60 



A REVIEW OF THE VOLUTIDAE 



vol. 31, p. 157, 1918. 



Genotype: Scaphella stearnsil now Boreo- 

 melon stearnsii Dall. 



Range: Bering Sea; Alaska; Gulf of Panama; 

 mostly in deep water. 



Although Dall designated Boreomelon 

 as a subgenus it is advisable to raise this 

 to generic rank and also include "Adelomel - 

 on" benthalis another cold water shell 

 which lives off the west American coast In 

 the Pacific. 



Boreomelon benthalis (Dall) 1895 

 (Plate 26, Figure 179) 



Scaphella benthalis Dall, Proc. U.S. Nat. 



Mus., 18, number 103^, p. 13, 1895- 

 Adelomelon benthalis Dall: "A Review of 



the American Volutidae" p. 357, 1907- 



Alt. 125, lat. 60 mm. 



Hab. Gulf of Panama, at station 3360, in 

 1672 fathoms (3087 meters), sandy bot- 

 tom; dredged by the U.S.S. Albatross 

 (Dall). 



This species, not withstanding the 

 type specimen is decorticated, seems suf- 

 ficiently distinct In form to be separated 

 specifically from the southern congeners. 

 The whorls are rounder, more nearly tabu- 

 late in front of the suture, and with a 

 more rapidly tapering and acute spire (Dall). 



There are three indistinct plaits 

 upon the columella, the middle one most per 

 ceptible. Interior of the aperture pale 

 flesh color; five whorls beside the nucle- 

 us; no operculum. 



Boreomelon stearnsii (Dall) I872 

 (Plate 12, Figure 90) 



Scaphella stearnsi i Dall, Proc. Cal. Acad. 

 Scl., h, October, I872, p. 270, pi, 1, 

 fig. 1. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 24, num- 

 ber 1264, p. 517, pl. 35, fig- ^, March, 

 1902. 



Valuta stearnsii. Tryon: Man. Conch., vol- 

 4, p. 97, pl. 30, fig. 130. 



Adelomelon stearnsii Dall: "A Review of 

 the American Volutidae," p. 363, 1907- 



Boreomelon stearnsii Dall: Bulletin 112, 

 U.S. Nat. Mus. p. 86, 1921. Keep-Bally: 

 West Coast Shells, p, 220, 1935. 



Alt. 112-150 mm. 



Hab. Shumagin Islands, Alaska, and west- 

 ward to Captain's Bay, Unalaska, in 40 

 to 100 fathoms, rocky and muddy bottom; 

 temperature of bottom water 37° to 4l° 

 Fahr. Also in Bering Sea, northward to 

 the line of floating ice in winter, on 

 sandy and muddy bottoms, in 6I to 350 

 fathoms; U.S. steamer Albatross . 



While the shell characters of this 

 species are distinctly dissimilar from the 

 South American species, the gross anatomy 

 and dentition do not differ from A. maiel- 

 lanica except in small details, a- ben- 

 thalis Dall, its nearest relative, lives In 

 the Gulf of Panama, more than 5000 sea- 

 miles distant. 



Genus MIOMELON Dall I907 



Hiomelon Dall, "A Review of the American 

 Volutidae," p. 365, 1907. 



Genotype: Volutillthes phillppiana Dall, 

 nov M tome Ion phillppiana Dall. 



Shell with rather elevated spire, 

 somewhat excavated in front of the suture, 

 with more or less obvious axial ribbing and 

 spiral strlation; a delicate perlostracum, 

 the canal rather straight; the pillar with 

 few rather slender plaits, the anterior 

 larger; the animal has no operculum, the 

 verge Is situated just behind the right 

 tentacle, small, clavate, with a smaller 

 conical distal appendix; the radula has a 

 single series of teeth, each with three sub- 

 equal tusk-like cusps (Dall). 



Miomelon phillppiana Dall I889 

 (Plate 25, Figure I69) 



Volutillthes phillppiana Dall, Proc. U.S. 



Nat. Mus., 12, p. 313, pl. 9, fig- ^, 



1889- 

 Adelonelon { Miomelon) phillppiana Dall: "A 



Review of the American Volutidae," p. 



365, 1907- 



