70 THE NAUTILUS. 



visable to throw aside the clear-cut images of Lamarck and his school 

 for their nebulous prototypes in Bolten, which have been all but un- 

 known for over a century. 



The genus Colubraria is made the type of a new family Colubrariidee, 

 which, however, is not defined. Golubraria is as yet unknown ana- 

 tomically. We have elsewhere shown that, as limited by Dall, the 

 family is a mixture of Buccinidce and Muricidce, with possibly an- 

 other, but still unknown, element in the typical Colubrarias. 



The essay, though not lengthy, will be read with great interest by 

 those who make a study of molluscan nomenclature. The eminence 

 of its author, both in the field of malacology and of general zoologi- 

 cal nomenclature, will ensure a thorough consideration of the posi- 

 tions taken, by those competent to deal with such questions 

 H. A. P. 



NOTES ON THE PLEUROTOMID^E, with description of some new 

 genera and species. By Thos. L. Casey. (Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. 

 Louis, XIV.) Mr. Casey proposes a new classification of the family, 

 establishing eight " tribes " based chiefly upon characters of the 

 sinus. The consideration of genera is confined mainly to those rep- 

 resented in the American tertiaries, some 20 new genera being 

 erected. Numerous new Eocene species are described, chiefly from 

 Alabama and Texas. A single new recent species, Hehnella insolens 

 from St. Helena, is described. Mr. Casey subdivides much more 

 minutely than has been the custom in this family, raising nearly 

 every group to generic rank. While " genera " and " subgenera," 

 etc., are essentially conventional, varying in rank with every investi- 

 gator, yet minute subdivision may easily be carried too far for prac- 

 tical convenience by reason of the great number of species likely to 

 be found to fall between such narrowly restricted groups, requiring 

 the formation of still more new " genera." The characters of the 

 protoconch are extensively used. This is perhaps the most valuable 

 feature in the paper, as they have not hitherto been adequately 

 studied in the Pleiirotornidse generally. The genus Donovania, in- 

 cluded by Mr. Casey in the Pleurotomidae, has been shown to belong 

 to the Rhachiglossa. H. A. P. 



THE MUSEUM. By L. P. Gratacap (Journal of Applied Micro- 

 scopy, V.). All sides of the subject, from the location and archi- 



