Sea. Shells 
of New Zealand 
Plate IV 
No. 4 
Plate IV 
No. 5 
the edge of the outer lip, which is somewhat expanded. 
The mouth is white, with two rows of teeth separated by a 
deep furrow on the inner side of the outer lip. It is chan- 
nelled above, has one tooth on the upper part of the inner 
lip, and ends below in a short, open canal. 
Throughout New Zealand. Mount Maunganui; Chat- 
ham Islands. 
ARGOBUCCINUM ARGUS (Argo, the ship “Argo”; 
buccina, a trumpet or Triton shell; Argus, a Greek myth 
with a hundred eyes).—Commonly known as a Frog shell, 
this is a solid, greyish or yellowish-brown spiral univalve, 
with flattened varices upon the whorls on opposite sides 
of the shell. The sculpture consists of beaded spiral ribs, 
three or four of these on the upper and widest part of the 
body whorl, having the appearance, in recent shells, of red- 
dish or chestnut glass beads strung on a bluish cord, The 
mouth, which is a trifle longer than the height of the spire, 
is deeply chanelled above, and ends below in a short, open 
canal. The outer lip has a varix on the outer side, and the 
inner side has a row of teeth. The interior is white. It 
is not a common shell; as it lives on rocky ground, the 
shells, when washed ashore during stormy weather, are 
frequently broken. About four inches in length. 
Throughout New Zealand. Mount Maunganui; Chat- 
ham Islands; Auckland Island. 
ARGOBUCCINUM AUSTRALASIA (Argo, the ship 
“Argo”; buccina, a trumpet or Triton’s shell).—This is 
another of the Frog shells, and the reason why they are 
so called is that when these shells are placed on a flat sur- 
face the bulging body whorl and the slant of the aperture 
suggest the figure and attitude of a frog squatting upon 
its haunches. ; 
This species is a dark brownish or yellowish-chestnut 
spiral univalve with nodulous varices on the shell, diametri- 
cally opposed to each other. Each whorl on the spire has 
a row of prominent white nodules on the shoulders, and 
there are two such rows on the body whorl at its widest 
part. The mouth is very white, hence one of the synonyms, 
Leucostoma, which signifies a white mouth. The outer 
lip has a varix on the outer side, white and dark brown, 
and on the inner side a double row of well-marked teeth 
separated by a deep groove. The upper end is channelled; 
there is a single tooth at the top of the inner lip; the lower 
part ends in a short, open canal, also toothed. It may 
attain a length of four inches. 
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