ovuLA. Panama Shells. 29 



Family— CYPRiEID^. 



OVUIiA. — M. Kiener's monograph of this genus contains 

 only 23 species, but Mr. Sowerby, in Thes. Conch., describes 

 48 species, besides 4 from the west coast of tropical America, 

 which were described in the Proo. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1832, and 

 figured in the Conch. lUust., but which [seem to have been 

 overlooked when his monograph was published in 1849. 

 Some of Mr. Sowerby's habitats of the species are so compre- 

 hensive, that we cannot suppress the suspicion of some error, 

 either in the testimony on this point, or in confounding allied 

 species. Especially are we perplexed by the habitat assigned 

 to the well-known and very distinct Caribbean species, O. 

 gibbosa, " collected at Panama by Mr. Cuming." Dr. Jay, 

 however, in the last edition of his catalogue, mentions 

 (copies?) the same habitat. The general question of thd 

 identity of any specific types on both sides of the Isthmus is 

 of so much importance as to require a careful scrutiny into 

 all statements of such identity. 



1. OTula arena. 



SyruMymy. 



Ovulum avena Sowb. Free. Zool. Soc. Lond. p. 1Y3. - Oct. 1832. 



Miill. Synop. Nov. Test. Viv. p. 128. May 1836. 



Sowb. Catal. Gyp. p. 17. No. 29. - 1841. 



Sowb. Conch. 111. pi. 8. f. 59. 1841. 



Our shells are somewhat smaller than the figure here 

 quoted. This is one of the species omitted in the Thesaurus. 



( ' Station. — We found this Mollusk on a small species of 

 Grorgona at the low water mark of the spring tides. 



Habitat. " In America Centrali, (Conchagua.)" — Cum- 

 ing ! Sowerby in Proo. Z. S. 



