MEYERIA, FASCIOLARIA. 73 



Genus MEYERIA, Dunker and Metzger. 



The dentition of the problematical mollusk which has rejoiced 

 within the short period of our scientific knowledge of it under so 

 many names, appears to relate it somewhat to Ptychatractus, and 

 I prefer to place it in the same sub-family with that shell, rather 

 than make a new family for it. Norman shows that Meyeria is 

 pre-occupied by McCoy for a genus of fossil crustaceans, and he 

 therefore proposes the generic name Metzgeria ; but I see no 

 advantage (and much disadvantage) in changing names because 

 they happen to have been previously used in some other depart- 

 ment of zoology. 



M. ALBA, Jeffreys. PI. 39, figs. 190-193. 



Fusiform, dirty white ; whorls six or seven, moderately con- 

 vex, suture distinct ; longitudinally plicately costate, crossed 

 by revolving striae ; lips smooth, columella twisted, very obso- 

 letely biplicate ; canal somewhat twisted, open. 



Length, 18 mill. 



Faroe Isles ; North Sea ; Norway. 



Prof. G. 0. Sars makes this name a synonym of M. ( Tritonium) 

 pusilla, M. Sars (figs. 191, 192); but the latter name, given in 

 1858, was neither accompanied by diagnosis, distinctive characters, 

 nor figure. I therefore cannot adopt it. 



Sub-Family FASCIOLARIIN^E. 



Genus FASCIOLARIA, Lam. 



The animal of Fasciolaria does not differ essentially from that 

 of Fusus, nor do we find very much difference in the shells ; the 

 usually shorter spire, more swollen body-whorl, wider and shorter 

 and flexuous instead of straight canal, and the oblique plaits 

 near the fore-end of the columella, are the chief distinguishing 

 characters. Between Fasciolaria and Fulgur the resemblance is 

 much closer, and, until the dentition of the two groups became 

 known, they were placed close together by systematists ; in 

 Fulgur, however, the scarcely apparent folding of the columella 

 is single, whilst in Fasciolaria it is double, sometimes triple. 

 The Peristerniinse have columellar folds, but these are usually 

 more transverse, are situated higher on the columella, and the 

 shells are much smaller ; indeed one of the characteristics of the 

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