MUREX argutus . 
TAB. CCCXLIV. 
Spec. Char. Ovate, pointed, costated, trans- 
versely striated ; costae knotted; striae many, 
elevated, several of them large ; varices few ; 
whorls inflated beyond each varix ; aperture 
toothed ; beak ascending. 
Syn. Murex argutus. Brander , 13. 
Some of the striae upon this shell are elevated into 
carinae, especially two or three near the middle of each 
whorl : the same striae form the knots upon the slightly 
elevated costae, and have deep hollows between them at 
the backs of the varices ; the aperture is nearly round, 
with about six obtuse teeth within the right lip, and se- 
veral irregular varicose elevations upon the left lip, 
which is but a little relieved from the columella. 
Solander has compared this with Murex pileare of 
Linneus, about which Gmelin has made much confusion : 
Murex distortus of Brocchi (p. 399. t. 9. f. 8.) also re- 
sembles it, but in that the volutions are more carinaform, 
a character which is pointed out by Brocchi to distin- 
guish it from M. pileare, which he gives as a fossil 
species closely resembling the recent analogue from the 
Mediterranean sea : it is, however, probable, that they 
are distinct, and that the fossil one is the same as Bran- 
der’s M. argutus, although Brocchi has not quoted it, 
I cannot be certain, for I have not seen authentic spe- 
cimens, so could not place M. pileare of Brocchi among 
the synonima. 
This is not a rare species in the Barton Cliff, but 
seldom exceeds an inch and a half in length ; I have 
specimens of that size from several friends. The larger 
figure is taken from a magnificent individual in the pos* 
session of the Viscount Fitzharris. 
