392 Mr. Cosmo Melvill on the 



attempts in L. smaragdulus. L. amplustre (Mart.) naturally 

 follows, by an easy transition through some species hitherto 

 placed in Peristernia^ closing the genus with L. vexillulum 

 (Reeve), which, in its turn, has some connection with one of 

 the first species, on the list of Peristernia^ e.g. castanoleuca 

 (Tapperone-Canefri), better known by the superseded name 

 Philberti (Recluz). 



This very attractive little shell has affinities on the one 

 hand with P. spinosa (Martyn), and nassatula (Lamk.), and 

 on the other with Australiensis (Reeve), placed last almost 

 in the series. 



Through spinosa (Martyn) in which the spires on the 

 transverse riblets are very prominent, we come to the 

 beautiful and variable nassatula and its allies. This shell, the 

 most beautifully delicate, perhaps, of all the species is, when in 

 good condition white, occasionally variegated with fuscous- 

 brown, the interior of the mouth and columella varying from 

 rose pink to pale purple. P. lirata (Pease), gemmata 

 (Reeve), are shells which it is not very easy to assign to 

 quite a natural place. Indeed, it has occurred to me there 

 may be a closer connection with Latirus prisinaticus than 

 one would admit at present. I have spoken about the 

 similarity of the epidermis characters in these two species, 

 and we have yet to learn the dentition of them all. 



In P. decorata (Adams), well redescribed by Mr. Edgar 

 Smith, in P.Z.S., 1878, p. 812, and the newly-described 

 mannophora, hilaris (figs. 4 and 5), and allies, we have a 

 beautiful moniliform arrangement of the beading of the 

 whorls just below the sutures, and these forms naturally 

 lead to that group of which P.pulchella (Reeve) maculata 

 (Reeve), Sinithiana (sp. nov.) may be considered the types. 

 P. nassoides (Reeve) is a somewhat anomalous kind, allied 

 nearly to pulchella^ but possessing certain Nassarioid 

 peculiarities, suggesting the possibility of relegating it 

 eventually to the genus Hindsia. There is no sign here of 



