392 



In April last (1902) the writer sent one of the Texada specimens to Dr. 

 Stanton, with a letter asking if any of the California examples of P. 

 Veatchii in the U. S. National Museum showed the same kind of minute 

 surface markings. In reply to this communication Dr. Stanton wrote, 

 that "on examining our collection of Pectunculus Veatchii, for comparison 

 with your specimen, I was surprised to find that almost all of our speci- 

 mens have the surface sufficiently weathered to have removed the finer 

 radiating sculpture, if they ever possessed it. A few were found, how- 

 ever, such as the two I am sending in the same package with yours, 

 which retain traces of strife that I think are comparable with those on 

 the Texada Island shell." Both of the specimens kindly forwarded for 

 comparison by Dr. Stanton, one from Butte Co., and the other from 

 Fences Ranche, California, shew traces of the minute cancellation seen 

 on Texada Island specimens. It would appear, therefore, that the 

 Pectunculus from the Vancouver Cretaceous is correctly referred to 

 P. Veatchii, but that exceptionally well preserved specimens of that 

 species are marked by a minute sculpture that has not previously been 

 described. 



Dr. Dall recently * adopts the name Glycimeris {DsiCosta., 1778) for this 

 genus, and regards Axincea, Poli (1791 and 1795) and Pectunculus, 

 Lamarck (1799) as mere synonyms thereof. Still, the latter name has 

 been in use for so many years that it seems a pity to reject it, though the 

 laws of priority may require the change. 



Arca Vancouverensis, Meek. 



Area Vancouverensis, Meek. 1857. Trans. Albany Inst., vol. iv, p. 40. 

 Grammatodon{?) Vancouverensis, yieek. 1876. Bull. Geol. and Geogr. Surv. Terr., vol. 



II, no. 4, p. 356, pi. 3, figs. 5 and 5 a. 

 Nemodon Vancouverensis, Whiteaves. 1879. This volume, pt. 2, p. 163. 



The type of Arca Vancouverensis was collected at Nanaimo, apparently 

 by Mr. T. J. Turner, of the U. S. Navy, in 1856. Its dimensions are stated 

 to be : length, -74 inch ; height, -44 inch ; and breadth, -40 inch. " This 

 species," Meek says, " will be readily distinguished by its vertically trun- 

 cated posterior extremity, and the distantly separated radiating costse, 

 with smaller ones between, on the anterior end. I know of no species," 

 he adds, " with which it is liable to be confounded." 



The specimens upon which the description of Grammatodon 1 Vancou- 

 verensis was based are said to be from Comox, where they would seem to 

 have been collected by Mr. George Gibbs in 1858. The dimensions of 



* Transactions of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, Philadelphia, vol. in, p. 607. 



