14 



NOTE ON THE SUBGENUS SALINATOR OF HEDLEY. 

 By Edgar A. Smith, F.Z.S., Cokr. Mem. 



Ill the last Part of the Proceedings of this Society (Vol. xxv., 

 p. 511) Mr. Hedley has suggested a new subgeneric name 

 (Salinator) for the Australian shell commonly known as Amphi- 

 hola fragilis, to take the place of Ainpullarina of authors which 

 he shovvs to have a different signification from the Amqnillarina of 

 Sowerby. 



In his remarks he merely casually refers to the genus Ampul- 

 lacera of Quoy and Gaimard, described in 1832*, which included 

 both the genus Amphibola as restricted by Mr. Hedley, and the 

 subgenus Ampullarina, auct. ( = Salinator). 



The question first of all arises whether there are sufficient 

 grounds for subgeneric separation, and secondly, if this be granted, 

 whether the name Ampullacera should not have been used. 



It is a recognised custom, where an author has included various 

 forms under one generic title, for his successors to limit the 

 genus, retaining the original name, and to apply fresh terms to 

 the forms considered distinct. 



As Messrs. Quoy and Gaimard did not indicate either species 

 in particular as the tj'^pe of their genus, it is open to any succeed- 

 ing writer to apply the name Amindlacera either to A. aveUana 

 or to A. fragilis, supposing he considers them generically or 

 subgenerically different. 



Now, as the species avellana was previously, in 1817, appro- 

 priated by Schumacher as the type of his Amj^hihola, it could 

 not be retained for Ampullacera, and, therefore, it seems to me 

 that Mr. Hedley would have acted more wisely if he had used 



* V'oy. Astrolabe, Zool. Moll. Vol. ii., p. 196. 



