Notes on South African MoUusca. 105 



Insistence must be laid on the inflated whorls and short spire, as 

 otherwise there is hardly any conchological feature by which certain 

 species of Fhytia can be separated from Marinula, although the 

 genotypes are quite distinct. 



If the foregoing tests are applied to each of the 31 species which 

 have been referred to King's genus, the following 17 can be at 

 once eliminated ; I give the earliest reference in each case, the 

 letters D, F, L, N, A, & B signifying, respectively, Description, 

 Figure of shell. Locality, Note, Anatomy, and Radula. 



Ovatella ininctata, Bivona, 1832. Effem. Sci. Lett. Sic. p. 58. 

 PI. I, f. 6. D.F. 

 A synonym of Fhytia firinini. 



Melampus aequalis, Lowe, 1832. Zool. Journ. v. p. 288. PI. XIII, 

 f. 1-5. D.F. 

 A Madeiran species which should apparently be placed in Phyiia. 



Auricula firminii, Payraudeau, 1826. Cat. Moll. Corse, p. 105. 

 PI. V, f. 9, 10. D.F. 

 A Mediterranean species of Fhytia. 



Melamims gracilis, Lowe, 1832. Zool. Journ. v. p. 288. D. 



Another Madeiran shell, of which vcspertina, Morelet, and 

 loioeana, Pfr., are considered synonyms, and itself, according to 

 Wollaston, very nearly related to Fhytia viyosotis (Drap.) 



Cremnobates cornea, Swainson, 1855. Pap. and Proc. Roy. Soc. 

 V.D. Land, iii. 1, p. 43. PI. VII, f. 1. D.F. 

 A synonym of Ophicardelus australis, Q. & G. 



Auricula acuta, d'Orbigny, 1835. Mag. de Zool. p. 23. D. 

 Described from Guayaquil, and best placed in Fhytia. 



Pythia abhreviata, Beck, 1838. Index Moll. p. 105 (ivithout 



characters). 

 Marinula abbreviata. Beck, Pfr. 1856. Mon. x\uric. p. 65. N. 



Pfeiffer remarks : " x\bsque ulla indicatione, ex loco specie! inter 

 Fythiam aequalem ei patulam assignato forsan hue referenda?"; 

 but whatever may be its true genus, as the shell is said to come 

 from the Antilles it is quite unlikely to be a Marinula. 



Auricula vulcani, Morelet, 1860. Notice sur I'Hist. Nat. des 

 A9ores. p. 207. PL V, f. 8. D.F. 

 Placed by Wollaston in the synonymy of Fhytia aequalis, Lowe. 



