120 



THE GENUS-NAME MABTENSIA, SEMPER. 

 By Tom Iredale. 



Read 17th April, 19U. 



At my suggestion Isiv. Robin Kemp made the magnificent collections 

 of East African Land Molluscs which have been studied by Mr. H. B. 

 Preston. Most of this material was casually examined by myself as 

 it passed through my hands, and thus a slight'acquaintance was made 

 with this prolific land molluscan fauna. This apology seems necessary 

 to account for my present incursion into a field quite foreign to my 

 labours. 



An outstanding Zouitoid genus of which a number of species was 

 collected by Mr. Kemp was that known as Martensia, Semper. This 

 name was proposed in the Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen, 

 A'ol. iii, p. 42, 1870, for the species Helix mozamhicensis, Pfeifi'er 

 (Proc. Zool. Soc, 1855, p. 91) alone. It has been continually used, 

 and I have noted no fewer than ten workers on African molluscs 

 accepting it without question. Yet upon reference to Scudder's 

 Nomenclator Zoologicus a prior Martensia is indicated, and this is 

 proven upon confirming that work, as Agassiz in the Contr. Nat. 

 Hist. United States, vol. iii, p. 195, footnote, 1860, had correctly 

 and lawfully appropriated that name for a genus of his Cteuophorae 

 lobatae. 



The only available substitute appears to be 



Ledoulxia, Bourguignat. 



In the Helixarionidees de VAfrique Bourguignat proposed this 

 name for a series of species, sinking Martensia as a synonym of 

 Troclionanina. I am quite unable to understand Bourguignat's 

 classification, judging the species from a conchological view-point. 

 Under the genus-name Troclionaniyia he included mozambicensis^ 

 Pfeifter, jenynsi, Pfeiffer, and some other species, naming as new 

 (p. 9) a Tr. anceyi. On p. 12 he proposed Ledoulxia, the first 

 species named being L. albopicta, based upon JVanina mossambicensis, 

 var. albvpicta, Mtns., the second pyramidea, Mtns., and five new 

 species introduced. 



Bourguignat contended that the introduction of albopicta as a 

 variety of mossambicensis was due to a misinterpretation of the latter 

 species by Von Martens. I cannot, however, geuerically separate 

 either this or pyramidea from the type of Martensia, and Connolly, 

 Ref. List South African Non-marine Mollusca, still retains (p. 103) 

 albopicta, Mtns., as a variety of mozambicetisis, and moreover considers 

 Troclionanina anceyi, Bourguignat, as synonymous. 



Tryon maintained Martensia, and conservatively suggested that 

 Ledoulxia might temporarily be considered a synonym. 



Connolly (ibid., p. 101) quotes as synonym oi Martensia ^^ Ledoulxia, 

 Bgt. 1885, j(?rtrs ". I would designate as type oi Ledoulxia the first 

 species, L. albopicta, Mtns., and thus make this exactly equivalent to 

 the invalid Martensia. 



