206 



NOTE ON MR. SUTER'S PAPER ON SPECIES OF CHIOKE FROM 

 NEW ZEALAND. 



By Edgae a. Smith, I.S.O. 



Bead Wth November, 1904. 



In the first place I would point out that the synonymy quoted by 

 Mr. Suter at the commencement of his paper dates back as far as 1853, 

 for both Sowerby, in the " Thesaurus Con chyliorum," and Deshayes 

 (Cat. Conchifera Brit. Mus.) regarded Venus crassa, mesodesma, vtolacea, 

 and denticulata as belonging to one species. In the next place I would 

 note that it is not quite correct to say that the habitat of V. denticulata 

 was "said by Quoy & Gaimard to be Nouvelle Holland ou Van 

 Diemen." Their words are: "Nous ignorons sa localite positive; 

 nous la supposons de la Nouvelle Hollande ou de Van Diemen." 



"With regard to Venus spissa, Deshayes, I would point out that 

 spissa was merely a misprint of crassa. This will at once be evident 

 by referring to the Hist. nat. Anim. sans Vert., 2nd ed., vol. vi, p. 373. 

 Venus spurca, Sowerby, may be regarded as an uncertain species, as it 

 was said to be from Valparaiso. The shells under this name in the 

 Cuming Collection are undoubtedly V. crassa, but it is impossible to 

 say that they are the actual specimens described by Sowerby in the 

 Proc. Zool. Soc, 1835, p. 23. The shells subsequently figured by 

 Sowerby (Thesaurus Conch., vol. ii, pi. clvi, figs. 92-97) and by 

 Eeeve (Conch. Icon., vol. xvi, pi. xx, figs. ^Qa-h) are certainly 

 V. crassa and varieties. 



In my opinion V. crassa was founded on old and much thickened 

 shells, and V. denticulata, V. mesodesma, and V. violacea are younger 

 stages of the same species. I agree with the late Dr. E. von Martens 

 that Murcia scansilis of Romer ^ is also a synonym. 



The species appears to be common in some parts of New Zealand. 

 The localities Valparaiso and Philippines require confirmation. 

 Mr. Suter has failed to note that I have recoixied this species from 

 the Auckland Islands in 10 fathoms, and also from Tristan da Cunha 

 in 1,000 fathoms. 



Mai. Blatt., vol. vii (1860), p. 161. 



