The varieties which take place m the genus Conus 
are so numerous as to render the precise determina¬ 
tion of the species a matter of no easy investiga¬ 
tion : it may also be added that in no genus have 
the arts of dealers been more exerted, nor is it pos¬ 
sible to determine whether many of the shells seen 
in collections are truly natural or not. Among the 
most elegant of the Cones is the C. Ammiralis or 
Admiral-Shell, which admits of many varieties, and 
of which the chief is the C. Ammiralis summits or 
High Admiral, represented on the upper part of 
the present plate. But of all the tribe that which 
has most excited the ambition of collectors is the 
variety termed Cedo nulli, which Linnaeus em¬ 
phatically calls “ pretiosissimus artis perditae lux- 
f ‘ us.” This curious shell is distinguished by 
having the brown or orange-coloured zones orna¬ 
mented with several rows of small, round, white, 
pearl-like specks ; a particularity not to be found in 
any of the rest. The most perfect specimen of the 
Cedo nulli is said to have been that in the collection 
of Mr. Lyonet of the Hague. 
