480 Ci/praa reticulata and Cypraa histrio distinct 



of C. reticulata, Thus Gmelin's error was again duplicated, and 

 in such a manner as to increase the confusion he had introduced ; 

 so that it was not at all strange that Dillwyn, in his excellent and 

 generally accurate Descriptive Catalogue, published in 1817, 

 should follow in the same track. 



Lamarck, in the 7th Vol. of his Animaux sans Vertebres, 1822, 

 describes the C. histrio, but, unlike his predecessors, he does not 

 quote the figure of Martyn for it. Why this omission ? He was 

 acquainted with Martyn's work, for he quotes it, frequently else- 

 where. Did he doubt the identity of Martyn's shell with the 

 histrio? We have no positive evidence on this point, but his 

 description, short as it is, applies very well to the true histrio. 



In March, 1S24, Mr. Gray commenced the publication of his 

 Monograph on the Cypraeidae, in the Zoological Journal. In this 

 paper he degrades both C. histrio and reticulata from the rank of 

 species, and makes them a variety of C. arabica. Of this species 

 he enumerates four varieties, viz : 



a. arabica : The typical form. 



b. intermedia : A form which I think to be the same as 



Kiener's pi. 4, f. 3, and to which I shall 

 again refer. 



c. histrio : In this he includes both Martyn's and Chem- 



nitz's shells. 



d. deprcssa : This seems to be founded on the figure in 



the Enc. Meth., which in my view is a histrio. 



It is not a little strange that Mr. Gray should have been led to 



unite two species so widely different as the typical C. arabica and 



the C. histrio; and with only one exception, as I believe, later 



authors have rejected his views. 



Shortly after Mr. Gray's Monograph was commenced, and before 

 it was known in this country, our associate, Mr. Barnes, read be- 

 fore this Society his description of the C. maculata, which will be 

 found in the Annals of the Lyceum, Vol. I., p. 132. Mr. Barnes 

 was probably not acquainted with the work of Martyn, which at 

 that time was hardly known in this country. In a later number of 



