Iredale. — Suter' s "Manual of the New Zealand Mollusca." 475 



Agnewia tritoniformis (Blainville, 1833). [P. 424.] 



This shell, described as a Purpura, was redescribed with a new generic 

 name Adamsia, which, being invalid, was changed to Agnewia. Writers 

 desirous of neglecting this name have succeeded in putting it into Comintlla 

 and Urosalpinx. Such diversity of opinion indicates the acceptance of 

 Agnewia. Kesteven, prejudiced by the presence of the sinusigera apex, 

 concluded that it must revert to Purpura, now Thais, where Suter has 

 placed it. In shell characters it stands quite alone, and Dall failed to place 

 it, so ignored it. It agrees with no other Thais (sensu lato) I know. It is 

 common on the littoral of New South Wales, where I myself collected it, and 

 abundant as a shore shell at Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands. Its range is 

 coincident with but much less extensive than the preceding, apparently 

 not reaching mid Western Australia, nor did I find it at the Kermadecs. 



Neothais lacunosa (Brugiere, 1789). [P. 425.] 



As noted by Suter, the name he used, Thais striata (Martyn. 1784), was 

 invalid through the prior use of Martyn's name by Pennant (Brit. Zool., 

 ed. 4, vol. iv, p. 105, 1777), while that is also antedated by 0. F. Miiller 

 (Vermes, vol. ii, p. 149, 1774). The above name seems to have the next 

 choice. 



I noted in another place that Bucdnum bicostatum Bruguiere, loc. ctt.. 

 p. 248, was cited as a synonym. As this was ten pages earlier I looked it 

 up, and found that, although Bruguiere cited exactly the same figures and 

 descriptions in both places, he described two quite different shells. Suter 

 adds, "Also Kerguelen's Land": I have not yet seen shells so identified 

 from this locality, but it is almost certain that this is wrong. It appears 

 to replace N. succincta (Martyn, 1784) in the Neozelanic region, though 

 it cannot be considered an evolutionary product. 



Lepsiella scobina (Quoy and Gaimard, 1833). [P. 426.] 



This species is confined to New Zealand, and Suter's note, '* Tryon says 

 that it occurs at the Cape of Good Hope, and it appears also in Gibbons's 

 ' List of South African Mollusca,' 1888," shows he also doubted its extra- 

 limital occurrence. The South African species so confused is early separ- 

 able, and has an earlier name than the present one. I have examined 

 specimens, and should class as a nearer ally to the Neozelanic shell the 

 Australian P. neglecta Angas, and the shell classed by Hedley (Proc. Linn. 

 Soc. N.S.W., vol. xxxviii. 1913, p. 330) as Kalydon vinosus (Lamarck). The 

 fact that the latter has been described as a Buccinum (Ricinula), Cominella, 

 and Purpura, and is thence transferred to Kalydon, which is not congeneric, 

 shows the necessity of my genus-name Lepsiella. As I have shown ante, 

 Kalydon is invalid, so that recourse may be to Lepsiella. for the whole group, 

 a course I do not advise. 



Neothais smithi (Brazier, 1889). [P. 428.] 



Drupa must be omitted from the Neozelanic fauna, as it is included 

 for this species alone. I showed that Drupa bollonsi Suter was equivalent 

 to the earlier Purpura smithi Brazier, and noted that it was not a Drupa 

 at all, but was better classed in Thais (sensu lato). Suter (p. 1083) has 

 accepted my specific identification, but has written, " For the present I 

 see no reason why it should not be retained in that genus (Drupa). " The 



