63 
MU REX contrarius. 
TAB. XXIIL 
Spec. Char. Spire reversed, volutions five or six, 
slightly expanded at the upper part, and con- 
tracted towards the beak : surface with many 
rounded projections or smooth. Mouth irregu- 
larly ovate; beak rather short. 
GmeL Syst. Nat . Tome 1. p. 3564. 
The last whorle is half the length of the shell , which is 
often very smooth, and three or four inches long. The 
spire is longer than in the last, and the volutions more 
equal. 
This has always a more striking resemblance to the recent 
Murex antiquus of Linn, than the last, but the spire winds 
the contrary way. It is very rare to meet with a reversed 
recent shell of that species. The small specimen at the 
bottom of the plate appears to be a young shell, but the 
small shell figured in the upper part of the plate differs a 
little, it is rather longer in proportion, and has alternating 
larger and smaller striae ; the mouth is reversed also, but 
broader towards the top, and the canula is lengthened 
a little. May it not be specifically distinct ? if so, it might 
perhaps be distinguished by its neatness, and called Murex 
pulcher. 
