THE NAUTILUS. 61 



are proposed in brief notices of publications in reviews. Even 

 if Conrad's Africo- Asiatic genus Parreysia is to be considered 

 valid, the reference to it of Whitfield's species seems to me in- 

 correct. In the present unsettled condition of the classification 

 and nomenclature of recent Unionidse, it is doubtful whether 

 any good purpose is served by removing the fossil forms from 

 the genus Unio, though perhaps few, if any, would be placed 

 there if we had sufficient knowledge of the family, and had the 

 anatomy and perfect shells with which to work. 



Melania (Goniobasisf) scvlptilis Meek, Tertiary, Hot Springs 

 Mts., "Idaho" [Nevada] (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., XXII, 

 1870, p. 58), is preoccupied by Melania scidptilis Lea, recent, 

 Tennessee (Transac. Philos. Soc, X, 1853, p. 297; Tryon, L. & 

 F.-W. Shells, Pt. 1, 1873, p. 297), so Meek's name must be 

 abandoned, but I refrain from renaming it until further investi- 

 gation, for the following reasons: Meek himself later expressed 

 a doubt as to whether sculptilii and subsculptilis, from the same 

 locality and position, are distinct, and also suggested that it is 

 not distinct from M. taylori Gabb. Furthermore, Dr. T. W. 

 Stanton informs me that on Meek's separate copy of his paper 

 in which sculptiUs and svhsculptilis are described is the following 

 penciled note in Meek' s handwriting: " Prob. the same named 

 M. decurata Con. Am. Jour. Conch. 6, p. 200, Ap. 1871, and 

 both are prob. synonyms of a species descr. by Gabb in Cal. 

 Report." The reference to Conrad's decurato. probably means 

 decursa, which is said to have come from Colorado. The figure 

 does not look like any of the species mentioned. Gabb's species 

 to which he refers is M. taylori (Paleont. Cali., II, 1869, p. 13, 

 Pi. 2, fig. 21), the figure of which is much more slender than 

 Meek's figures, but perhaps because drawn from a more mature 

 specimen, as Meek suggests. If Meek's M. sndptilii is the same 

 as any or all of the other three, then no new name is needed. 

 I beiieve it is identical with siibsculptilis. 



Melania convexa var. impressa Meek and Hayden, " Tertiary " 

 [Cretaceous], Montana (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., IX, 

 1857, p. 138), is preoccupied by Melania impressa Lea (Proc. 

 Philos. Soc. II, 1841, p. 83; Transac, IX, p. 19; Obs., IV, 

 31. 19). Hence Meek and Hayden's name must be abandoned. 



