56 AMERICAN JOrr.NAL 



four-folds beside that forming its basal extremit)' or truncation. 

 Foot lemon yellow ; eyes minute, dark reddish. 



Length of the shell 0-14 ; width about OlO inch. 



Found on Gorgonise dredged by the writer from a rocky 

 bottom in 20 fathoms, in False Bay, Cape of Good Hope, 

 North Pacific Expl. Expedition, Com. C. Einggold_. U. S. N., 

 Commanding. 



Fam. MUEICID.E. 



Tliis group has been used with several very different limita- 

 tions by recent malacological writers, and requires careful re- 

 vision, toAvard which we have some suggestions to offer. 



Woodward* includes in the family the genera Murex, 

 Typhis, Pisania, Itanelh, Triton, Fasciolaria. TurhineUa, Can- 

 cellaria, Tricliotropis and Fusns [= Coins?) H. & A. Adamsf 

 include Murex, and its recent subdivisions [Ghicorevs, Phyllono- 

 ti(s, Vihdaria, Ocinehra, Muricidea, etc.,) Trophon, Fvsus (=Co- 

 li's,) Neptunea, ClaveUa, Pisania, Metula, Cassidulvs, Hemi/vstis, 

 Canthart's {^Pollia,) Tritonidea and Euthria. Gray:}; assigns 

 to the ftimily his groups, Muricina, Colusina, Pisaniana, (in- 

 cluding Coliimhella and Engina^ Cominellina, Nassina and 

 Phosina. Carpenter§ restricts it to the genera Murex and its 

 allies, Trophon, Fvsus (= Coins,) Chrysodomus {=^Neptunea,) 

 Clavella, Pisania, Engina, Cominella, Metula and AnacJiis. 



We thus have representatives of ten families (Muricidre, 

 Buccinida>, Cassidulida?, Nassidi^, Columbellida;, Fasciolariida?, 

 Turbinellidoe, Trichotropidt'e, Cancellariida^ and Tritonidnc,) 

 and of three distinct suborders, (Hamiglossata, Toxoglossata 

 and Taenioglossata,) referred to the Muricidne by one or other 

 of the different authors quoted. 



From tliis long list we will proceed to eliminate as follows : 

 — The reference by Woodward of the Taenioglossate Ranella 

 Triton, Trichotropis and Pyrula {=Ficula, Sw.,) and of the 

 Toxoglossate Cancellaria to the group is not surprising, since 

 the importance of the characters of the lingual dentition in 

 classification was not generally understood at the time when 

 the first part of that author's excellent and comprehensive 

 work was published. The same remark will apply to the 

 Odontoglossate Fasciolaria and TurhineUa, which have been 

 since referred to their proper place by II. & A. Adams, Gray 

 and Carpenter. 



But the family, as understood by these three authors, re- 



* Manual of the Mollusca, 1851, p. 10(1 



f Genera of Recent Mollusca, I., 1853, p. 70. 



t Guide to the Syst. Distr. of Mollusc'a, 1856, p. 11. 



^ Lectures on Mollusca, 1861, p. 27. 



