26 



Var. élegans fandtes paa Stat. 23. 



Vestfjorden (Lofoten) er det nordligste Punkt Expe- 

 ditionen paatraf denne Art. men Prof. Sårs har den fra 

 Finmarken. Dr. Jeffreys angiver den fra -Porcupine" Ex- 

 peditioneu nordenfor Skotland (155 — 632 Favne) og fra 

 -Valorous" Exped. (690 Favne) imellem Britiske Øer og 

 Grønland. 



Fra Stat, 124 (350 Favne) haves en Ægkapsel, halv- 

 kugleformig med smal Rand og indeholdende kun 1 Em- 

 bryon. Jeg skulde tro. at denne tilhører Troschelia Berni- 

 ciensis, uagtet fuldt udviklede Exemplarer ikke her forekom. 

 Enten maa den tilhore Troschelia eller Neptunea ebur. 

 Som ganske unge ligne disse to Arter hinanden ikke sas 

 lidet. men den første har en noget grovere Spiralsculptur 

 og en eiendommelig skarp Længdestriering. Embryonet er 

 af bildet Tab. III, Fig. 12 a, >■: det er stærkt opsvulmet, 

 Spiret nedtrykt og næsten i Niveau med Hovedvindingen. 

 Apex fuldstændig regelmæssig. Sculpturen spiralribbet og 

 forsynet med stive Haar rundt Ribberne; rundt den grunde 

 Sutur gaar ligeledes en Krands af Haar: Længdestriæ 

 regelmæssig og skarpe. 



Jeg havde haabet at tinde frem Radula, hvad der 

 nere Gange har lykkes mig med Embryoner paa et lig- 

 nende Udviklingstrin, for derved at faa Arten konstateret, 

 men desværre uden Held, saa fuld Sikkerhed for Bestem- 

 melsen kan ikke gives. De grove distaucerede Spira lribber 

 og den regelmæssige Længdestriering synes dog at pege 

 mere mod Troschdia Berniciensis end mod Neptunea ebur. 



Buccinum. 



Hvad der er Art og hvad der er Varietet inden denne 

 Slægts polymorpbe Former er vanskelig at afgjore, og Van- 

 skeligheden bliver ikke mindre, jo storre Materiale man har 

 for sig. Flere hundrede Specimina fra en Mængde Lokali- 

 teter ligger for mig, og naar hertil kommer de mange For- 

 inn-, som jeg har seet omkring i de europæiske Museer og 

 private Samlinger, lober det saaledes sammen, at jeg kunde 

 være fristet til kun at erkjende en Art for de nordiske 

 Buccina. Men om end der synes at være Overgange imel- 

 lem de fleste Arter, saa vil en saadan Sammenslaaen af 

 Former neppe være heldig; thi mange af disse have en 

 speciel lokal Interesse, og deres Forekomst er indenfor be- 

 stemte geografiske Grændser. Saa.ledes optræder B. groen- 

 landicum paa denne Side af Atlanterhavet forst nordenfor 



Var. elegans came up at Station 23. 



The Vestfjord (Lofoten) was the most northerly point 

 at which the North-Atlantic Expedition obtained specimens 

 of this species; but Professor Sars has taken it in Finmark. 

 Dr. Jeffreys (•' Porcupine" Exped.) records it from the north 

 of Scotland (155 — 632 faths.). and also (" Valorous" Exped.) 

 between Great Britain and Greenland, at a depth of 690 

 fathoms. 



At Station 124, depth 350 fathoms, was obtained an 

 egg-capsule, semi-globose, with a narrow margin, and con- 

 taining only one embryo. The Expedition did not meet 

 with Troschelia Berniciensis in this locality, but yet I 

 have reason to believe the capsule belongs to that spe- 

 cies; any other known form, saving possibly Neptunea 

 ébur, is at all events out of the question. In the ear- 

 liest stages of development these two species resemble 

 each other not a little ; but the former has a somewhat 

 coarser sculpturing and a peculiar well-defined longitudinal 

 striature. The embryo, represented in PI, III. fig. 12 a, b, 

 is much inflated; spire depressed and almost .on a level 

 with the body-whorl. The apex perfectly regular. The spi- 

 ral ribs of the sculpturing are furnished with stiff bristles ; 

 the shallow suture having likewise a fringe of hairs, the 

 longitudinal stria' are regular and distinct. 



I had hopes to extract the radula, — which I have 

 several times succeeded in doing with embryos in the 

 same early stage of development. — and thus identify 

 the species, but failed. I am sorry to say. in the at- 

 tempt; and hence a conclusive determination is impossible. 

 Meanwhile, the distant and coarse-ribbed spiral sculpture, 

 idling with the regular longitudinal striature. would seem 

 rather to be in favour of Troschelia Berniciensis than of 

 Neptunea ebur. 



Buccinum. 



To decide what are species and what varieties within the 

 polymorphous forms of this genus is indeed a delicate question 

 to adjust; and the difficulty does not tend to diminish in 

 proportion as the subjects of examination increase. Seve- 

 ral hundreds of specimens from a number of localities 

 lie before me: and adding to these all the forms I have 

 seen in the Museums of Europe and in private Collec- 

 tions, the confusion is such, that I am tempted to acknow- 

 ledge only one species of the northern Buccina. But, 

 though transition-forms, apparently do occur in most of the 

 species, a general heaping together of these congeners can 

 hardly be either practical or advisable, seeing that to 

 many of the forms attaches special local interest, their dis- 

 tribution being strictly confined within certain geographical 



