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[Ill.u.s.tration]
STROMBUS.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Testa ventricosa; basis ca.n.a.li brevi, truncato vel emarginato; labium exterius simpliciter alatum, ala ad basin inferne emarginata; supra dilatata._
_Animal marinum, carnivorum, trachelipodum; corpore spirali; pede compresso ad cervicis basin inferiorem._ Leach in Zool. Misc. vol. i.
p. 51.
Typus Genericus _S. pugilis._ Linn.
Sh.e.l.l ventricose; base with a short ca.n.a.l, which is either emarginate or truncate; external lip dilated into a simple wing, notched at the base, and prominent above.
Animal marine, carnivorous; body spiral, with a compressed foot at the inferior base of the neck.
Generic Type _S. pugilis._ Linn.
STROMBUS minimus.
_Little Strombus--central figures._
_S. testa nodose plicata; spira subtilissime striata; labio interiore reflecto, incra.s.sato, supra obtuse-ac.u.minato; exteriore intra laevi, supra alte-lobato, anfractui secundo spirali adjuncto._
Sh.e.l.l with nodulous plaits; the spire finely striated; inner lip thickened and reflected, and obtusely pointed above. Outer lip smooth within, deeply lobed above, attached to the second spiral volution.
_Lister_ 859. 15. _Chemnitz. tab._ 156. _fig._ 1491, 1492. _Rumph.
tab._ 36, P. _Gualtieri, tab._ 32, G.
Strombus marginatus. _Dillwyn's Cat._ p. 665. no. 18.
A pretty and diminutive species, scarcely ever more than one inch three lines long. The spire long in proportion, and occupying half an inch: when in perfection the colour is a deep chesnut, minutely broken into finely serrated darker lines, with one, two, or three interrupted bands of white on the body whorl, the spire, and margin of the outer lip paler; there are two or three nodules above; and the spiral volutions have the carinated row of tubercles usual in the _Strombi_, and are besides finely striated transversely. The base of the sh.e.l.l is more deeply and distinctly striated; both the lips are much thickened, tumid, white, and highly polished; terminating above in obtuse points on the second spiral whorl, leaving a narrow ascending channel between; the inside of the aperture is a fine yellow.
Inhabits the Indian seas, but is not common.
By some unaccountable oversight, Mr. Dillwyn has very well described this sh.e.l.l, but under the name and supposition of its being the _S. marginatus_ of Linnaeus; though a few pages after he brings all the true synonyms referring to his sh.e.l.l, under a description purporting to be that of _S.
minimus_, but which in reality is more applicable to our next species. Why this writer should doubt the correctness of Gmelin, Chemnitz, &c.
respecting the true _S. marginatus_ of Linnaeus, does not appear, particularly as he has subst.i.tuted for it a well known species. I have little doubt myself they all mean one and the same sh.e.l.l, which is nothing more than a scarce variety of _S. accinctus_, now before me, with which Linnaeus's original description pretty well agrees.
STROMBUS variabilis.
_Variable Strombus--upper figure._
_S. testa nodose plicata, spira striis nullis; labio interiore simplice, exteriore reflecto, intra laevi, supra leviter lobato._
Sh.e.l.l with nodulous plaits, the spire not striated. Inner lip simple.
Outer lip reflected, smooth within, and slightly lobed above.
Sh.e.l.l two inches and a quarter long, the spire occupying little more than half an inch. The ground colour generally is white with numerous undulated short lines of a darker colour, sometimes crossed by four or five obsolete whitish bands: it approaches very near _S. minimus_, but is easily distinguished by being in general much larger, by having the inner lip not at all thickened above, the outer lip very slightly lobed, and only advancing on the first volution of the spire: it varies, however, amazingly in colour. There is a small variety, having a brown spot beneath, from India; and others (labelled from the So. Seas) in the Banksian collection, also small, are purplish-brown, with three or four well-defined bands of white: the aperture is always pure white.
Pl. 11
[Ill.u.s.tration]
DRUSILLA Horsfieldii.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
_Antennae mediocres, clava producta, gracili, cylindracea. Palpi breves, compressissimi, obtusi, remoti, linguam non attingentes; lateribus utrisque hirsutissimis, articulos obtegentibus. Abdomen (in maribus) 7-articulatum: 1mo longissimo, ultimo simplici, truncato, supra integro, subtus unco incurvato, valvis nullis. Alae anticae (in maribus) basi postica dilatatae, fasciculum in alas posticas obtegentes._
(OBS. _Alae integerrimae, subdiaphanae, posticae magnae, orbiculares. Pedes antici spurii; antennarum articuli basales ad apicem incra.s.sati._)
Typus Genericus _Papilio Jairus_. Fabr.
Antennae moderate, the club lengthened, slender, cylindric. Palpi short, much compressed, obtuse, remote, not touching the tongue, covered equally on both sides with thickset hairs concealing the joints.
Abdomen (in the male) 7-jointed, the first very long, the last simple, truncate, and entire above, without valves, and with an incurved hook beneath. Anterior wings (in the male) dilated at the posterior base, concealing a tuft of hair on the inferior wings.
Generic Type _Papilio Jairus_. Fabr.
(OBS. Wings very entire, sub-diaphanous. Hinder wings large, orbicular.
Fore-legs spurious. Basal articulations of the antennae thickened at the end.)
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
_D. alis anticis angustatis, fuscis, concoloribus; margine posteriore et exteriore aequalibus: posticis albidis; margine exteriore fusco, supra uni-ocellato, subtus bi-ocellato._
Wings, anterior, narrowed, the posterior and exterior margins equal, uniform brown; posterior cream-coloured, with a brown margin, one ocellate spot above, and two beneath.
This new and elegant insect was discovered by my worthy friend Dr.
Horsfield (after whom I have named it) in the interior of Java: it forms a part of the extensive collections made there by this zealous naturalist for the East India Company, and which will make a most important addition to our present confined knowledge of the productions of that interesting island: indeed these collections exceed in extent, preservation, and value, any which have been brought to this country.
