20 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OE H.M.S. SAMARANG. 



through it as represented in the accompanying figure. Whether this peculiarity in the soft 

 parts of the Ovulutn volva sufficiently entitles the species to rank as a genus, as proposed by 

 De Montford under the name of Radius, remains a matter of opinion. 



The mantle of the Ovulum volva is furnished near the margin with a row of nipple-shaped tubercles, 

 the nipples and areolae of which are dark coloured. The tubercles extend to the extremities of the beaks 

 of the shell. The foot is of moderate size and folded longitudinally. The tentacles are elongate and 

 subulate. The mantle covers a small portion of the shell on the left or inner side, where it is partially 

 reflected over the pillar lip, but it does not extend beyond the margin of the thin outer lip ; at least it did 

 not in the specimen from which this description is taken, which, however, was not perfectly adult. In 

 older specimens, it may perhaps be reflected over the outer lip as well as over the columella. The eye, 

 large and black, is placed on the side of the head, at the base of, and below, the tentacles. In the figure, 

 the dark-coloured tubercles are seen through the shell, the mantle adhering to and lining the interior. In 

 colour, the body and foot of this mollusk are of an opake pearly white, but the mantle is thin, semitrans- 

 parent, and flesh-coloured ; the posterior sharp produced portion of the foot is sooty black. 



The 0. volva is slow and languid in its movements, sliding along deliberately, and not more sensible 

 to alarm than Cypraa. Prom the foot being rather narrow, and folded longitudinally upon itself, this 

 animal is no doubt in the habit of crawling upon and adhering to the slender round coral branches and 

 fuci, in like manner as smaller species are not unfrequently seen on Gorgonia. A.A. 



2. Ovulum veeeucosum. PL LI. Pig. 7. Ovul. pallio utrinque lobatoj pede amplo, tenui, 

 plicato-expanso, capite brevi, planulato, obtuse producto ; opaco-alba, nigro maculata, maculis parviusculis, 

 subdistantibus, capite nigro unimaculata, tentaculis vertice nigro fasciatis. 



The animal of Ovulum verrucosum approaches much nearer to the Cowry type than the 

 preceding species, having the mantle partially lobed on either side. The shell likewise 

 partakes more than any other Ovulum of the Oyprcea character ; the callosities, from which 

 it derives its name, may be seen in a modified form in the C. bicallosa. The soft parts 

 of 0. verrucosum are of the same delicate opake white as the hard, the difference being that 

 the former are prettily painted with black spots, the latter unspotted, but suffused with a 

 soft blush of pink. The specimen represented in the accompanying plate was taken alive 

 at the southern extremity of the Island of Mindoro, one of the Philippines, where several 

 were observed gliding cautiously along a bright sandy bottom in shallow water. This species, 

 which De Montford also proposed to elevate to the rank of a genus, under the title of 

 Calpurnus, possesses much less claim to that distinction than the preceding. 



In the Ovulum verrucosum the mantle adheres to the sides, but does not entirely cover the shell. It 

 is dead-white and covered with round black spots. The foot is large, thin, flat, expanded, and marked 

 like the mantle. The tentacula are tapering, of a pure pearly white colour, with a broad black band near 

 their extremities. The eyes are large and black, and placed at the outer base of the tentacles. The head 

 is short and flattened, and ends in an obtuse rounded muzzle. The longest slope and narrowest end is the 

 fore-part of the shell. 



In its habits it is a very slow-moving and sluggish mollusk, with all the peculiarities of the Cowries, 

 and exhibits a singularly beautiful and striking appearance under the calm shallow water as it glides 



