116 



ones subangular near the middle ; suture rather indistinct. The three 

 apical whorls are conical, and increase rather rapidlj^ in width; the 

 succeeding ones are more cylindrical, and widen much more gradually. 

 Body whorl not quite half as wide as long ; shallowly concave next the 

 suture, at a short distance fi'om which thej-e is a blunt angle or shoulder, 

 gently convex above the middle and rapidly narrowing below into a 

 somewhat cui-ved beak, which is much shorter than the spire. Outer lip 

 with a broad, shallow sinus next the suture. 



Surface oi-namented by a minute net-work, produced by very numerous, 

 crowded and minute impressed lines, and by equally numerous raised, 

 ilexuous, transverse striee, which are parallel to the outer lip of the shell. 

 In the penultimate whorl there are sixteen or seventeen revolving lines, 

 which are placed at rather unequal distances, and both these and the 

 transverse striations are so small as to be barely visible to the naked eye. 

 YiuM^ed at a short distance, without a lens, the surface has a shining, 

 silky and almost pearly aspect. 



Suci; Islands, in Division A.; J. Eichardson, 1874. Four or five ex- 

 quisitely preserved and almost perfect specimens. 



The genera of Fleurotomidce are very loosely and inaccurately defined, 

 and it is generally admitted that the whole group needs revision. Until 

 this has been done the proper posi'ion of the present species must be 

 doubtful, though it seems to agree better with the characters of Surcula 

 as now understood than with those of any other genus. It can scarcely 

 be a Pleiirotoma (or Turn's), if either of these names is restricted to the 

 large tropical or subtropical species, such as P. Babylonica, which have 

 a deep and narrow infrasutm'al slit on the outer lip. 



Surcula raricostata, Gabb, var. 



Plate 15, figures 2, 20!. 



Turns (sub-genus Drillia) varicosiata, Gabb. — Pal. Cal., Vol. I., p. 93, pi. 18, fig. 47. 

 Surcula raricostata, Gabb (" varicosiata, typogr. err.") — Id., Vol. IT., p. 217. 

 Perhaps = Fusus Eenauxianus, D'Orbigny. — Pal. Franc., Terr. Cret., Vol. II., p. 339, 



Atlas, pi. 223, fig. 10. 



Middle Shales, Division D, West side of Hornby Island, one nearly 

 perfect example ; also Productive Coal Measures, Division A, of Nanaimo 

 Eiver, V. I., two and a half miles up, a single fragment; J. Richai-dson, 

 1872: 



The Hornby Island specimen is rather more slender and less angular 

 than the Californian types of S. raricostata, but the resemblances 



