126 THE NAUTILUS. 



who obtained it from a dealer at Monterey, Cala., who asserted it to 

 have been obtained alive from the bay of Monterey. Two specimens 

 were obtained, which the possessor would neither lend nor sell ; but 

 finally Dr. Yates succeeded in obtaining one of them, which he 

 courteously forwarded to the National Museum for examination. 



It can only be compared with aS 1 . gigas von Martens, of Japan, in 

 which the furrow is obsolete, and there are no secondary ribs, and 

 the primary ribs are feeble, low, wide, and obsolete on the anterior 

 part of the shell. If the locality is confirmed, the species is a notable 

 addition to the Californian fauna. 



VAKIATIONS IN ODOSTOMIA. 



BY REV. HENRY W. WINKLEY. 



The question is frequently asked, why do we not have an up to 

 date work on New England shells ? The answer can be made, but 

 only by one who is in the work. New England shells are fascinating 

 to study, very difficult to obtain and presenting curious resemblances. 

 Much work has been done, but there remains considerable more 

 before the small forms can be determined in such a way as to give a 

 true list of species. Such genera as Bela, Turbonilla and Odostomia 

 represent some of the problems of the New England fauna. During 

 the past two years the writer has been located at Branford, Conn., 

 and opportunity is thus afforded for consultation with Prof. Verrill 

 and his assistant Miss Bush. These two have handled the great 

 mass of materials dredged by the Fish Commission, and one would 

 suppose all the fauna of New England would be exhausted. On 

 careful examination of the writer's cabinet some half dozen new 

 species have been detected — several of these are Odostomias. One 

 is from Woods Holl, another from an isolated colony in Maine, one 

 from Prince Edward's Island, etc. As these species will be described 

 in clue time by Prof. Verrill we will not anticipate his work. Other 

 changes in the genus Odostomia will be noted by him, among them 

 some based on the following facts which the writer has been led to 

 observe. " Binney's Gould " gives the species 0. impressa, bisuturalis 

 and trifida as distinct species. Let us study the three. 0. impressa 

 from Florida is a thick, deeply grooved shell, and at first sight 



