shell is about four or five inches in height, and the colum- 
ella is straight and sharp at the lower end, suggesting the 
point of a javelin, at the same time lacking the plate-like 
expansion which is present in the species. The spire’ is 
high and conical, and the colour rather brighter, though 
of a deeper shade. The only specimens so far reported have 
been obtained by dredging from a depth of forty to fifty 
fathoms in the vinicity of Whale Island in the Bay of 
Plenty. I am much indebted to Mr. Powell for a pair of 
these shells, which he is duly recording and describing. 
FULGURARIA GRACILIS (fulgur, lightning; gracilis, 
graceful).—This Volute is very similar to the others just 
described, but is much smaller in size, and the markings 
are not so pronounced. The nodules on the shoulders, if 
present, are not so prominent, but are elongated, and may 
be more or less in the form of ribs, not well defined. The 
colour of the shell is tawny yellow or buff, and there is 
no polish. The fine tracings on the body whorl are not so 
dark in colour as in the F. Arabica, and form a design of 
perfect triangular figures, with the apex pointing in the 
direction of the mouth. It is not common, and attains a 
length of about two and a-half inches. 
Bay of Islands; Great Barrier Island; Mount Maunga- 
nui; Manawatu Coast; Queen Charlotte Sound. 
ANCILLA AUSTRALIS (ancilla, a maid servant; Aus- 
tralis, southern).—The New Zealand Olive. A beautifully 
glossy, smooth, barrel-shaped univalve, with a short spire 
coming abruptly to a sharp point; contracted somewhat at 
the base. The spire is coloured dark brown, with paler 
spiral stripes, the body whorl being bluish brown, or rather 
chocolate colour, blurred with blue, bounded with a narrow 
white band above, and below with a double white line. A 
large pad of callus extends from the columella upwards, 
dividing into two as it descends, covering the spire more 
or less. It is about an inch and a-half long, and may be 
found during the hot weather in large numbers on sandy 
beaches buried in the sand. At low tides one may some- 
times see hundreds of these mollusca crawling about on 
the sandy or muddy bottom in a foot or so of water. The 
animal has an enormous foot, dark bluish grey in colour, 
which is folded over both sides of the shell; this is capable 
of being compressed and retracted entirely within the shell, 
the aperture being partially closed with a small, thin, yel- 
low horny operculum. ‘The tentacles, unlike the horns of 
most mollusca, are devoid of eyes. 
Mount Maunganui; Manawatu Coast; Summer; 
Timaru, 
75 
Plate III 
No. 14-14a. 
Plate V 
No. 12 
Sea Shells 
of New Zealand 
