292 Bulletin Vanderbilt Marine Museum, Vol. VII 



Subfamily: Toniciinae 



Genus: TONICIA Gray 

 Tonicia confossus (Gould) 



Plate 111 



Type: Gould's type was collected in the Fiji Islands by the 

 United States Exploring Expedition and is deposited in the Bos- 

 ton Society of Natural History. 



Distribution : Littoral zone, Fiji Archipelago (Gould, Tryon, 

 Boone) ; Mer, Murray Island, Torres Straits (Melvill and Stan- 

 den) ; at six "Siboga" stations : Timor, Borneo-Bank, Sulu Archi- 

 pelago, Damar Island, Banda and a reef, station 299. 



Text figure 16. — Tonica confossus Gould: anterior valve, showing the eyes, 



greatly enlarged. 



Material examined: Two specimens, taken in Vitu Levu, 

 Suva, Fiji Islands, September 9, 1931, by the "Alva." 



Technical description: Colour: Ashy white, delicately 

 maculated with shades of reddish and purple-brown, the darker 

 colour irregularly tessellating the posterior margin of each valve. 

 Girdle blackish brown. (Tryon) . 



Shell: This is oblong-oval, elevated, decidely costulate longi- 

 tudinally ; the mucro of the posterior valve is very prominent. 



Measurements: Specimen A: long diameter, 16 millimeters; 

 short diameter, 8 millimeters; specimen B: long diameter, 15.8 

 millimeters; short diameter, 7.8 millimeters. Girdle included in 

 above measurements. 



Anterior valve: This is regularly convex, with the apex at 

 the median part of the posterior margin, from which are radiating 

 series of imbricating, shingle-like scales, predominantly V-shape, 

 with the apex of the V forward-directed, each of these elevations, 

 or ridges, alternating with narrowed, depressed linear grooves 



