pub- 

 lished, in 1865, a monograph of the species inhabiting the American 

 Continent, illustrated with figures and giving all the synonyms, 

 localities and other items of interest concerning them. In 1871 he 

 published a catalogue of all the species in the world (of this family), 

 known to date. He divided it into six genera and three hundred 

 and twentv-two species, of which one hundred and eleven are Amer- 

 ican. There are now recognized seven genera and nearlv four huu- 



