﻿73 
  

  

  BIOLOGICAL 
  NOTES 
  ON 
  ALCITHOE, 
  H. 
  & 
  A. 
  ADAMS. 
  

  

  By 
  the 
  late 
  Hlniiy 
  Sdteu. 
  

  

  Read 
  10th 
  May, 
  1918. 
  

  

  Ovicapsnie 
  a7id 
  Emlrijonic 
  Shell. 
  — 
  About 
  ten 
  years 
  ago 
  Captain 
  

   J. 
  Bollous, 
  of 
  the 
  Government 
  steamer 
  Kinemoa, 
  gave 
  me 
  some 
  

   specimens 
  of 
  'Turritella 
  and 
  Siruthiolaria, 
  dredged 
  in 
  10 
  fathoms 
  in 
  

   Queen 
  Charlotte 
  Sound, 
  to 
  each 
  of 
  whicli 
  was 
  firmly 
  attached 
  a 
  

   white, 
  calcareous 
  globular 
  body 
  of 
  about 
  10 
  mm. 
  diameter, 
  whicli 
  

   neither 
  of 
  us 
  had 
  ever 
  seen 
  before. 
  I 
  supposed 
  them 
  to 
  be 
  ovicapsules 
  

   of 
  some 
  mollusc, 
  but 
  on 
  opening 
  two 
  of 
  the 
  specimens 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  

   embryo 
  present, 
  only 
  a 
  clear 
  or 
  slightly 
  milky 
  fluid. 
  The 
  only 
  

   remaining 
  specimen 
  I 
  sent 
  to 
  the 
  late 
  Mr. 
  Edgar 
  A. 
  Smith 
  for 
  

   examination, 
  but 
  very 
  unfortunately 
  the 
  specimen 
  arrived 
  broken 
  up 
  

   into 
  small 
  fragments, 
  and 
  there 
  was 
  evidently 
  also 
  no 
  embryo 
  present. 
  

   Therefore 
  no 
  information 
  was 
  forthcoming. 
  

  

  However, 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  few 
  years 
  Mr. 
  Walter 
  Traill, 
  of 
  Stewart 
  

   Island, 
  kindly 
  sent 
  me 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  shells 
  to 
  which 
  ovicapsules 
  were 
  

   fixed, 
  similar 
  to 
  those 
  obtained 
  by 
  Captain 
  Bollons. 
  Most 
  of 
  th-eni 
  

   were 
  attached 
  to 
  dead 
  or 
  live 
  shells 
  of 
  Myodora 
  striata, 
  dead 
  shells 
  of 
  

   Chione 
  stutchluryi, 
  C. 
  mesodesma, 
  Mesodesma 
  australe, 
  Cantharidus 
  

   opahcs, 
  Natica 
  zelandica, 
  Semithyyis 
  nigricans, 
  and 
  even 
  on 
  water- 
  

   logged 
  pieces 
  of 
  wood. 
  Some 
  of 
  these 
  capsules 
  were 
  empty, 
  but 
  

   others 
  contained 
  one 
  to 
  three 
  embryonic 
  shells 
  which, 
  on 
  examin- 
  

   ation, 
  proved 
  to 
  belong 
  to 
  Alcithoe, 
  H. 
  & 
  A. 
  Adams. 
  Adult 
  

   specimens 
  sent 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Traill 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  Alcithoe 
  aralica, 
  sub-sp. 
  

   elongata 
  (Swaiiison), 
  a 
  good-sized 
  specimen 
  measuring 
  45 
  by 
  120 
  mm. 
  

  

  As 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  am 
  aware, 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  South 
  American 
  Volutidse 
  only 
  

   have 
  been 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  oviparous, 
  depositing 
  their 
  eggs 
  in 
  a 
  

   semi-transparent, 
  slightly 
  convex 
  membrane, 
  to 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  three 
  

   to 
  eight, 
  the 
  ovicapsnie 
  having 
  a 
  diameter 
  of 
  from 
  35 
  to 
  100mm. 
  

   Duhaut-Cilly 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  to 
  give 
  some 
  interesting 
  particulars 
  

   concerning 
  the 
  Volutes 
  common 
  in 
  Magellan's 
  Strait 
  (Revue 
  

   Zoologique, 
  1840, 
  p. 
  167), 
  followed 
  by 
  d'Orbigny 
  (Voy. 
  Amer. 
  

   Merid., 
  1842, 
  p. 
  424). 
  Dr. 
  AV. 
  H. 
  Dall 
  figured 
  the 
  ovicapsnie 
  of 
  

   Scaphella 
  magellanica, 
  Sow. 
  (Proc. 
  U.S. 
  Nat. 
  Mus., 
  vol. 
  xii, 
  1889, 
  

   p. 
  311, 
  pi. 
  ix, 
  figs. 
  5, 
  6), 
  Avhich, 
  however, 
  I 
  have 
  not 
  seen. 
  

   J)r. 
  H. 
  Strebel 
  has 
  published 
  good 
  descriptions 
  and 
  figures 
  of 
  the 
  

   embryonic 
  shells 
  of 
  Valuta 
  ancilla, 
  V. 
  magellanica, 
  and 
  F. 
  (?) 
  leclci, 
  

   also 
  an 
  ovicapsule 
  of 
  V. 
  ancilla 
  containing 
  eight 
  embryos 
  (Zool. 
  

   Jahrb., 
  Abth. 
  fiir 
  Systematik, 
  etc., 
  vol. 
  xxiv, 
  1906, 
  p. 
  104, 
  pi. 
  x, 
  

   fig. 
  52). 
  Melvill 
  and 
  Standen 
  mention 
  an 
  ovicapsule 
  of 
  Vohita 
  

   ancilla 
  which 
  had 
  a 
  diameter 
  of 
  50 
  mm., 
  and 
  contained 
  six 
  well- 
  

   developed 
  embryonic 
  shells 
  of 
  12 
  by 
  5 
  mm., 
  one 
  of 
  whicli 
  is 
  figured. 
  

   The 
  locality 
  is 
  Whales 
  Bay, 
  North-West 
  Talklauds 
  (Ann. 
  Mag. 
  Nat. 
  

   Hist., 
  ser. 
  viii, 
  vol. 
  xiii, 
  1914, 
  p. 
  123, 
  pi. 
  vii, 
  fig. 
  7). 
  

  

  All 
  the 
  ovicapsules 
  of 
  Alcithoe 
  arahica, 
  sub-sp. 
  elongata, 
  are 
  

   semi-globose, 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  attachment 
  being 
  very 
  little 
  less 
  than 
  

  

  VOL. 
  XIII. 
  — 
  APRIL, 
  1919. 
  6 
  

  

  