UNIVALVES. 



PLATE XXIV. 



Genus. CONUS. 



Character. Shell spiral ; the body and spire pointed and cone-shaped : the spire 

 short ; the body having no beak, or rostrum ; mouth long, and very narrow, straight, 

 and lineal ; the sides of the spire sometimes convex and sometimes concave. 



Species. 



No. 1. Conus cedo nulli. Shell of a rich gold colour, elegantly variegated with 

 white ornaments, embossed in various lines and beaded bands of different 

 sizes ; the mouth white, shaded with brown. This remarkable shell takes 

 its name of Cedo nulli, from the circumstance of its yielding to no other 

 shell in point of beauty and ornament. It is a native of the Indian Seas, and 

 so very rare, that two hundred guineas have been sometimes offered for a fine 

 specimen. Copied from a fine shell in the British Museum. 



No. 2. Conus reticulatus. Shell of a maroon brown, richly marked with trans- 

 verse bands of dark brown ; the spire spotted with brown ; the whole sur- 

 face marked with a netted pattern of small lines ; the mouth of a pale red 

 colour. Native place unknown. 



No. 3. Conus fasciatus, Shell white, painted with ferruginous spotted bands ; 

 the spire of the same pattern ; the bands irregular, small and large, inter- 

 spersed with beads of the same colour. From a beautiful shell in the 

 British Museum. 



No. 4. Conus maculatus. Shell of a dark purple brown, with triangular spots 

 of pale yellow, inclining to white ; mouth pale red. This shell is very com- 

 monly met with in almost all cabinets ; nevertheless, it is very attractive by 

 its striking contrast of colours, and its elegant and taper form. 



No. 5. Conus quadratus. Shell gray, with square black spots regularly invest- 

 ing the whole shell ; mouth of a pale red colour. From the coast of Africa. 



No. 6. Conus argillaceus. Shell white and pale red, richly striped and spotted. 

 A native of the East Indies. 



REMARKS. 



The genus of shells denominated Conus, from their peculiar form, are chiefly found in the 

 Torrid Zone, and are distinguished by the splendour and richness of their external coverings. 

 Their circular spires, folding inwards, are wholly covered up and enveloped by the external 

 fold of the body, which ends in a straight and open trench at the bottom of the shell. It has 

 a very considerable resemblance to the genus Oliva in its general form and appearance, but 

 diners from it in this circumstance, namely, that the mouth of the Oliva genus is much wider, 

 and has the folds of its spire divided by a thick projecting collar, running round the summit, 

 which the Conus has not. Like the Cypraea, it is one of the families of shells most easy to 

 distinguish, by its very peculiar and striking form, and adds greatly to the splendour of a 

 well assorted cabinet, from the exquisite polish for which its specimens are particularly 

 remarkable. 



