80 
CONUS. 
an epidermis, and under it, when in good preser- 
vation, bear the most brilliant polish. This fine 
surface contributes much to heighten the delicate 
and glowing tints which are diffused over some of 
the finer species in an infinite variety of undula- 
tions, clouds, spots, bands, and reticulated figures. 
In enumerating the divisions of this genus, as 
they stand in Gmelin’s edition of Linnaeus’s Sys- 
tema, the comparative length of the spire, with 
that of the body, has been suppressed ; because no 
two species answer exactly to the same measure- 
ment, and even in the same species the proportion 
will be found to differ. The character, therefore, 
can only create confusion. The division D. con- 
tains but one species, C. Sinensis, which is not 
figured, because the author has not been able to 
procure an inspection of the shell itself ; and he is 
unwilling to deviate from his purpose, of offering 
none but orio;inal drawing’s. 
The Greek Ttchvog expresses the peculiar form to 
which the genus is indebted for its name. 
