Var. (3) viridis: outer lamina of shell almost wholly removed; the portion preserved, and the exposed parietal tubes, green; under surface of opercular valves clouded green.
Var. (4) rubescens (Pl. [10], fig. [1 b]): outer lamina of shell almost wholly removed; the portion preserved, and the exposed parietal tubes, pale reddish-purple, or peach-blossom purple; under surfaces of opercular valves often reddish purple; terga often rather narrow, with the spur somewhat pointed, and with the basal margin on the carinal side sloping, or not making an angle with the spur.
Var. (5) elegans (Pl. [10], fig. [1 d]): outer lamina preserved, excepting sometimes near the summit of the shell; white, tinged with yellowish brown from the epidermis; surface strongly ribbed longitudinally; orifice rather small; sheath reddish-purple; terga narrow, with the basal margin sloping as in var. rubescens.
Var. (6) communis (young) (Pl. [10], fig. [1 e]): radii developed, very narrow; outer lamina of shell preserved, gray or dull purple; surface slightly ribbed longitudinally.
Var. (7) patellaris (Pl. [10], fig. [1 f]): radii developed, very narrow, white; outer lamina of shell preserved, generally reddish-purple; steeply conical, with the orifice extremely small; surface smooth, with longitudinal white ribs. Terga very narrow, with the spur sharply pointed, and with the basal margin on the carinal side sloping towards it, or not making an angle with it. Scuta, with the adductor ridge very prominent. Attached to a ship’s bottom.
Hab.—West Indies, Brazil, West Colombia, Panama, Galapagos Archipelago, California, Philippine Archipelago, China, East coast of Australia, Red Sea; generally attached to tidal rocks, sometimes to shells, sometimes to wooden posts. Very common.
General Appearance.—This, the widest-distributed and much the commonest species of the genus, varies greatly in external appearance. The usual shape is steeply conical, but some individuals are much depressed. In the common varieties the outer lamina of shell has been removed even close to the basal edge; the upfilled parietal tubes being thus exposed (fig. [1 b]), as flattened adpressed points. These points are largest in large specimens, but they vary somewhat in size in specimens of equal growth. When the outer surface is preserved, it is generally ribbed longitudinally, but is sometimes quite smooth. The most general colour is dirty gray or dark purple; but many specimens are pale pinkish-purple, owing to the exposure of the parietal tubes upfilled with shelly matter of this tint: there are also, as given under the characters of the vars., black, white and green varieties. The sheath is always tinted by the prevailing colour. The radii are rarely developed, but generally the four sutures are distinct; sometimes these are externally quite obliterated, the shell, as seen from the outside, consisting of a single piece like a patella or fissurella. When the radii are developed they are very narrow, with their upper edges oblique: their development seems always coincident with the more or less perfect preservation of the shell, and their function is to enlarge the orifice; the enlargement being usually effected by the disintegration and removal of the whole upper part of the conical shell. The size of the orifice varies considerably; in the seventh variety it was extraordinarily small: in outline it varies from oval to rounded trigonal or rhomboidal; in some specimens, with the radii well developed, it was rounded pentagonal.
Size.—[Tetraclita porosa] is the largest species of the genus; I have seen specimens attached to a large pebble of granite in the British Museum, which measured two inches in basal diameter, and nearly one inch and a half in height.