UNIVALVES. 



PLATE XVII. 



Genus. VOLUTA. 



Character. Shell spiral and ovate; the columella fluted like a screw; apex 

 pointed, and terminating in various forms. 



Species. 

 No. 1. Voluta pattersonia. Shell costated with longitudinal ridges, streaked 



with red bars ; apex of a beautiful purple ; cheek doubty edged, and thick. 



A native of New Holland, and named in honour of Colonel Patterson. 



From the Author's Museum. 

 No. 2. Voluta porcellana. Shell pale green, shaded with gray, in form oval, 



the flutes strongly marked upon the columella ; apex very small and brown. 



This very elegant shell is a native of the Southern Ocean, and very rare. 



From the Author's Museum. 

 No. 3. Voluta undulata. Shell flesh-colour, verging to purple, streaked irre- 

 gularly with twisting lines of red, wavy all over. A native of New Holland. 

 No. 4. Voluta capitata. Shell pale red, with a rounded apex, and veins formed 



like lightning ; longitudinal ; cheek angulated. Found in the Eastern Seas. 

 No. 5. Voluta pyriformis. Shell pale yellow, with purple dotted bands ; apex 



rounded with a ball ; teeth strongly marked. Found in the African Seas. 



REMARKS. 



The genus Voluta was first established by Linnaeus, and has since that time been very pro- 

 perly separated by the French Conchologists into several different genera or families, as the 

 Oliva, Cymbium, &c. In its general form it approaches the nearest to the ancient vases, 

 which it rivals in the symmetry and beauty of the outline; indeed nothing can exceed the 

 simplicity, and at the same time the magnificence of the forms, which the shells of this genus 

 constantly present, and which might be studied by the artist, either in painting or sculpture, 

 with the greatest advantage. The top of the spire is in this species always rounded, in a 

 mammillary form, and the base of the mouth open, and hollow, and by these marks they 

 will be readily distinguished from the Mitra, Bulla, &c. They have not been found as yet 

 in any of the northern tropical regions of the globe ; but they present a great variety of 

 species in their native and hitherto almost unexplored southern hemisphere. 



