XXVI 



Such being the confused state of the sjmonymy of the genus, 

 we have decided to adopt, at least temporarily, the earliest 

 name concerning which no doubt exists." 



To the above, Mr. Lea made the following repl}", 

 upon occasion of describing some new species be- 

 longing to the genus, in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sciences, 

 Philada., May, I860: — 



" Genus SCIIIZOSTOMA. 

 " It will be observed that I have here adopted my first name 

 (ScJiizostomci) for the division of those 3Ielaniclce which have a 

 cut or fissure in tlie upper portion of the last whorl. This 

 name I pi'oposed in Decenilier, 1842. Subsequently, finding 

 that it was used by Bronn in 1835, I abandoned it, and pro- 

 posed the name of Schizochihis as a substitute (Obs. on the 

 Genus Unio, v, 5, p. 51, 1852, and Trans. Am. Phil. Soc, 

 1852). I am now satisfied that Bronn's name was applied to 

 the same genus — Euomiilialus — which Sowcrby established 

 in 1814 (Min. Conch., tab. 45). This evidently liberates my 

 original name, and Ilerraannsen, in the appendix to his 

 " Generum Malacozorum," very properly restores it. It was 

 supposed that this was the Melatoma of Swainson, and Mr. 

 Anthony adopted this name. But it is evident that Mr. 

 Swainson's Melatoma is not my Scldzostoma. l^y reference to 

 his figure (Malacology, p. 342, f. 104) it will be observed at 

 once that there has never been observed in the United States 

 any of the group of wliich that figure is the type, while it is 

 known that they exist in the islands of the Indian Ocean. Mr. 

 Swainson says (p. 202), that his Melatoma was ' founded upon 

 a remarkable Ohio shell' sent by Rafinesque. Now, as no 

 member of the family Melanidoi with a cut in the lip has ever 

 been found in tlie Ohio, where such hosts of active collectors 

 have since pursued their investigations, it is perhaps bc3-ond 

 the bounds of possibility that the specimen sent by Rafi- 

 nesque, so eminently careless and reckless as he alwa3^s was, 

 should ever have been found there. Indeed, if the specimen 

 figured was sent by Mr. Rafinesque to Mr. Swainson, then the 

 question would arise whether it had not been obtained by Mr. 

 R. from some dealer or collector, who may have obtained it 

 from Asia. I have no doubt of the Melatoma costata, which 

 Mr. Swainson has figured, being exotic, and belonging to a 

 group probably from the Philippine Islands. Mr. Anthony 

 says, page G4, Proc. A. N. S., 18G0, that ' it may be doubted 

 whether Mr. Lea's first name Avill not eventuall}^ prevail, since, 

 before he published Scldzostoma^ Bronn's genus of the same 

 name had been called a sj'nonyme of Bifrontia^ Desh.' And 

 that ' II. & A. Adams (Gen. Rec. Moll., i, 105) do not appear 



