ON THE ANATOMY AND RELATIONSHIPS OF VOLUTA MUSICA, 
Linn.; WITH NOTES UPON CERTAIN OTHER SUPPOSED 
MEMBERS OF THE VOLUTID. 
By S&S. Pacu, HZ: Sen ete 
Read 13th December, 1901. 
PACE) ealule 
Atrnover the shell of Voluta musica is such an exceedingly common 
one in collections, the living animal has not as yet been observed ; 
while only a single example, having the soft parts preserved, appee ars 
to have hitherto found its way into, the hands of a conchologist. 
This was obtained by M. Marie at the fle des Saintes, Guadeloupe, 
and forwarded by him to Dr. P. Fischer, who described (5) and 
figured the external characters and the radula. The specimen was, 
however, too badly preserved for Fischer to make out anything further 
concerning its internal anatomy. 
In view of this almost complete ignorance regarding the structure 
of V. musica the late Mr. Martin F. Woodward, who for some time 
prior to his untimely death had been bestowing particular attention to 
the morphology of the rhachiglossate Prosobranchiata, made great 
efforts to obtain further material of this species. He was particularly 
anxious to examine the anatomy of V. musica, because he considered 
that in all likelihood this species, which must be regarded as the type 
of Linnzeus’ genus Voluta, was not at all intimately related to that 
possibly rather mixed assemblage of forms which are at present 
grouped together under the Volutide. The opportunity to test this 
surmise by actual dissection did not, however, occur; for when at 
length, through the instrumentality of his friend and former pupil 
Mr. W.G. Freeman, of the Imperial Agricultural Department. Barbados, 
and Mr. L. B. Brown, of Barbados, some specimens were obtained, 
these arrived in London at the same time as the news of the sad 
accident which has deprived malacological science of one of her most 
devoted and most able students. 
The Volutes in question were subsequently kindly placed in my 
hands for examination by the executors of the late Mr. Martin F. 
Woodward, with the request that I would report upon them to the 
Society of which he had been the Secretary. 
Whilst working at the anatomy of Voluta musica, I have, through 
the kindness of Mr. E. A. Smith, to whom my best thanks are due, 
also been enabled to examine the animal of Neptuncopsis Gilchristi, 
Sby., a spirit specimen of this rare molluse having been recently 
acquired by him for the British Museum collection. This form had 
already been investigated by Martin F. Woodward (13), but he had 
only an imperfect example, the highly important buccal region having 
