460 A, B. Verrill— Catalogue of Marine Mollusca. 
Bela pygmea Verrill, sp. nov. 
Pate LVII, Figure 8. 
Shell very small, fusiform, or sub-ovate, with four or tive convex 
whorls, a very short spire, and a large body-whorl; sculpture very 
finely cancellated or reticulated. The whorls are usually rather 
evenly rounded, moderately convex, but often have a very slightly 
marked, rounded shoulder; suture somewhat impressed, rather 
oblique. The nucleus is relatively not small, with the apex not 
prominent, so that it appears to be obtuse, or rounded, smooth, glassy. 
The whole surface below the nucleus, is covered by fine, raised, revoly- 
ing cinguli, separated by slight grooves of about the same width, and 
by equally fine, slightly sinuous, transverse riblets, coincident with 
the lines of growth, and receding in a distinct curve on the sub- 
sutural band; the crossing of these two sets of lines produces a 
finely cancellated sculpture over the whole surface, but the transverse 
lines are usually more evident on the convexity of the whorls, while 
the spiral lines are more conspicuous anteriorly, and on the siphon, 
Aperture relatively large, oblong-elliptical, slightly obtusely angled 
posteriorly ; sinus shallow, but distinet, evenly concave; outer lip 
elsewhere evenly convex. Canal short and broad, not constricted at 
base by any incurvature of the outer lip. Columella strongly con- 
cave or excavated, in the middle, sigmoid anteriorly. Color of shell 
pale greenish white, covered by a thin epidermis of similar color. 
Animal not observed. 
One of the largest shells is 5°5"™™" long; 2°75"™ broad; length of 
body-whorl, 4"" ; of aperture, 3". 
Only a few specimens have been taken off Martha’s Vineyard. 
Stations 892 and 894, in 487 and 365 fathoms, 1880; station 947, in 
312 fathoms, 1881,—U. 8S. Fish Com. 
This little species appears to be a dwarf among the Belas. It 
bears some resemblance to B. decussata, but can be readily dis- 
tinguished by the much finer and more uniform sculpture. It has a 
strong general resemblance to B. tenwicostata Sars, for which I at 
first mistook it. The latter is, perhaps, only a variety of 2B. decus- 
sata; it is a larger and stouter shell than B. pygmaa, with coarser 
sculpture. 
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