PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL. MUSEUM 



VOL. 81 



When I commented on Montfort's designation of the least " typi- 

 cal " of the known species as the type species of HaUotis, Iredale's ^ 

 remarks on the same subject were overlooked. Iredale considered 

 asinina worthy of separate generic rank. If this view is adopted, I 

 would be in favor of appealing for special protection for the name 

 Haliotis, as Iredale later intimated is desirable.* The ruthless sup- 

 pression or transferral of familiar names on the grounds of a rigid 

 application of the principle of subsequent designation is very 

 unfortunate. 



An unidentified and uncollected Haliotis has been recorded from 

 New Zealand beds that are referred to the upper Oligocene.^ If the 

 age is correctly determined, this is the earliest undoubted Haliotis 

 to be recorded. 



HALIOTIS LASIA, new apecies 



Plate 1 



Desei'i'ption. — A relatively small, long-ovate, flat Haliotis bearing 

 an indeterminate number of open holes (11 to 13 projections are 

 visible on the molds, but some of the earliest represent closed holes). 

 The spire is submarginal. A shallow depression lies along the colu- 

 mellai- margin. Above it lies a bulge, which is followed by another 

 shallow depression adjoining the row of holes. Sculpture consisting 

 of slightly undulatory spiral cords of rather uniform width separated 

 by narrow deep grooves. Coarse axial wrinkles are visible on some 

 specimens. 



The dimensions of the four largest specimens are as follows: 



Type material.— ¥io\oiy^e (U.S.N.M. No. 371767), figured, and 19 

 paratypes (U.S.N.M. Nos. 371768, 371769), 4 of which are figured. 



Type {omd only) locality. — Southwest edge of Temblor Kange, 

 adjoining Elkhorn Plain, San Luis Obispo County, Calif., NW. y^ 

 SW. 14 sec. 6, T. 32 S., K. 22 E., about 200 yards up first western 

 fork of canyon leading toward SW. cor. sec. 6, southwest of 2,800- 

 foot hill between forks, E. Anderson and R. W. Pack, collectors. 



» Iredale, Tom, On some misapplied mollnscan generic names. Proc. Malac. Soc. 

 London, vol. 9, p. 260, 1911. 



'^ In Finlay, H. J., A further commentary on New Zealand mollusean systematica. 

 Trans. New Zealand Inst., vol. 57, p. 341, 1926. 



'^Powell, A. W. B.. and Bartrum, J. A., The Tertiary (Waitematau) moliuacan fauna of 

 Oneroa, Wailieke Island. Trans. New Zealand Inst., vol. 60. p. 445, 1929. 



