24 CONCH 
The fecond genus in this family is the femiporcellanse, 
or (hells greatly refembling the cyprete or cowries -in their 
appearance. Their aperture, however, is'not fo narrow, 
but more open, neither are the lips toothed or dentated; 
which are the differential characters eftablilhed between 
the two genera. We have feen that Grew, Rumphius, 
Seba, Argenville, Gualtieri, and others, have ranked them 
as cowries. Lifter calls them concha <veneris aperturd non 
dent at a\ Linnaeus ranks them under bulla, with the nuces 
or dippers above defcribed. Davila, refining on Argen¬ 
ville, divides the cowries into two genera, of toothed and 
not toothed ; which latter is this kind ; and Meufchen, 
in like manner, makes them a divifion of cowries, by the 
name of femiporcellanas. The fpecies of this genus are 
not very numerous ; but among them Da Cofta reckons 
the poached egg, the weaver’s (buttle, and a few other 
rare and curious (hells j fome of which are delineated in 
the engraving. 
•CYPRE^E, PORCELLANiE, or COAVRY .SHELLS. 
The porcellain or cowry (hells are generally femi-oval, 
■whofe flat part is the mouth. The (pines of the cowries 
in no wife appear externally, but make their revolutions 
quite latent, or within the body of the fliell. The aper¬ 
ture is on the flat fide; it is a narrow opening, or vent, 
the length of the fliell. The lips are near together, broad, 
turning inwards, and toothed ; the two ends, or extremes 
on the upper part, are very bumped and prominent. At 
one extreme it has a wry gutter, or opening, like the 
mouth of a foal or other flat fill); the other extreme has 
alfo a gutter* but it is ftraight or perpendicular; and be- 
fide it, in fome kinds, there is another protuberance like 
a fmall rude clavicle or turban. 
The particular character of this genus is the deep 
toothing on the inner edges of the lips, which dillin- 
guiflies it from the foregoing genus of femiporcellaiiEe. 
Linnaeus has adopted this charadler; but Grew, Lifter, 
Argenville, Gualtieri, and others, not regarding it, have 
confounded them all together. The cowries are ex¬ 
tremely numerous; and molt of the fpecies very beauti¬ 
ful in colour, and high in polifli, whence they got the 
name of porcellain, or China (hells. They have this ele¬ 
gant polifli naturally from the fea, entirely without tjie 
aid of art; and were they not common (hells, they would, 
perhaps, be as highly valued as the volutes, or others of 
the curious or fcarcer kind. They appear to be litoral 
(hells, and chiefly inhabit the feas round iflands; for the 
greateft number of them are found at the Moluccas, the 
Maldives, Madagafear, the Eaft and Weft-India iflands, 
and on the (bores of South America, Alia, and Africa. 
Though the cowries are found in immenfe abundance 
in the living Hate, they are very rarely feen foflil; and, as 
they lofe their colours when in the foflil (late, it is im- 
poflible to determine whether any of them are fpecies yet 
undifcovered alive. However, the kinds found foflil near 
Turin, and in France, leem to be well known in the liv¬ 
ing (late, 
Thefe (hells being found fo plentifully on all the coafts 
of the Indian countries, became very early a fubilitute for 
money ;• and are Hill ufed in traffic among the people of 
Hindooft'an, of Perfia, China, See. In South America,! and 
in Africa, they are not only ufed as a circulating me¬ 
dium ; but their beautiful polifli, variety in (ize, and di- 
verfity of glowing colours, have induced the natives to 
ule them as ornaments, appended either to the nofe or 
ears, or fining as beads, and worn round the neck, arms, 
body, and legs. Specimens of this fliell are exhibited in 
the Conchology-Plate IV. 
Of TURBINATED or SPIRAL UNIVALVES. 
