202 PROCEEDINGS OF THE MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



NOTES ON SOME SPECIES OF CRIONE FROM NEW ZEALAND. 



By Heney Suter. 



Head llth November, 1904. 



Since 1873 three species of Venus from New Zealand, described by 

 Quoy & Gaimard in the Voyage of the " Astrolabe," have been lumped 

 together, viz. : V. crassa, tnesodesma, and vioJacea. As if this had not 

 been enough, V. denticulata, Q. & G.,' vras added, though its habitat is 

 said by Q,. & G. to be " Nouvelle Hollande ou Van Diemen." In 

 Hutton's Cat. Mar. Moll. N. Zeal., 1873, p. 70, we find V. crassa, 

 denticulata, violacea, Quoy, spissa, Desh., qm(\. spurca, Sby., as synonyms 

 of Chione mesodesma, Quoy. E. von Martens, in the Grit. List Moll. 

 N. Zeal., 1873, p. 45, adopts the same synonymy, adding 

 V. scansilis, Romer. In the "Revision des coq. de la N. Zel. et des 

 lies Chatham " * Hutton cites Chione tnesodesma, Q. & G., no 

 synonyms being given. The same synonyms contained in the 

 Catalogue of 1873 are repeated by Hutton in his Manual of 1880, 

 p. 148, and all the synonyms given by Von Martens are also accepted 

 in the "Revision of the Recent Lamellibranchiata." ^ Admitting the 

 above synonymy as correct as far as Quoy & Gaimard's species are 

 concerned, I substituted the specific name crassa, Q. &, G., for 

 mesodesma, Q. & G., as it has priority of seven pages.* 



Coming quite recently across the descriptions and figures of the 

 above species in the Voyage of the " Astrolabe," I began to have grave 

 doubts whether they were really extreme forms of one species, and 

 I decided to follow up the question. I wish to point out that with 

 regard to V. spurca, !Sby., spissa, Desh , and scansilis, Riimer, I am 

 unable to decide if they are synonyms of mesodesma, Q. & G., or not, 

 and I quote them on the authority of E. von Martens. 



The reason for lumping together three species, considered distinct 

 by Quoy & Gaimard, is to be found in the insufficiency of the 

 material available in our collections, a species being usually 

 represented from one or two localities only. Now, when nearly 

 allied species are to be separated, as in the present instance, it is very 



' Hedley is incliaed to consider this species as a sTnonjin of Chione gallinula, 



Lamk. (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales, 190-i, p. 195). 

 - Journ. de Couch., voL xxvi (1878), p. 49. 

 » Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Wales (1), vol. ix, p. 523. 

 * Trans. New Zeal. Inst., vol. xxxiv, p. 221 ; Index Fauuiie Novae Zealandiae, 



1904, p. 89. 



