1 ] 6 



Gatliff and Gabriel : 



Early in the field of Victorian writers was the Chief Harbour 

 Master of Willi aihstown, Captain Ferguson, who, in a report on 

 Class III. Indigenous Vegetable Substances Catalogue of the Vic- 

 torian Exhibition of 1861, pp. 8-11, issued a " Return, showing the 

 approximate injury dune by the Teredo navalis, and other sea- 

 worms, to submerged timbers within the waters of Victoria," giving 

 interesting and commendable particulars under the following head- 

 ing :— 



Attributing the injury to Teredo navalis, whereas, it is probable 

 that a scientific examination would have revealed the existence of 

 all the species under question. 



Under the name of Galobates saulii, E. P. Wright, in 1866, 

 described a form, the type locality of which is given as Port Phillip, 

 Australia. Following this, the " Victorian Naturalist," Dec, 1888, 

 published one of the first lists of Victorian Marine Mollusca, com- 

 piled by the senior author of this paper, in which will be seen a 

 record of T. navalis, Linn. In a paper, entitled " The Marine 

 Wood-Borers of Australasia and Their Work," read before the Aus- 

 tralasian Association for the Advancement of Science, year 1901, 

 Mr. C. Hedley discussed at length the shipworms under the fol- 

 lowing headings :— General Aspect, Propagation, As an Esculent, 

 Natural Enemies, and Classification. In the latter we are unable 

 to concur in all his decisions. Firstly, Mr. Hedley remarks 



neither the species navalis nor the genus Teredo are present in 

 our waters." Here we differ, and report its undoubted existence in 

 Victoria. The other points of difference are detailed in the observa- 

 tions of each species. 



Pritchard and Gatliff also dealt with the forms in their catalogue 

 of the Marine Shells of Victoria, but, as will be seen, alterations 

 have been found necessary. 



