a Shells | 
F New Zealand 
Plate V PHILINE CONSTRICTA (phila, a broad, flat, shallow 
No, 23 cup or bowl; constricta, drawn together ).—A very small, 
thin white pellucid ear-shaped shell, very similar to the 
Lamellaria Ophione, but differing entirely from that spe- 
cies in regard to the structure of the animal. It belongs 
to the same family as the Haminea Zelandize or Bubble 
shell, and has a large open mouth, with the upper end of 
the lip projecting beyond the spire. About three-eighths 
of an inch in length, sculptured with fine spiral grooves, 
with broad interspaces, and crossed with very fine growth 
lines. The interior is faintly iridescent. The largest speci- 
men recorded appears to be only about half an inch in 
length, but one found at Mount Maunganui, and now in 
my collection, measures one inch and an eighth in length. 
I have learned since that one of precisely the same dimen- 
sions was dredged in twenty fathoms during the Southern 
Cross Expedition, recorded and figured by E. A. Smith, 
The animal is not provided with organs of sight, and 
is of carnivorous habits. It is itself devoured by starfish 
and sea anemonies, its lack of vision rendering it an easy 
prey to these apparently harmless and quiescent creatures. 
Found at the Great Barrier Island; Mount Maunganui. 
Plate VIII OPHICARDELUS AUSTRALIS (ophis, a snake; car- 
No. ll delus, a little heart; Australis, southern).—A short, some- 
what rotund spiral univalve of a brownish horn colour, in 
general appearance more suggestive of a terrestial than a 
marine shell. It has a rather sharply-pointed spire; its 
broadest diameter is about midway between the apex and 
the rounded base of the outer lip. The growth lines are 
well defined, and there is no other form of sculpturing 
present. On the body whorl of some specimens are to be 
seen well-marked spiral stripes of darker brown; the colum- 
ella has two distinct plaits projecting horizontally towards 
the middle of the aperture, which is a narrow oval, angled 
above and rounded below. It is a common shell, and at- 
tains a length of about three-eighths of an inch. 
Found about high-water mark, among stones and in 
the vicinity of mud. (Powell). 
Rangitoto Island; Mount Maunganui; also northern 
part of the South Island; Tasmania; Australia and New 
Caledonia. 
Plate VIIT MARINULA FILHOLI (marinuia, dim. of marinus, 
No, 12 from mare, the sea; Filhol, the naturalist) —A brown or 
purplish-brown small spiral univalve, with the body whorl 
very large in proportion to the whorls of the spire. The 
sculpture consists of oblique growth lines only. The mouth 
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