﻿242 
  

  

  niESIDENTIAL 
  ADDRESS. 
  

  

  By 
  J. 
  11. 
  Lk 
  Brockton 
  Tomlin, 
  M.A., 
  E.E.S., 
  etc. 
  

  

  Delivered 
  9th 
  Febrtiary, 
  1917. 
  

  

  A 
  SYSTEMATIC 
  LIST 
  OF 
  THE 
  MAEGINELLIDiE. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  List 
  whicli 
  follows 
  I 
  have 
  ciuleavoureil 
  to 
  put 
  together 
  all 
  

   the 
  specific 
  aud 
  varietal 
  names 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  applied 
  by 
  authors 
  

   to 
  actual 
  or 
  supposed 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  family 
  of 
  the 
  Marginellidfe. 
  

   My 
  only 
  regret 
  is 
  that, 
  so 
  far, 
  time 
  has 
  not 
  allowed 
  me 
  to 
  include 
  

   the 
  fossil 
  forms. 
  From 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  of 
  synonymy 
  this 
  is 
  

   a 
  serious 
  omission, 
  which 
  1 
  trust 
  to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  repair 
  later 
  on. 
  

   ^Meanwhile, 
  where 
  the 
  namo 
  of 
  a 
  recent 
  species 
  is 
  preoccupied 
  by 
  

   a 
  fossil 
  one, 
  1 
  believe 
  that 
  I 
  luivc 
  always 
  noted 
  the 
  fact. 
  In 
  forming 
  

   such 
  a 
  list 
  I 
  have 
  had 
  an 
  excellent 
  model 
  to 
  follow 
  in 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  

   Columbellidit!, 
  by 
  S. 
  Pace, 
  in 
  vol. 
  v 
  of 
  these 
  Proceedings. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  found, 
  just 
  as 
  lie 
  did, 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  names 
  which 
  

   have 
  never 
  been 
  included 
  in 
  monographs 
  of 
  the 
  group 
  with 
  which 
  

   I 
  am 
  dealing, 
  many 
  type-specimens 
  wliich 
  cannot 
  be 
  traced, 
  even 
  

   several 
  which 
  arc 
  stated 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  our 
  national 
  collection. 
  I 
  liave 
  

   come 
  across 
  the 
  usual 
  crop 
  of 
  those 
  tiresome 
  and 
  useless 
  weeds 
  — 
  

   nomina 
  nuda. 
  It 
  is 
  very 
  curious 
  to 
  note 
  how 
  gradually 
  and 
  insidiously 
  

   these 
  pests 
  creep 
  into 
  literature, 
  and 
  how 
  in 
  many 
  cases 
  a 
  false 
  

   reference 
  is 
  copied 
  from 
  one 
  writer 
  to 
  another 
  until 
  it 
  acquires 
  quite 
  

   a 
  traditional 
  and 
  respectable 
  position. 
  Tlie 
  length 
  of 
  time 
  during 
  

   which 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  upstarts 
  Avill 
  maintain 
  its 
  false 
  status 
  is 
  

   extraordinarj', 
  and 
  is 
  incidentally 
  a 
  useful 
  piece 
  of 
  evidence 
  to 
  show 
  

   liow 
  little 
  pains 
  successive 
  copyists 
  take 
  to 
  verify 
  the 
  references 
  

   which 
  they 
  employ. 
  If 
  1 
  have 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  cases 
  below 
  cited 
  a 
  name 
  

   e.\ 
  So-and-so 
  MS., 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  in 
  deference 
  to 
  the 
  custom 
  which 
  

   obtains 
  at 
  present. 
  A 
  point 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  specific 
  names 
  which 
  is 
  

   much 
  overlooked, 
  especially 
  by 
  certain 
  living 
  authors 
  who 
  have 
  

   a 
  passion 
  for 
  varietal 
  names, 
  is 
  that 
  under 
  the 
  present 
  code 
  these 
  

   names 
  are 
  on 
  precisely 
  the 
  same 
  footing 
  as 
  the 
  specific 
  names 
  in 
  their 
  

   genus. 
  Consequentl}', 
  and 
  I 
  may 
  say 
  fortunately, 
  the 
  inevitable 
  

   multiplication 
  of 
  " 
  var. 
  major''\ 
  " 
  var. 
  minor 
  ''\ 
  " 
  var. 
  alha''\ 
  and 
  the 
  

   like 
  has 
  the 
  very 
  opposite 
  effect 
  to 
  that 
  intended 
  by 
  their 
  sponsors, 
  

   and 
  99 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  them 
  come 
  into 
  literature 
  stillborn. 
  

  

  I 
  take 
  the 
  family 
  ^larginellidaj 
  as 
  defined 
  in 
  Dr. 
  Paul 
  Fischer's 
  

   Manuel 
  do 
  ConchyUoIo(fie, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  dficrovolida, 
  

   placed 
  by 
  him 
  doubtfully 
  in 
  this 
  family, 
  but 
  now 
  believed 
  to 
  belong 
  

   to 
  the 
  Volutidoe 
  or 
  possibly 
  to 
  the 
  Mitridfc. 
  I 
  unhesitatingly 
  reject 
  

   from 
  the 
  family 
  von 
  Martens' 
  sub-genus 
  MargineUona, 
  formed 
  in 
  1903 
  

   for 
  the 
  reception 
  of 
  a 
  species 
  dredged 
  by 
  the 
  German 
  Deep-sea 
  

   Expedition. 
  Only 
  a 
  single, 
  much 
  broken 
  live 
  specimen 
  was 
  procured, 
  

   but 
  there 
  is 
  enough 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  structure 
  of 
  the 
  columella 
  

   is 
  totally 
  different 
  from 
  any 
  known 
  form 
  of 
  Afarginellid. 
  Yon 
  ^lartcns 
  

   admits 
  that 
  the 
  shell 
  characters 
  are 
  Volutoid, 
  but 
  considers 
  that 
  the 
  

  

  