106 Description of Eight new Species of Shells. 



Art. XL — Description of Eight new Species of Shells, native to 

 the United States ; by Henky C. Lea, Philadelphia. 



The study of the marine shells native to the coast of the Uni- 

 ted States, has till lately been somewhat neglected. While our 

 rivers, particularly the western and southern ones, have presented 

 to the conchologist a series of shells, remarkable for their size 

 and beauty, the productions of our coast, more especially towards 

 the north, are usually small and plain in appearance. A few of 

 the larger and more showy species were described by Lamarck and 

 other European writers, and in our own country, Mr, Say early 

 began to investigate them with great zeal. He was followed by 

 Messrs. Barnes, Conrad and others, and of late years many have 

 been described by Col. Totten, Dr. Gould, Messrs. Adams, Cou- 

 thouy, and others. There can be hardly any doubt however, that 

 many still remain undescribed. Some of the species have a very 

 wide range along the coast. In Delaware Bay I have found the 

 Actaon trifdus, Totten, Cerithium terebrale, C, nigrocinctum, and 

 C. Greenii, Adams. The Buccinum ornatutn, Say, is found in 

 the southern states, and in New England, and I have a specimen 

 from the West Indies. The Cerithium Sayii, Menke, although 

 so plentiful in New England, I have not observed here. Those 

 among the following species, which are marked from Delaware 

 Bay, were found in the sandy mud adhering to the Ostrea Cana- 

 densis, Lam. 



Genus Cyrena. — Lamarck. 



C. purpurea. PL 1, fig. 1.* 



C. testa rotundato-triangulari, sequilaterali, sub-inflata, sub-cras- 

 sa, diaphana, et purpurea et alba, polita, striis transversis; natibus 

 prominentibus ; margine non crenulato. 



Shell rounded-triangular, equilateral, sub-inflated, somewhat 

 thick, partly pfirple and partly white, with transverse striae ; beaks 

 prominent ; margin not crenulated. 



Length -07. Breadth -07. Diam. -04 of an inch. 



Hab. Delaware Bay. Cabinet of I. Lea. 



Remarks. — This beautiful little species of Ci/rena, has much 



* The smallest figures are of the natural size ; the three large ones, in outline, 

 in figs. 5, 7 and 8, are merely to show the shape of the mouth. 



