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248 American Seashells
raised, spiral fold which is cut by i, 2, or 3 spiral, incised lines. Color varia-
ble, but usually bluish gray or whitish brown with violet stains around the
fasciole and lower part of the aperture. Brown and pure-white specimens are
sometimes found. Abundant in summer months in sandy bays and beaches.
Sometimes dredged down to 25 fathoms on gravel bottom.
F^7inly MITRIDAE
Genus Mitra Lamarck 1799
Mitra ftorida Gould Royal Florida Miter
South half of Florida and the West Indies.
Plate 13!
1/4 to 2 inches in length, with about 6 whorls. Characterized by its
smooth, white, glossy whorls which bear on the last one about 1 6 spiral rows
of evenly spaced, small, roundish dots of orange-brown. There are also odd
patches of light orange-brown. 9 columella folds, the lower 7 being very
weak. An uncommon species considered a choice collector's item. Formerly
known as M. fergusoni Sowerby.
Mitra swainsoni antillensis Dall Antillean Miter
North Carolina to Florida and the West Indies.
3 inches in length, about M as wide, with the aperture half as long as
the entire shell. 10 whorls smooth, except for 5 or 6 weak spiral threads on
the upper fourth of the whorl. Columella with 4 slanting, spiral folds, the
largest being the uppermost. Color grayish white with a light-brown to olive
periostracum. Short siphonal canal slightly recurved. Rare.
Mitra nodulosa Gmelin Beaded Miter
North Carolina to Florida and the West Indies.
Plate 26b
% to I inch in length, solid, glossy, orange to brownish orange in color,
and with about 1 7 long, axial riblets which are rather neatly beaded. Suture
deep, with the whorls slightly shouldered. Columella folds 3, large and
white. A common species frequently washed ashore or found under rocks at
low tide.
Mitra styria Dall Dwarf Deepsea Miter
Lower Florida Keys and the West Indies.
/4 inch in length, fusiform in shape, moderately fragile and ashen-white