221 



cancellate, whilst the ordinary spire-whorls are conspicuously and 

 broadly flattened behind, but are without an infra-sutural liga- 

 ture. 



2. Crossea sublabiata, spec. nov. 



Synonym. — -Crossea labiata, Tenison- Woods, Proc. Roy. Soc, 

 Tasmania, for 1876 (name only) : id., Johnston, P. R, S., Tasm., 

 for 1884, p. 221. 



Shell conoidal-turbinate, somewhat solid ; spire elevated ; 

 whorls five, rounded, and distantly, irregularly and coarsely 

 spirally-lirate ; suture distinct. 



Body-whorl relatively very large ; aperture oval, posteriorly 

 angulate, obtusely angled and obsoletely channelled at the 

 columella-margin ; outer lip varicosely dilated. Umbilical chink 

 narrow and deep, bordered by a rounded not very prominent 

 funicular rib. 



Dimensions. — Leng*th, 4; width, 2-5; height of aperture, 2-5; 

 width of aj^erture, 1*5; unusually large specimens have a length 

 of 5 mm. 



Localities. — Eocene. Muddy Creek ! ; Table Cape (Hohart 

 Mus.). 



The Table Cape-specimens of this fossil species were originally 

 referred by Tenison-Woods to his C. labiata ; and were subse- 

 quently carefully compared by Mr. Johnston with an extensive 

 collection of the living forms, who remarks, " That although the 

 fossil representatives are decidedly larger than the living ones, 

 there are no characteristic differences between them so far as the 

 tests are concerned, if we except the fact that in the living form 

 the varix is generally sharper and more decidedly reflexed. In 

 the fossil representatives the strise upon the varix are almost 

 obsolete and consequently the latter has not that appearance 

 which Mr. Woods describes as 'fringe-like.' So far as the trifling 

 differences go, I must admit that they are sufficiently constant to 

 enable a careful classifier to recognise the living from among the 

 fossil representatives with a considerable degree of confidence." 



After a minute comparison of an extensive suite of sj)ecimens 

 of C. labiata, including authentic examples from Tasmania, with 

 many examples from Muddy Creek ; I can confidently endorse 

 the opinions of Mr. Johnston, touching the differential characters 

 of the two, though at the same time I fail to recognise the 

 " fringe-like " varix described by Mr. W^oods, probably his type 

 is only an extreme individual development. In addition to the 

 angular outer margin of the broader varix of the living species, 

 I have recognised that the lirate ornament is very fine and close, 

 whilst it is coarse and distant in the fossil. With these two 

 characters one cannot fail to separate the living from its fossil 

 representative — characters which I regard as of specific value. 



