PYRULA. 
Puate I. 
Genus Pyruna, Lamarck. 
Testa subpyriformis, spirdé nunc exsertd, nunc plano-depressd, 
columellé levi, canali plus minusve elongaté; labro 
simplici, aperture fauce interdum levi, interdum ra- 
diatim liraté aut striatd. Operculum corneum. 
Shell somewhat pyriform, spire sometimes exserted, some- 
‘times flatly depressed; columella smooth, canal 
more or less elongated; lip simple, interior of the 
aperture sometimes smooth, sometimes rayed with 
ridges or strie. Operculum horny. 
The Pyrule were separated from the genus Fusus of 
Bruguiére by Lamarck, with no other distinction of cha- 
racter than that of form, hence there are several species on 
the confines of the group, which may be referred to either 
genera with almost equal propriety. Such are the P. pugi- 
lina and cochlidium, referred one to each genus by the 
founder of the present, though generically the same; 
the typical species, such as the P. carica, canaliculata and 
spirata, are nevertheless characteristic in their peculiar 
pear-shaped growth. 
One division of the Lamarckian Pyrule commonly 
known as the ‘Figs’, were distinguished as a genus by 
Swainson under the name of Ficula, and the animal has 
since been found to be distinct, allied rather to Harpa and 
Dotium. 
The Pyrule thus restricted are somewhat limited in 
number; they inhabit chiefly the Eastern Seas, with one 
or two from Mexico, the West Indies and California. 
Species 1. (Fig a Mus. Cuming, Fig 6 Mus. Adamson.) 
PyruLa puGiLina. Pyr. testd ovato-pyriformi, crassa, 
tumidé, anfractibus apicem versus spiraliter liratis, 
superné concavo-angulatis, ad angulum nunc levibus, 
rotundatis, nunc tuberculatis, tuberculis compressis, 
prominentibus, erectis ; castaneo-fuscd, aperture fauce 
aurantio-luted. 
THE CHAMPION PyruLa. Shell ovately pyriform, thick, 
swollen, whorls spirally ridged towards the apex, 
concavely angulated round the upper part, some- 
times smooth and rounded at the angle, sometimes 
tubercled, the tubercles being compressed, prominent 
and erect; chesnut-brown, interior of the aperture 
orange-yellow. 
Murex pugilinus, Born, Mus. p. 315. 
‘PYRULA COCHLIDIUM. 
Fusus crassus carnarius, Martini. 
Murex vespertilio, Gmelin. 
Pyrula vespertilio, Lamarck. 
Pyrula carnaria, Ene. Méth. 
Eadem var. Pyrula fulva, Deshayes. 
Hab. Kastern Seas. 
The specimens selected for the illustration of this well- 
known species, show that the tubercled structure of the 
whorls, as in the genus Voluta, is very inconstant. 
Species 2. (Mus. Cuming.) 
Pyr. testé fusiformi-pyriformi, 
spira elevatiusculd, suturis peculiariter excavatis, an- 
fractibus apicem versus spiraliter tenuiliratis, conspicue 
depresso-angulatis, ad angulum tuberculatis, tuberculis 
compressis, fortibus, subdistantibus ; intense castaneo- 
fusca, aperture fauce aurantio-luted. 
THE WINDING-sTAIR PyruLa. Shell fusiformly pear- 
shaped, spire rather elevated, sutures peculiarly ex- 
cavated, spirally finely ridged towards the apex, 
conspicuously depressly angulated, tubercled_at the 
angle, tubercles compressed,.strong, somewhat distant; 
deep chesnut-brown, interior of the aperture orange- 
yellow. 
Pyrula cochlidium, Enc. Méth. pl. 434. f. 2. 
Murex cochlidium, Linneus. 
Fusus cochlidium, Lamarck. 
Hab. Raines’ Island, Torres Straits (on the reefs); Capt. 
Ince. 
This species is of a more fusiform growth than the pre- 
ceding, but should certainly be referred to the same genus, 
as represented in the ‘ Encyclopédie Méthodique’; it is 
amply distinguished by the indented character of the 
sutures, and by its stronger and more widely separated 
tubercles. 
Species 3. (Mus. Adamson.) 
Pyruta Morio. Pyr. testé subfusiformi, spiraliter sulcatad 
et striatd, apicem versus tenuiliratd, anfractibus superneé 
concavo-depressis, nunc angulatis et conspicue compresso- 
tuberculatis, nunc rotundatis, levibus aut obsolete no- 
dosis ; nigricante-castaned, fascia luteo-albida unica ayt 
pluribus cingulata. 
May, 1847. 
