Sea Shells 
of New Zealand 
Plate VIII 
No. 6 
Plate VIII 
No. 4 
terminating below in a short, open canal, curved slightly 
to the left; the outer lip is sharp and crinkly within. 
North and South Islands. Mount Maunganui. 
TROPHON CURTUS (trophe, a turning; curtus, 
short).—A rather short and small, slender spiral of six 
whorls, a trifle over a quarter of an inch in length, and of 
a whitish or brownish-white colour. The sculpture con- 
sists of about ten longitudinal ribs and about eight smaller 
spiral ones on the body whorl, crossing each other at right 
angles and forming distinctly characteristic nodules at the 
points of intersection. The spire is rather higher than the 
height of the mouth, and is turretted. The aperture is 
oval, and ends below in a narrow canal. The outer lip is 
sharp and slightly toothed inside. 
Found in both Islands, but not common. Mount Mau- 
nganui. 
TROPHON PLEBEIUS (trophe, a turning; plebeius, 
common, vulgar).—This is a small spiral shell of about 
three-fifths of an inch in length. The colour is grey or 
brown, though if examined through a lens, and the speci- 
men is a good, clean one, the tints will be seen to be varie- 
gated. The sculpture consists of beaded spiral ribs, two 
on each of the spire whorls, the uppermost yellowish or 
amber and semi-transparent, the lower one reddish; in 
fact, in clean young specimens the shell looks as though 
garlanded with alternate strings of amber and garnet beads. 
Now, I do not want the reader to run away with the idea 
that I am exaggerating the beauties of Nature, merely to 
make things appear more attractive than they really are; 
but the aim of all study, beyond its material benefit, is to 
train the senses and cultivate the understanding. Which 
reminds one of Turner’s reply to a lady who was criticis- 
ing the rich splendour of his colouring, saying that she 
never saw stinsets such as he painted. “No, madam,” he 
said, “but do you not wish that you could?” 
To return to the T. plebeius. The outer lip is grooved, 
crenulated or crimped, the inner lip smooth; the aperture 
is angled above, and drawn out below into a short, open 
canal, curving to the left; the interior is brownish purple, 
of very light brown, with dark bands corresponding to the 
dark ribs on the outside; the inner lip is light brown. 
Quite a number of specimens may be picked up, in- 
habited by Hermit crabs, and as these animals, at low tide, 
hang about the base of small rocks cropping out of the 
sand, the shells are usually scoured so clean that the sculp- 
turing and colour are beautifully displayed, 
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