MOLLUSCA. 115 



New Caledonia with the type from Moreton ]iay, and am convinced 

 that they constitute but a single species. The sculpturo is the same 

 in both, and the blood-red stain within the valves of a crescent fiinn, 

 leaving the centre and margin white, is present in adult specimens 

 of each, but not always in the yoimg. The only distinction appears 

 to be a little variation of colouring on the upper valve, which in the 

 typical form is white, with the ridges stained and blotched with 

 " fulvous rust," whilst the variety has the costao more uniformly 

 tinted with " red " or pinkish brown, some of them being much paler 

 than others ; but I do not ever find them alternately white and red. 

 The darker ones are usually in pairs, but just on the right of the 

 centre three dark rays come together. In other words, the shell 

 m ly l>e described as having four rays, three of them tinting two ad- 

 jacent costae each, the fourth covering three. This same distribution 

 of pale and darker rays holds good in the typical form and is faintly 

 indicated in lleeve's figure ; and in the handsomer variety, P. Solaris, 

 the same peculiarity is met with and is well portrayed in Philippi's 

 work. This charming form has the interior similarly stained with 

 blood-red as in the two other varieties. This cannot, I consider, be 

 the species described by Born as Ostrea Solaris, which differs greatly 

 in form, especially with regard to the auricles. The only shell 

 having similar small ones, as far as I can discover, is P. superbus, 

 Sowerby; this is not, however, " orange "-coloured, has unequal 

 dorsal slopes, narrower costa?, and deeper grooves. Bern's figure, 

 however, is unreliable, for it represents a shell 40 millim. in length 

 from the hinge-line to the opposite margin, and nearly 42 millim. 

 across, whilst his measurements, given in the text, are — length 

 39 millim., width 30^ millim. 



2. Pecten singaporinus. 



Sowerby, Thes. Conch, vol. i. p. 74, pi. 13. fig. 55, pi. 14. fig. 71 , 



Reeve, Co/ich. Icon. fig. 74. 

 Pecten pica, Reeve, Conch. Icon. figs. 115 a, b. 

 Pecten cumingii, Reeve, I. c. figs. 110 a, b. 



Hob. Singapore (Soivb.) ; New Zealand [Reeve, for pica) ; Port 

 Curtis (Coppinger) ; Moreton Bay (Reeve, for cumingii). 



I cannot discover any distinction between P. pica and this species. 

 The anterior auricle of the right valve is destitute of colour, and the 

 serrated margin beneath it is also white. P. cumingii is a fine 

 growth of the same, having the peculiarities above mentioned, but 

 with the costae slightly stouter. 



73. Pecten dringi. 



Reeve, Conch. Icon. figs. 152 a, b. 



Hub. Port Molle, Queensland, 14 fms. (Coppinger) ; Bathurst 

 Island, X.W. Australia {Reeve) ; Cape Capricorn, E. Australia 

 (Brit. Mus.). 



Purplish and brownish-purple forms of this species appear to 



i2 