The turbinated (hells, properly fo called, are thofe whofe 
fpires are external, contrary to the preceding divifion, 
and which (hew themlelves on the outer part of the fliell, 
in what is called the clavicle or turban; which is either 
produced (hort or flat, according to the feveral genera or 
OLOG Y. 
fpecies. Thefe turbinated univalves are- the mod difficult 
to arrange, and .therefore authors, in their different fyf- 
tems, have displayed different methods. No wonder, fince. 
they only contain myriads of fpecies more than all the 
other three divifions put together; but befides the charac¬ 
ters of them are fraught with in numerable difficulties, chiefly 
owing to the contradi6tory opinions of fo many different 
writers. Conchologifts have moftly. formed their methods 
from one Angle, or from a combination, of characters ; 
but Da Cofta has fixed on the aperture, or mouth of the 
fhell, for the effential charafter, in his arrangement of 
turbinated univalves. The aperture or mouth is there¬ 
fore the diftinguiftiing mark of the families; and the 
fhapes, clavicles, colours, and works, of the flieils, are 
ufed only as fu Inordinate charaClers. 
The families which conftitute this divifion of univalves, 
are, i, the argonauts; z, the aures-cocblese, or ear-form 
fnails; 3, the cylindars, or olives; 4, the volutes and 
cones; 5, the.globofse, or rounded (hells; 6, the caffides, 
or helmets; 7, the troclii, or tops; 8, the cochleae, or 
fnails; 9, the buccina, or whelks; 10, the murices, or 
rock-like fhells; all of which we fliall explain in their 
order. 
The ARGONAUT, or PAPER NAUTILUS. 
This family has no external fpires, nor indeed is it, 
flriClly fpeaking, a turbinated (hell, except at the very 
head, which turns in one fpire only ; but, the fliell being 
quite open, this fpire is ex’pofed to view; for it is evi¬ 
dent, if the fliell was not open, or vafcular, but, on the 
contrary, was clofed or (hut up, it would come under the 
clafs of revolved univalves; becaufe the fpires, like as in 
the common or pearly nautilus, would be latent, or turn 
within the body of the fliell. But though it is fo unlike 
the nautilus in not being chambered, yet, in form and 
other particulars, it much agrees with that genus of (hells. 
The definition of the argonaut, or cymbium family, is 
flated thus: they are fhells, in their external fliape re- 
fembling a boat, whofe upper part or head is narrow, 
turns lpirally, and is like the flern ; the reft f it widens 
to the other end, is quite hollow, forms a horizontal aper¬ 
ture, and lies lower than the flern orfpiralend. The 
fpecies of this family amount only to five, of a brownifh 
or whitifh flone-colour, and thin almoft as paper, whence 
they obtained the name of pape r nautili. Thefe (hells 
are by moft authors ranked with the common nautilus- 
fi(h, by the name of nautili •vacui , on account of their 
failing; but it is evident, that in (truflure they have not 
the lead affinity to one another. 
Gualtieri firll made them a feparate genus, under the 
name of cymbium, and Linnaeus alio makes it a diltinCb 
genus, and calls it argonauta. It is this fifli that is the 
true failor, the nautilus of the Greeks and Latins, and 
which our celebrated Ervglith poet refers to when he fays, 
“ Learn of the little nautilus to failfor it does not ap¬ 
pear in any fatisfa< 5 tory manner, that the other kind, or 
pearly' nautilus, ever fails, or navigates his fhell. Pliny 
gives a concife and elegant recital of its mode of naviga¬ 
tion. It fails, fays he, after having difeharged or pumped 
out the water from its fhell, aloft on the lea, extending a 
membrane of an admirable thinnefs, and cafting-backwards 
two of his tentacula or arms; for he rows with the 
others; he (leers his couife, till, refilling his fliell with 
water, he choofes to fink himfelf to the bottom. 
Thefe (hells are found in many parts of the Mediterra¬ 
nean, and alfo in the Enft-Indian feas. Argenville, in 
his Zoomorphofe, gives a recital of the latell obfervations 
relative to the animal and its fading. The fiffi is of the 
fepia kind ; its head is pretty big, with two large eyes ; it 
has eight arms or fentaculse, of a foft flefhy fubltance; 
they are thicker towards the body, and are connected or 
•webbed together by a (light membrane. They are of a 
lilvery colour, fet with flickers or knobs on the fldes, flat¬ 
ted like oars, which ferve him to-fwim ; and with thefe he 
feems to row and fleer his veflel. The (ix foremoft are 
lliortj 
