﻿450 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  MUSEUM 
  vol. 
  los 
  

  

  Family 
  Littorinidae 
  

   Genus 
  Nodilittorina 
  von 
  Martens, 
  1897 
  

  

  In 
  Johnson 
  ia, 
  Clench 
  and 
  I 
  had 
  erroneously 
  considered 
  Nodilit- 
  

   torina 
  as 
  a 
  subgenus 
  of 
  Tectarius. 
  From 
  a 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  shell 
  and 
  

   animal 
  characters, 
  the 
  radula, 
  and 
  the 
  type 
  of 
  egg 
  capsules, 
  it 
  appears 
  

   that 
  this 
  group 
  is 
  much 
  more 
  closely 
  allied 
  to 
  the 
  Melarhaphe 
  or 
  

   Littoraria 
  subgenera 
  of 
  Littorina 
  than 
  to 
  Tectarius. 
  An 
  obvious 
  

   relationship 
  in 
  sheU 
  characters 
  is 
  seen 
  between 
  the 
  Indo-Pacific 
  

   Melarhaphe 
  mauritiana 
  Lamarck 
  and 
  such 
  Nodilittorina 
  as 
  miliaris 
  

   Quoy 
  and 
  Gaimard 
  and 
  picta 
  Philippi, 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  have 
  the 
  peculiarly 
  

   flattened, 
  thin 
  inner 
  columella 
  edge 
  and 
  the 
  axial, 
  zigzag 
  color 
  streaks 
  

   on 
  the 
  whorls. 
  The 
  latter 
  two, 
  miliaris 
  and 
  picta, 
  have 
  strong 
  sculp- 
  

   tm"ing 
  which 
  tends 
  towards 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  small 
  nodules 
  which 
  are 
  

   characteristic 
  of 
  Nodilittorina. 
  

  

  The 
  floating 
  &gg 
  capsule 
  of 
  Nodilittorina 
  tuberculata 
  Menke 
  and 
  

   Littorina 
  (Melarhaphe) 
  ziczac 
  Gmelin 
  (copied 
  in 
  our 
  fig. 
  55 
  from 
  

   Marie 
  Lebour, 
  1945) 
  are 
  similar 
  in 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  drum-shaped 
  and 
  

   with 
  6 
  to 
  7 
  spiral 
  lines 
  or 
  ridges 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  surface. 
  These 
  spiral 
  

   ridges 
  are 
  absent 
  in 
  the 
  capsules 
  of 
  Tectarius 
  muricatus 
  Linn6 
  and 
  

   Littorina 
  (Melarhaphe) 
  neritoides 
  Linne. 
  The 
  latter 
  species 
  is 
  from 
  

   the 
  eastern 
  Atlantic 
  and 
  is 
  the 
  genotype 
  of 
  Melarhaphe. 
  Should 
  

   it 
  prove 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  simple, 
  single-pronged 
  penis, 
  as 
  does 
  Tectarius, 
  

   it 
  is 
  likely 
  that 
  such 
  species 
  as 
  L. 
  ziczac 
  Gmelin 
  and 
  L. 
  mauritiana 
  

   Lamarck 
  (which 
  have 
  complicated, 
  Nodilittorina-like 
  penes) 
  do 
  not 
  

   belong 
  to 
  Melarhaphe, 
  sensu 
  stricto. 
  

  

  Three 
  recent 
  papers 
  have 
  contributed 
  to 
  our 
  knowledge 
  of 
  littorinid 
  

   egg 
  capsules 
  (Ostergaard, 
  1950; 
  Tokioka, 
  1950; 
  and 
  Tokioka 
  and 
  

   Habe, 
  1953.) 
  There 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  three 
  groups 
  of 
  capsules: 
  (1) 
  

   Helmet-shaped 
  — 
  Littorina 
  littorea 
  Linne 
  (Lebour, 
  1935, 
  p. 
  375) 
  and 
  

   Littorina 
  pinctado 
  Wood 
  (Ostergaard, 
  1950, 
  p. 
  97); 
  (2) 
  simple 
  drum- 
  

   shaped 
  — 
  Littorina 
  neritoides 
  Lirme 
  (Lebour, 
  1935, 
  p. 
  375) 
  and 
  

   Tectarius 
  muricatus 
  Linn6 
  (Lebour, 
  1945, 
  p. 
  465); 
  and 
  (3) 
  drum- 
  

   shaped, 
  with 
  ridges 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  surface 
  — 
  Littorina 
  ziczac 
  Gmelin 
  

   (Lebour, 
  1945, 
  p. 
  465) 
  and 
  Nodilittorina 
  tuberculata 
  Menke 
  (Lebour, 
  

   1945, 
  p. 
  465). 
  

  

  To 
  the 
  latter 
  group, 
  Tokioka 
  and 
  Habe 
  add 
  the 
  egg 
  capsules 
  of 
  

   three 
  possible 
  littorinid 
  snails. 
  These 
  capsules 
  were 
  given 
  the 
  non- 
  

   binomial 
  names 
  of 
  "Littorina-capsula 
  habei, 
  multistriata, 
  and 
  hagruma." 
  

   The 
  Japanese 
  capsules 
  differ 
  from 
  those 
  in 
  the 
  Western 
  Atlantic 
  

   species 
  in 
  having 
  concentric 
  instead 
  of 
  spiral 
  ridges 
  on 
  the 
  top 
  surface. 
  

   The 
  "hagruma" 
  capsule 
  is 
  unique 
  in 
  bearing 
  on 
  its 
  peripheral 
  surface 
  

   a 
  series 
  of 
  21 
  gearlike 
  undulations. 
  

  

  