116 MURICID^. 



Edwards has used the name in Crustacea, in 1828, proposed 

 Cymia for these shells. I am not disposed to disturb a well- 

 known name, even under these mitigating circumstances ; be- 

 sides, it is not impossible that Milne-Edwards' genus may itself 

 be superseded by some other name or dismembered, and nothing 

 left of it, as in our old genus Pyrula. 



Humphrey may not have understood what limit he ought to 

 have given to his genus Cuma, and whilst I do not think that he 

 has any very strong claim on us for the recognition of any of his 

 names, I am unwilling to increase the already confused state of 

 our nomenclature by attempting to follow out the absurd and 

 impracticable " rule" of the British Association. Every naturalist 

 knows that the names of genera in his specialty are repeated in 

 other branches of natural science, and accepted without hesita- 

 tion, and that we only follow the " rule" b}^ changing a dupli- 

 cated name occasionally. Besides, no one pretends to be a 

 general naturalist in these days, and the conchologist will not 

 find himself embarrassed by the use of the generic name Cuma 

 in any other subkingdom of nature, or in all of them, whilst he 

 would be " ver}^ considerably bothered" upon encountering the 

 name Cymia. 



Rapana, Schum., 1817. 



Syn. — Ecphora, Conr. Stenomphalus, Sandb. 



Distr. — 8 sp. China, Japan, Philippines, Australia. R. hezoar^ 

 Linn, (xlv, 46). 



Shell ventricose,axis perforated to the apex ; spire depressed ; 

 aperture oval, narrowed anteriorly; canal open, slightly recurved ; 

 inner lip reflected, free anteriorly ; umbilicus wide, corrugated. 



This well-charactei'ized group includes a few species usually 

 found upon coral reefs in tropical seas, and probably living upon 

 the coral polyps. 



Fusus quadricostatus of Say (xlv, 47), a common American 

 tertiary fossil and very remarkable shell, is referable to this 

 genus : Conrad has form-ed for it his genus Ecphora. 



LATiAXis, Swainson. Whorls more or less detached, carinated; 

 aperture small, trigonal ; canal narrow, rather long, curved. The 

 animal and operculum are unknown. B. Mawse, Gray (xlv, 48). 



[PsEUDOMUREx, Monterosato, ) 

 An aberrant form, referred by authors to Murex, to Corallio- 

 phila and to Latiaxis. I cannot find any good characters by 

 which to separate it from Coralliophila. It includes four species 

 and numerous varieties, all inhabiting the Mediterranean Sea. 

 P. bracteatus, Brocchi. 



Rhizochilus, Steenstrup. 

 Bistr. — 22 sp. Coral Reefs, Pacific, West Indies, 



