Specific Character.
M. (div. 1.) fusiformis, rufo-fuscata, albo fasciata, lævis, spirâ plicato-striatâ, basi rugosâ, columellâ quadriplicatâ.—Lamarck.
Shell fusiform, reddish brown, with whitish bands; smooth; spire plaited and striated; base rugose; pillar 4 plaited.
Voluta caffra. Gmelin. 3451. Martini 4. tab. 148. f. 1370.? Dill. p. 545.
Mitra caffra. Lamarck. Ann. du Mus. vol. vii. p. 208. no. 30.
It is not improbable that Mitra bifasciata, (Zool. Ill. pl. 35.) may eventually be considered only a variety of the shell here figured, which accords much closer with the characters given of the Linnæan M. caffra, than any other; the two shells, however, at the first glance, have a widely different appearance; yet not more so, than the smooth and plaited varieties of Strombus vittatus Lin. I have therefore retained the character given by Lamarck, as the best method to be followed in doubtful cases. In this shell, the plaits commence halfway round the body whirl; they are obtuse, crowded, and not angulated near the suture; the striæ between are fine and decidedly marked; the base half of the shell strongly grooved; the suture rather compressed; the channel short and not recurved, and the aperture striated.
MITRA crassa
Thick Mitre—upper and lower figures.
M. (div. 3.) testâ lævi, mediâ crassâ, fuscâ, fasciâ angustâ sub-albâ ornatâ; spirâ striatâ, striis intus punctatis; labio exteriore dentato; columellâ 5 plicatâ.
Shell smooth, thick in the middle, brown, with a narrow whitish band; spire striated, the striæ with internal punctures: outer lip crenated; pillar 5 plaited.