Shells 
sak: New Zealand 
Plate VII 
No. 11 
Hutton, the conchologist ).—A small spiral univalve, coni- 
cal in shape, about half an inch in height, of a bluish-black 
colour, with darker raised, fine and polished riblets, wind- 
ing spirally round the shell. There are from seventeen to 
twenty ribs on the body whorl, and eight to eleven on the 
one immediately above it. The body whorl 1s angled at the 
base, the mouth is fairly round, and slightly iridescent in- 
ternally. The inner lip is white and expanded, and has a 
free edge shutting off the open umbilicus from the aperture. 
Found on seaweed and rock pools after the tide has re- 
ceded. Throughout New Zealand. Howick; Auckland 
Harbour; Mount Maunganui. 
Note.—Most of the Cantharidus family are found upon 
seaweed in sheltered pools, shut off from the ocean by huge 
boulders, where the water is always tranquil, the tide 
gently gurgitating, perhaps through narrow crevices, and 
so not disturbing the placid surface of the pool. In one 
such place, with an area of a couple of hundred square 
feet and a depth of two or three feet, I found many Can- 
tharidus opalus and C. purpuratus living on the Macro- 
cystis, and scores of C. pupillus. The other inhabitants 
of the pool were Haliotis iris, Helcioniscus stelliferus, with 
a few other limpets, and some sea urchins; altogether, a 
peaceable community of irreproachable habits. 
PHOTINULA NITIDA (photinula, dim. of phos, light; 
nitida, shining).—A very small spiral univalve about three- 
tenths of an inch across. The whorls are slightly rounded, 
the body whorl somewhat angled at the base. The colour 
varies considerably, and may be greenish yellow, with longi- 
tudinal streaks of purple and red; orange and black, olive 
yellow or purplish brown, bluish black or black. The spire 
is short, a little higher than the height of the aperture, 
rather depressed—that is to say, not elongated—and the 
shell itself is thin, smooth and shining. The sculpture 
consists of small spiral striations of about a hair’s breadth, 
of which there are about ten on the whorl immediately 
above the body whorl, and eight or nine on the base. The 
columella is bowed, forming the left half of the rounded 
aperture; it is white and has a fairly deep groove running 
up the middle, leading to the umbilicus, which is a round, 
open funnel-shaped hole extending up towards the apex 
of the shell. The outer lip is sharp, strengthened inside 
by a narrow band of callus; the interior is highly iridescent, 
red predominating. The whitish spiral striations and the 
breaking of the colour into squares are almost invariable 
features of the Photinula decoration. The grooved colum- 
ella and open umbilicus are also typical. Found on rocks 
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