Sea Shells 
of New Zealand 
Plate VI 
No. 3 
Plate VI 
No. 11 
Plate VI 
No. 10 
under stones and among loose boulders between tide 
marks. J 
Bay of Islands; Mount Maunganui; down to Stewart 
Island. 
MONODONTA MORIO (monos, one; odous, a tooth; 
morion, a steel helmet )—This shell is SO named on account 
of its shape resembling the old medieval steel cap or 
helmet without a visor, and called a morion, of French or 
Spanish origin. It is a deep black in colour, with a few 
small white specks dotted about irregularly, and is sculp- 
tured with small spiral grooves, about ten of them on the 
first whorl above the aperture. The mouth is very silvery, 
with a greenish lustre. The columella has a well-marked 
tooth; the outer lip is sharp, with a narrow black band, 
followed by a strip of pearl merging into white callus. It 
is about three-quarters of an inch in height and the same 
in diameter. Found in the same localities as the M. 
Aethiops. Mount Maunganui. 
MONODONTA NIGERRIMA (monos, one; odous, 
odontos, a tooth; nigerrima, very black).—A small black 
spiral univalve, of a rusty black, purplish black, or intense, 
polished, jet black, with sculpture consisting of numerous 
well-marked striations running spirally round the whorls, 
which are rounded in outline and distinct. The upper part 
of the spire is usually worn and pearly. The mouth is 
wide, with a thin outer lip, sharp, and having a very narrow 
strip of black inside, much smaller than in the case of the 
M. coracina, followed by a narrow band of pearl, and a 
broad opaque white band of callus, sometimes very iride- 
scent. The inner lip is bordered with light brown or white 
on the outer side. The lines of growth, although well 
marked, are not so deeply incised as in the M. morio, in 
which shell the depth of the incremental lines gives it a 
dead or crape-like finish. It is fairly common, and is found 
on rocks about low-water mark. 
_.. West coast of the North Island; Oamaru, f 
MONODONTA SUBROSTRATA (monos, one; odous, 
a tooth; sub, under, slightly; rostrata, beaked).—A solidly- 
built, small, conical univalve of a yellowish colour with 
spiral ridges, which are crossed by axial undulating dark 
purplish lines, the yellow and purple spotting being con- 
tinued from the base at the upper part of the mouth, and 
disappearing into the interior. The outer lip is sharp, 
and has a narrow band inside of yellow dotted with black, 
followed by a band of opaque white; the interior is pearly. 
rey Sie: 
26 
