UNIVALVES. 



PLATE XIX. 



Genus. CYPRiEA. 



Character. Shell generally oval and orbiculated ; cheek of the mouth folded 

 inwards ; the mouth narrow, and wholly covered on each side with teeth ; the apex 

 generally obscure. 



Species. 



No. 1. CypRjEA obtusa. Shell of a dark red colour, softened at the edges by a 

 rich orange colour ; mouth and teeth white ; ends of the shell very obtuse ; 

 the apex invisible. A native of the Eastern Ocean. 



No. 2. Cypilea ursellus. Shell white, richly streaked with a map pattern of 

 dark brown ; ends pointed, bisected. 



No. 3. CypRjEA asellus. Shell white, and striped like the above, with dark brown, 

 the stripes, however, are not waved irregularly in this instance, but are pre- 

 c sely regular in their form and number. 



No. 4. Cypr^a jenningsia. Shell of a beautiful pink colour, spotted with raised 

 spots of a white colour ; mouth of a pale pink colour, furbelowed and 

 undulated, two dark spots of brown at each end. It is in the Museum of 

 Mr. Jennings, in honour of whose zeal in Conchology, (it being an unique,) 

 I have here named it. 



No. 5. Cypr,ea camelopardalis. Shell of a pale purple, verging to a brown 

 tint, and spotted all over like the last shell, with white raised spots ; it dif- 

 fers from that, however, in being larger, in having no dark spots at the 

 ends, a id in the form of the teeth. It is a native of the Red Sea. 



No. 6. Cypr^ia chalcedonia. Shell of a strong red, spotted with marks of the 

 same colour ; the edges of the beak slightly crenated, and the segments of 

 the ends very much divided. 



No. 7. Cyprjea Isabella. Shell ovate, of a pale flesh-colour, richly streaked with 

 lines and dots of black ; the ends and apex touched slightly with red. A 

 native of the Eastern Seas. 



REMARKS. 



The Cypraea (or Cowry) is so named from the circumstance of a beautiful shell of this genus 

 having, as it is said, been presented to the temple of Venus at Cyprus ; and, indeed, the 

 beauty and splendour of these shells render them worthy of being offered at the shrine of 

 the Goddess of Beauty. The distribution of forms in this class is easily ascertained ; the 

 round shape, and narrow mouth, forming the chief and most obvious characteristics, so that, 

 like the Cone and the Strombus, they are easily distinguished from all the other classes. 



