584 MR. H. ADAMS ON NEW SPECIES OF SHELLS. [Nov. 3, 



rate them specifically, as some of the neighbouring islands produced 

 more or less intermediate forms. Birds from the following localities 

 had a conspicuous silvery-white shade on the ear-coverts — Flores, 

 Celebes, Borneo, Timor, Amboina, and Ceram ; while specimens from 

 the following islands had dark ear-coverts and forehead — Gilolo, 

 Batchian, Morty, Mare"h, Ternate, Tidore, and Ceram. The darkest 

 were those from Batchian, Morty, and Mareh, while those from Ter- 

 nate, Tidore, and Ceram had an appearance of silvery-white ear-coverts. 

 The Amboina bird is noted by me as a bleached and faded specimen 

 in worn plumage ; while the one from Flores, figured by Professor 

 Schlegel, I considered at the time to be an extremely old bird. 



The accompanying drawing (Plate LXVIII.) represents an adult 

 pair of C. rupicola (figs. 1 & 2), a species which has never been 

 well figured ; and the Aldenham female of C. tinnunculus is also 

 drawn (fig. 3). 



5. Descriptions of some new Species of Shells from various 

 Localities ; also of a new Genus of Bivalves from Mauri- 

 tius. By Henry Adams, F.L.S. 



[Received August 6, 1874.] 

 (Plate LXIX.) 



Mr. Holdsworth having kindly placed in my hands for examina- 

 tion the shells recently obtained by him from the pearl-oyster beds 

 at Ceylon, I find among them two species that appear to be new, as 

 well as several known species which, from having been collected alive, 

 still retain their opercula. Of one of the latter, viz. Tudicla spirilla, 

 Lam., the operculum has not been hitherto observed, and is therefore 

 now figured (Plate LXIX. fig. 2). The genus Tudicla was included 

 by my brother and myself, in our 'Genera of Recent Mollusca,' in the 

 family Fasciolariidse ; and Dr. Gray subsequently, in his 'Guide to the 

 Mollusca,' placed it as a subgenus of Murex in the Muricidae. The 

 operculum of Tudicla, however, possesses similar characters to those 

 of the other genera of Fasciolariidse, being acutely ovate and having 

 the nucleus apical ; and I would consequently retain it in that family. 

 The shell, moreover, is furnished with a plait upon the columella, is 

 without varices, and has a papillary apex ; while the shells of Murex 

 have no plait, are all more or less variced, and have the apex acute. 



I take this opportunity of figuring also (Plate LXIX. figs. 4, 4a, 

 Ab) the operculum (hitherto unknown) of Neritopsis, from which it 

 would appear that it is more closely allied to the Neritidse than to 

 the Naticidse. The specimen containing this operculum was pro- 

 cured from Barkly Island, Mauritius. Among other shells received 

 from Mauritius is an example of Scintilla incerta, Desh., described 

 in his ' Cat. des Moll, de Pile de la Reunion ' from a specimen 

 obtained at that place ; and he remarks that although he refers it 

 to the genus Scintilla, he considers it to form an intermediate link 

 between that genus and the genus GaJeomma, possessing, as it does, 



