90 
BUCCINUM. 
ing in the short canal turned more or less towards 
the right. There are some few species of Buc- 
cinum which might, in the formation of a new and 
more accurate catalogue than we now possess, be 
transferred to S trombus and Murex, especially 
from the tapering division, which is far from being 
well defined in either of the three genera. The 
direction of the canal is, however, a character not 
easily mistaken ; and if we adhere rigidly to this, 
we shall find that there are not a great many spe- 
cies which could be better situated than they are 
at present, in one or other of the natural families 
united to the genus Buccinum, in consequence of 
possessing the peculiar construction of rostrum. 
The word Buccinum is derived from (Svzdvri, a 
trumpet or horn; and was applied by Pliny to a 
certain class of shells with a round emarginate 
mouth. The genus to which it is now confined is, 
perhaps, less generally like a trumpet than many 
others. 
