smith: notice of an imperforate specimen of haliotis. 75 



This species may readily be recognised by its numerous and 

 regular transverse brown lines. Compared with P. reticulata it is 

 more ventricose, has a more elevated spire, and its cancellating 

 ridges are more prominent, regular, and distant. In form it more 

 nearly approaches P. fiats, but in point of sculpture admits of no 

 comparison. True specimens of this interesting species were 

 brought by Dr. Hungerford from Hong Kong, and as far as I know 

 these are all that have as yet been found. 



NOTICE OF AN IMPERFORATE SPECIMEN 

 OF HALIOTIS. 



By EDGAR A. SMITH, F.Z.S., 

 Zoological Department, British Museum, London. 



In the '■'■Annals and Magazine of Natural History" for 1888, vol. i, 

 pp. 419-421, I gave an account of a very remarkable specimen of 

 Haliotis, possessing two rows of perforations instead of the normal 

 single series. I now beg to call attention to a specimen which, on 

 the contrary, has not even the one series which is so conspicuous 

 a feature in this genus. This peculiarity appears to be of the 

 greatest rarity, for I only find that one notice of its occurrence has 

 ever been published, nor has it been observed by any of the 

 conchologists and others whom I have consulted. 



Jeffreys* in his account of H. tuberculata, mentions that "Very 

 young shells are imperforate," and that " one in Mrs. Collings' 

 collection has no orifice, although it is an inch and a quarter in 

 length." 



The present specimen, presented to the British Museum by 

 Dr. C. C. Claremont, is two and a quarter inches long, and evidently 

 is also an example of the well-known species of the Channel 

 Islands. 



The " very young shells " referred to by Jeffreys as being 

 imperforate are the mere fry, not more than two to three millimeters 

 in length. A specimen without orifices exceeding this length must 

 be most exceptional, for, of the thousand specimens of HaUotis in 

 the Museum, not one exhibits this peculiarity, nor has it ever been 

 observed by Mr. G. B. Sowerby and others who have had an 

 opportunity of examining large series of this genus. 



* British Conchology, vol. iii, p. 281. 



