LITTORINA. 243- - 



Section MELARAPHE, Muhlf., 1828. 



L. SCABRA, Linn. PI. 42, figs. 18-20. 



Rather thin, slantingly convex, somewhat coarsely spirally stri- 

 ated, periphery angulated and carinated, suture linearly channeled; 

 yellowish or greyish, punctate or nebulously spotted, or interrup- 

 tedly or continuously obliquely strigate with chocolate, interiorly 

 similarly marked, with the color intensified on the inner margin of 

 the lip. Length, 1 1*5 in. 



Mazatlan, Sandwich Is., Viti Is., Philippines, China, Indian Ocean. 



Including its varieties, this species stretches nearly around the 

 world, extending from West Africa around to Arabia; .but it has 

 not been detected in the Mediterranean Sea. 



The synonymy of the typical form embraces . angulifera, Lam., 

 L. ahenea, Reeve (in part), the vars. rubra, suturalis, lutea, flam- 

 mulata, articulata, punctata (fig. 20), ventricosa, of Philippi, var. 

 concolor, Weink., var. tennis, Nevill. 



Var. LINEATA, Gmel. PL 42, figs. 11-13, 15-17. 



Thin, imperforate, finely, closely spirally striated, suture narrowly 

 channeled, body whorl with rounded or scarcely angulated peri- 

 phery, not carinated ; yellowish or greyish, tessellated or obliquely 

 irregularly strigate with chocolate, sometimes with a series of large 

 chocolate spots next the suture. Length, 1'25 in. 



West Coast of Africa, West Indies, Florida. 



The history of the nomenclature of this variety or quasi-species 

 is somewhat complicated. It was at first confounded by both Lin- 

 naeus and Lamarck with the Polynesian form, which differs in being 

 somewhat more coarsely striate with a carinate periphery. Subse- 

 quent authors, in distinguishing the species, have restricted La- 

 marck's species to the West Indian form, notwithstanding the sig- 

 nificance of his name for it, and the fact that the only figure he re- 

 fers to, as well as his description, clearly indicate the L. scabra of 

 Linn. I have concluded to adopt for the present variety Gmelin's 

 name, which appears to me to have been clearly intended for it. 



L. scabra, of d'Orb. (figs. 12, 13), L. ahenea, Reeve, in part (fig. 

 11), perhaps L. aurea, Bonnet (fig. 17), described without locality, 

 and the forms described by Philippi as vars. flavescens, rubra (fig. 

 16), strigata (fig. 15), belong here. 



