Oliver. — Mollusca of the Kermadec Islands. 509 



Art. XLIX. — The Mollusca of the Kermadec Islands. 



By W. R. B. Oliver. 



[Read before (he Auckland Institute, 16th December, 1914.] 



Plates IX-XIL 



The Kermadec Islands form an isolated group in the south- west Pacific 

 Ocean, situated about midway between Xew Zealand and the Tonga Group. 

 They extend from Sunday Island, in S. lat. 29° 15', W. long. 177° 59'. about 

 S. 22° W. to French Rock. 227 km. distant. Besides these, in the interven- 

 ing space, and almost in direct alignment, are Macauley Island and Curtis 

 Island. 



The present paper is based mainly on a collection of shells made bv 

 R. S. Bell at Sunday Island during 1909 and 1910. I have also had at my 

 disposal a portion of the collection made by the expedition to the Kermadecs 

 in 1908; while Mr. T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., F.Z.S., Curator of the Auckland 

 Museum, has kindly allowed me to look over the shells from the KermadiM 

 Islands belonging to the institution under his charge. 



A number of specimens of Nudibranchs, Aplysioids. Cerithiidae, and 

 other small marine shells still remain to be described. Altogether 261 

 species, including three found only as fossils in the Kermadecs. are 

 enumerated in the present list, made up as follows : Species already re- 

 corded (including four described as new in this paper, but hitherto referred 

 to already-described species) — A?nphineura, 8 ; Gastropoda. 129 (1 fossil) ; 

 LamelUbranchia, 25 ; Cephalopoda, 16. Species already described and now 

 recorded for the first time from the Kermadec Islands — Gastropoda, 36 

 (2 fossil); LamelUbranchia, 5. New species— Gastropoda. 37; LamelU- 

 branchia, 5. 



In the preparation of this paper I have received considerable help from 

 Mr. C. Hedley, F.L.S., of Sydney, to whom I showed a portion of my collec- 

 tion when passing through Sydney in October, 1913. For his invaluable 

 aid, freely given, I beg now to tender my sincere thanks. Mr. T. Iredale. 

 M.B.O.U., of London, has also helped in many points by consulting litera- 

 ture and specimens not available to workers in New Zealand. And I have 

 to thank Mr. H. Suter, of Christchurch, for clearing up a number of points 

 which I submitted to him. 



I trust the information I intended to give under each species is clearly 

 stated, but to avoid all misunderstanding the following explanation of the 

 plan of the systematic account is given. In the case of already-described 

 species the reference to the original description is given immediately after 

 the name of the species, and for those species already recorded from the 

 Kermadecs the reference to the work where first so recorded is given. Where 

 no such reference is given it signifies that the species is now recorded from the 

 Kermadec Islands for the first time. With new species I have in all cases 

 described in full a single specimen, the type, which in every case has been 

 deposited in the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch. Also, in all cases of new 

 species the type specimen has been figured. " Habitat " is used strictly in the 

 sense in which it is employed by ecologists — namely, as meaning the station 



