124 THE NAUTILUS. 



the request of Mr. Hedley, when we worked out our " Reference 

 List," I tried to solve the question. I came to the conclusion that 

 Th. portia Gray must be the same species, and therefore they appear 

 as synonyms in our list. I then selected two perfectly similar speci- 

 mens, and sent one to Mr. Edg. A. Smith of the Brit. Museum for 

 comparing it with Gray's type of H. portia, the other to Dr. Dall, 

 Washington, to compare it with Gould's type of H. ziczac. Both 

 gentlemen very kindly acceded to my request, and I herewith wish 

 to express my gratitude to them. 



Mr. Edg. A. Smith writes : "Helix portia Gray. Right, but I 

 doubt if Gould's ziczac is the same species." And Dr. Dall reports : 

 "There is no doubt wliatever of the identity of your shell with 

 Gould's type. He, in his preliminary report (Otia Conch., p. 17), 

 refers it to New South Wales, but in his final report (Moll. U. S. 

 Expl. Exp., p. 41), he says that it was collected by Dr. Pickering 

 in a crater at Taiamea, New Zealand. His type was a little faded, 

 hence the prominence of the dark variable lines and the straw color 

 of the shell." These reports set all doubts at rest. 



4. Thalassohelix zelandice Gray. In a letter to me, Mr. H. A. 

 Pilsbry expressed his opinion that the shell Prof. Hutton and I con- 

 sidered to be Gray's Hel. zelandice might, perhaps, be another spe- 

 cies. I therefore forwarded a specimen to Mr. Edg. A. Smith, and 

 he kindly compared it with Gray's types. His opinion is as fol- 

 lows : " The shell under this name is, I think, a form of that species. 

 It is larger than any of our typical examples and more brightly 

 variegated, and the whorls are perhaps, a trifle flatter, still I think 

 it is only a variety." To this I would remark that most species of 

 Thalassohelix are subject to great variation, and I am confident that 

 we identify the right shell as Th. zelandice Gray. 



5. Endodonta varicoscc Pfeifler, I considered to be synonymous 

 with E. timandra Hutton (Reference List, 1. c, p. 651). Mr. H. A. 

 Pilsbry, however, denies their identity (Man. Conch. (2) VIII, p. 

 84), and I therefore also sent specimens of J5. ti7nandra to Mr. Edg. 

 A. Smith for comparing them with varicosa Pfr. He kindly sent me 

 the following information : " E. timandra Hutt. This is distinct 

 from varicosa Pf. It is smaller, more openly umbilicated, has more 

 riblets, and the armature of the mouth is different. There are three 

 teeth in timandra and one (overlooked by PfeiflTer and Reeve) in 

 varicosa, situated on the body-whorl. It is a very slender lamella, 

 and might easily be overlooked." After receiving this report, I 



