PLATE XCIV. 



CoNUS BetuLINUS: testa basi subemarginata rugosa : spira 

 planiuscula mucronata ; aibida maculis fuscis 

 transversim seriatis, 



CoNUS Betulinus : testa basi subemarginata rugosa : spira pla- 

 niuscula mucronata. Lin. Lud. Ulr, 557. n. 165. 



Our present plate exhibits, in two different views, a richly co- 

 loured example of that very interesting species of Cone, the Conus 

 Betulinus of Linnaeus. This is a shell which may be deservedly 

 considered as one of the most beautiful of the testaceous productions 

 of the Indian seas. It is a shell of a noble size, with a smooth 

 glossy surface, and is in particular remarkable for the symmetry and 

 elegance with which the spots are regularly disposed in bands sur- 

 rounding the whole shell. There are several pretty distinct varie- 

 ties of this species, which differ chiefly in the number of the spots 

 and in their magnitude. In some kinds the spots are disposed in 

 pairs, in others they are insulated or single, and thus form either 

 single or double girdles : and they differ also in the intensity of the 

 colour, as well as the number of the bands into which they are dis- 

 posed. Our variety, as it appears in the annexed plate, is elegantly 

 diversified with several intermediate girdles of an orange or citron 

 hue, a character observable in this variety principally, and which 

 forms an admirable relief when deeply coloured, to the macular 

 bands of fuscous with which the shell is alternately encircled. 



