MELVILL : CYPR.iA CHRYSALIS AND C. MICRODON. II9 



"11. C. microdot! n.s. 



Testa ohlongo-ovata, antlce attenuata, albidd, bninneo mimde punctata ; 



bast alba, rotundatd, extremitatihus subproductis, roseis, aperturd 



angusfd, deniibus iniiiutis, approxunatis, subcequalibus. 

 Inhabits Pacific Ocean. Mus. : Stuchbury, Nostr. 



Shell oblong-ovate, attenuated in front, slender, whitish, minutely 

 dotted with brown ; base rounded, white, extremities slightly pro- 

 duced, rose-red, margin rounded, mouth narrow, teeth minute, close 

 together, nearly equal, front of the columella concave, with the teeth 

 extended over it. 



Axis I, diameter ^-of-an-inch. 



Though worn, the shell is marked with an obscure central yellowish 

 band ; the base is white, the spire flat and small, and the extremities 

 of a pale pink colour." 



There is no doubt about this type ; and one is therefore justified 

 in proclaiming that the crux of the whole matter, and the solution 

 of the mystery, so long perplexing to cypraeologists, is that C. micro- 

 don Gray (1828) is C. chrysalis Kien. 



Through the kindness of Mr. C. Davies Sherborn, I am informed 

 that the whole of the section Cyprcea in Kiener's "Coquilles vivantes," 

 undated, was published in 1845. The name microdon therefore must 

 be restored, and stand for typical C. chrysalis, which latter becomes 

 a synonym. 



It will thus be necessary to give a new term to the species hitherto 

 generally known as C. microdon, and I would suggest, as possessing a 

 fair equivalent in meaning, the word ^minoridens.'' 



The species will thus fall into sequence : — 



C. microdon Gray {= chrysalis Kien,). 

 C. minor idens Melv. {^= microdoti Auct.). 

 C. fimbriata Gmel. 



(a) unifasciata Mighels. 



(b) macula Ad. 



(c) cholmondeleyi Melv. 



C. irrorata L. {Naria irrorata Gray). 



N.B. — There is some little confusion as to the usual colour of the 

 produced extremities in C. chrysalis. I have seen a specimen 

 shewing lilac suffused with orange, but nine-tenths of the ex- 

 amples that have passed through my hands are pure lilac or 

 pale purple. Worn examples often exhibit a pink tinge of 

 coloration. 



