We introduce this common shell for the purpose of pointing out those characters which induce us to consider it more as a distinct species than as a variety of S. Luhuanus of authors; and this consists not so much in the colour of the inner lip, as in the almost total absence of that important part, which this shell invariably exhibits through all its growths: it is therefore, I think, contradictory to the meaning of the word to term that variable which is found to be constant, particularly where the point of distinction rests on a marked difference of formation no less than of colour, though both shells are common to the Oriental seas. Minor differences exist, in the mouth of this always being pink, the inner lip white, and the outer lip but slightly lobed (or cut out) above: in S. Luhuanus the mouth is deep scarlet, inner lip black and highly polished, and the outer lip deeply notched above; the two former characters, indeed, begin to show themselves at a very early growth of the shell.
STROMBUS cylindricus.
False Scarlet-mouthed Strombus—Upper and under figures.
Generic Character.—See Pl. 10.
Specific Character.
- S. testâ coniformi, spirâ brevissimâ ad basin depressâ, anfractibus convexis inæqualibus, labio exteriore suprà lobato, intùs striato; interiore sub-obsoleto, albo.
- Shell coniform; spire short, depressed at the base, the whorls convex and unequal; outer lip lobed above, and internally striated; inner lip nearly obsolete, white.
- Lister 850. 5. (bad.). Gualt. 31. 1. Knorr, vi. tab. 15. 3.
- Strombus luhuanus Linn. Martini, x. tab. 157. 1499. 1500.
- Young. Lip above entire, inside smooth, whorls tuberculated. Lister, 849. 4. a? Knorr, vi. tab. 17. 2.
STROMBUS Persicus.
Persian Strombus—middle figures.
- S. testâ sub-coniformi, brevi; spirâ conicâ, æquali; labio exteriore prominente, suprà sinuato, intùs glabro; interiore polito, albo.
- Shell somewhat coniform, short; spire conic, equal. Outer lip prominent, sinuated above, smooth within; inner lip polished, white.
Allied, but sufficiently distinct from the last; the mouth is always smooth and white. It is a local species: a few received from the Persian Gulf are all I have yet seen, some were young, but no other variation was observable.