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Volutes and Melon — Part 1

This shell has always been the admiration of conchologists, and from them received the names, "Chinese Emperor's Crown," and "The Crown of the Great Mogul."

A cross section of a young shell shows the thick walls of the whorls to be made up of several layers of ivory-like substance, including the thick, almost translucent lining. The plaits of the columella are faint in the aperture, but they become very distinct as they wind toward the smooth, knob-like apex, which is almost filled solid with the callus. Length, 5 to 8 inches.

Habitat.--Philippine Islands.

The Magnificent Volute (V. magnifica, Lam.) is thinner than the average large shell in this genus, and its whorls are not knobbed. The spire is elevated, and ends in a rounded papilla. The outer lip flares, making a wide aperture. The creamy ground colour is banded with dark brown in a reticulated pattern. Alternating with these dark bands are pale ones in which the same zigzags are faintly discernible. Young shells show a brighter pattern and more contrast than older ones. The lining is a reddish orange, especially bright on the columella and lip.

This is one of the largest and most distinct of the species. It is found half burying itself amongst weeds and ooze on sandy and muddy flats beyond tide mark. Length, 6 to 12 inches.

Habitat.--East Australia.

The Bat Volute (V. vespertilio Linn.) is the most variable species in the genus. Gradually collections have acquired specimens forming a series of gradations between types assigned to specific rank by scientists in earlier days. Lamarck made four species of the specimens within his reach. These have been reduced to varieties.

The typical shell is short and broad-shouldered. Tubercles, sharp, flattened and with their points curving backward, rise prominently from the shoulders of the whorls. Zigzag bands of dark brown cross the whorls on a ground colour of pale chocolate. The spire is more yellowish. Triangular patches of paler colour form a band below the most prominent tubercles. The aperture is lined with white enamel. The lip lining has a tawny edge. Possibly the hooked tubercles on this shell suggested to Linnaeus the prehensile hooks on a bat's wing. Length, 3 to 5 inches.

Habitat.--Philippines, Moluccas.

The Courtier Volute (V. aulica, Sby.) has the elegant shape of the mitres, tapering gradually to each extremity. It wears remote, flattened tubercles on the sloping shoulders of the body whorl, but knobs are barely suggested on the whorl above, and the spire is smooth. The flesh-coloured, polished surface is finely covered with longitudinal hair lines of chestnut. Clouds or flames of salmon colour revolve in bands around the shell. The bands are sometimes edged with rows of remote, dark spots.

For a long time this species was known only by a single specimen in the Duchess of Portland's famous collection, which is now in the British Museum. Then Mr. Cuming obtained some beautiful specimens in the Sulu Archipelago. These differ from the type by being tuberculated. Though others have been collected since, the species is still rare, and highly valued. Length, 3 to 5 inches.

Habitat.--Sulu Islands.

The Handsome Volute (V. festiva, Lam.) is the rarest of all. The whorls are longitudinally ribbed, like a harp shell. The spire is elongated above a noduled shoulder; the apex is a rounded knob. The flesh-white ground is painted with interrupted bands of orange red, the pale areas between the bands narrow and marked with short brown streaks in twos and threes. The aperture is orange.

One worn specimen was the only material Lamarck had when he described this species. Three bright, perfect specimens in England were accessible to Reeve in 1850. They came from the east coast of Africa, but nobody knows what locality.

The Large-spired Volute (V. megaspira, Sby.) is slender and fusiform, with smooth convex whorls, ending in a papillary apex. Zigzag streaks of chestnut paint a pinkish tawny ground. The aperture is small, ear-shaped, with pinkish lining.

This Japanese species is used for food. It is about 4 inches long. The shell is rare in collections.

The Junonia Volute (V. Junonia, Chemn.) is a rare species, confined to deep water, and found nowhere but on the east and west coasts of Florida. It has a slim ovate or spindle form, with a long aperture and short, pointed spire. The creamy surface is covered with spiral rows of squarish orange spots which follow the whorl deep into the shell. The columella has four sharp oblique folds. The lip is thin and lined with white.

This is the "Peacock Tail Volute" of Reeve. The American collectors fondly call this precious shell "Junonia." The possessor of a perfect specimen with its spots still dark and bright is to be congratulated. Once the demand for these shells was so great and the supply so short that a perfect specimen of good size would sell for $200. Naturally, collectors searched diligently for them. Though by no means abundant, yet they may be had now at from $1.00 to $30.00, according to size and condition.