THE NAUTILUS. 71 



lecture of museum buildings to the cases for storage and display, and 

 the installation and labeling of collections, are considered by Mr. 

 Gratacap, whose practical experience in one of our largest museums 

 gives his ideas a high value. The brochure is copiously illustrated. 



6 



THE EFFECT OF THE BASSIAN ISTHMUS upon the existing ma- 

 rine fauna ; a study in ancient geography. By C. Hedley (Proc. 

 Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, 1903). A 35-fathom line on either side 

 would bound a submarine plateau 80 to 90 miles wide, stretching 

 from Australia to Tasmania. Mr. Hedley considers at length the 

 great faunal difference between the South Australian and East Aus- 

 tralian coasts, concluding that the faunal evidence indicates that Bass' 

 Strait was bridged until recent times by an isthmus. The deeply 

 dissected south coast of Tasmania indicates recent subsidence there 

 also, pointing to a former extension of Tasmania southwards, thus 

 separating what he terms the Adelaidean from the Peronian or tem- 

 perate East Australian faunas, by a promontory extending into de- 

 cidedly colder waters. The ideas advanced are well supported and 

 supply a beautifully simple explanation of the long-known and 

 hitherto unexplained diversity of the South Australian and Victorian 

 marine faunas. H. A. P. 



ADDITIONS TO THE MARINE MOLLUSCAN FAUNA OF NEW ZEA- 

 LAND. By Charles Hedley (Rec. Australian Museum, V, pt. 2, 

 190-t). In reporting upon a parcel of dredgings, Mr. Hedley re- 

 marks that " the fauna of the continental shelf of New Zealand is 

 practically unknown. It also appears that the element common to 

 New Zealand and Australia, hitherto calculated on the beach fauna, 

 will be disproportionately increased when the fauna of the conti- 

 nental shelf is taken into consideration." Besides new forms of 

 several genera, Hedley describes a new genus of the Carditidce, Ver- 

 ticipronus. The valves are small, smooth, and capped by a flat pro- 

 dissoconch. Another new genus, Incisura, is erected for Scissurella 

 lyttletonensis Smith. This little snail is shown to belong to the 

 Fissurellidse, having characters similar to the very young of Fis- 

 surideo. The specimens we have examined bear out Mr. Hedley's 

 interesting conclusion. Incisura is apparently the most primitive of 

 existing Fissurellidde. H. A. P. 



