GASTEROPODS 391 
deposit of enamel. N. érivittata is about one half to seven tenths of an 
inch long, and is yellowish-white. A seriés of revolving grooves cut- 
ting across a series of longitudinal lines gives the shell a decussated or 
granulated appearance. The whorls are somewhat shouldered 
at the sutures, and are white inside. N. obsoleta cannot be 
called a handsome shell by the most enthusiastic collector. Its 
spire is usually eroded or completely dissolved away. The color 
is blackish to olive, with the aperture purplish-black. The § 
columellar lip is arched, with a twist or fold in its lower portion. 
It is decussated by crossing lines and grooves, though not so 
conspicuously as N. trivittata; sutures simple; length one half 
of an inch to one inch. Old specimens not only become 
eroded, but are usually covered with vegetable mould, and °°” 
are not over-inspiring to the collector. They often live in brackish 
water, and frequent all the inlets and marine flats between Cape Cod 
and Hatteras. Below Hatteras both this and the last-named species 
occur, though not so plentifully. 
N. vibex. This ubiquitous little mollusk seems content in any station, 
and swarms in all the sandy bays of Florida. It is a busybody, always 
on the move, and its long siphon is constantly vibrating. The shell is 
about one half an inch long and shining white, with brown or 
reddish spots. There are prominent longitudinal undulations 
and revolving lines upon the lower part of the body-whorl. 
The anterior canal is deeply cut and very short; the colu- 
N mellar lip arched, richly calloused, and often granulated at its 
base. Thisis probably the first live shell the collector in Florida 
wiea Will encounter. The animal is very graceful and prettily 
vibes. Marked in color. The terminal cirri on the foot form a 
notable feature — a character belonging to the entire family. 
N. fossata, N. perpinguis. On the California coast there are the 
huge (for this genus) NV. fossata and the smaller but no less interesting 
NV. perpinguis, also N. tegula and N. mendica. N. fossata grows to a 
length of one and a half to two inches. When adult the lip is some- 
what thickened, and the entire aperture is bright orange. The color of 
the shell is ashen-gray, and itis marked with spiral and transverse riblets 
which produce a granulated surface, especially upon the upper whorls. 
The shell is ribbed inside the mouth. A deep groove circles the anterior 
canal at the base of the body-whorl. WN. perpinguis is an especially 
graceful shell, smaller than the last-named and more finely decussated 
and darker (brown) in color. It also has a deeply channeled groove 
encircling the base of the body-whorl. It is often banded in chestnut. 
Both these species occur in the southern part of California only; N. 
tegula and N. mendica are of more northern range. The former resem- 
bles the Floridian N. vibex. N. mendica is a slender shell three quar- 
ters of an inch long, with prominent longitudinal ridges, and light brown 
in color, with a white aperture. (Plate LXXIV.) 
FAMILY BUCCINIDE 
From the number of subfamilies and genera included in this 
exceedingly large and comprehensive family, it would almost 
