MARSHALL : ON THK BRITISH SPECIES OF BUCCINUM, FUSUS, ETC. 43 



another trawled specimen (J. T. M.) ; Shetland-P"aroe Channel 640 f. 

 (" Triton "). The records ^i^■en in the Linnean Society's Journal (') as 

 to F. islandims being dredged by the "Triton" off Peterhead were 

 lapsus peivm of mine for F. (jrari/ix. The operculum of F. idandicm 

 is obtusely triangular, dark horn-colour, large, solid, and closely and 

 coarsely wrinkled in the line of growth. F. islan(Urus has a broad as 

 well as a narrow variety. Some from the Shetlands are unsually slender 

 measuring 5-in. in length by i|-in. only in the widest part ; but rougher 

 ground in the same seas yields a much more robust form, some of my 

 specimens thence being fully 6-in. by 2-in. These forms will no doubt 

 in time receive distinct varietal names. The normal dimensions of the 

 type are 5in. by i|in., though a specimen in Mr. F. ^y. Wotton's fine 

 series of this handsome shell, from the Irish Channel, is 5|in. in length, 

 and is unique in having the e]Mdermis perfect throughout. Another 

 specimen from the same seas, in the collection of Mr. Bartlet Span of 

 Tenby, is just short of 6-in. in length, but has lost the bulbous apex. 

 In these large specimens the epidermis is usually more or less abraded. 

 Mr. Bartlet Span found a specimen in Tenby harbour some years ago, 

 which had most pro' ably been cleaned out of a trawl-boat. 



The peculiar bulbous apex, which is supposed to be a specific 

 character of this species, is locally \ariable. Specimens from Greenland, 

 Unmark, and the Shetlands have the spire gradually tapering to a 

 blunt point, while those from S. W. Ireland, the Irish Channel, and 

 adjacent coasts have the prominent buUious apex depicted in Jeffreys' 

 figure, which is much broader than the following whorls. The shell 

 is more attenuated than either Jeffreys' or Sowerby's figures, especially 

 the lower half, a id has a much longer canal ; Sowerby's figure should 

 also have the suture oblique and the whorls less tumid. An 

 actual specimen placed over these figures will show how very much 

 they are drawn out of scale. Sars gives an excellent figure of the 

 northern form (minus the bulbous apex) where, as in our seas, it is less 

 rare than it used to be. Dr. Mbrch many years ago brought about 20 

 specimens from Greenland when on a visit to England, and these sold 

 at from 20/- to 60/- each. 



F. GRACILIS, Da Costa. — South Devon is the limit of this species, 

 where it becomes rare. 



Var. convoJuta, Jeffr. — Scilly Islands (Smart and others) ; the 

 Smalls Light (Span) ; and various other places, but sparingly. Variable 

 in length and slenderness. My largest are si-in. in length by lin. 

 only in the widest part, and have a deeply-channelled suture. A dwarf 



(1) Zoology, vol. 17, 1883, pp. 95, 9', 97. 



