' ^ Yorkshire Naturalists Union : Annual Report, 1909. 59 



and Jeffrey's objection holds. Ferguson, however, makes the 

 interesting statement that two or three specimens had been found 

 at the sands at Redcar. Yet he did not consider it a native of 

 Yorkshire. Nor can much be said for Bittium reticulatuni, \\'hich 

 is quoted in the " Victoria History " for Scarborough, on the sole 

 authority of Gosse. It is a southern species, which generally 

 abounds, when found at all, as at Falmouth. But here again the 

 evidence is apparently confirmed by the remarkable statement of 

 Ferguson that the shell had been frequently found on the beach. 

 Possibly Ferguson mistook worn specimens of Beta ittrricida 

 (rather a common shell at Redcar) for Beta trevelyana, and then 

 confused an old name of the latter — Pleurotoma reticulata with 

 Cerithium {Bittium) reticulatuni. 



(4) The " Victoria History " does not give nearly enough 

 records. The result is that shells which practically occur on all 

 parts of the coast look as though they were quite local species. 

 To give as the only record of Turtonia minuta " Few in shell sand 

 at Sandsend," is something like saying that Rosa canina has occa- 

 sionally been found at Bainton. A conchological student uri- 

 acquainted with the Yorkshire coast, might imagine that this 

 common shell is rarer than say Fissurella grceca, which probably 

 does not occur at all. Some general statements shewing the com- 

 parative frequency of all the different species would have added 

 very largety to the value of the article. 



What is much to be desired is a hst of the marine fauna which 

 will indicate with a query all doubtful species, with a note of 

 admiration those which depend on only one or two records, 

 (especiall)' when these include the Dogger Bank), of which it is 

 desirable to obtain confirmation, and in square brackets species 

 which are not native, and marking in some other way those for 

 which the evidence is deemed altogether unsatisfactory. Under 

 the last category would come several species given in Theakston's 

 Guide. The hst proposed should include those species which 

 have been recorded since the list of the "Victoria History" was 

 compiled, due care being taken to ascertain their accuracy. It is 

 hoped that such a list may be prepared by this Committee before 

 long. 



It is also of great importance to have, for the purpose of 

 reference, a good collection of Yorkshire marine shells. A good 

 beginning has already been made in the Hull Museum collection 

 already referred to, but there is very much still to be done. Several 

 species are as yet unrepresented, and in other cases the specimens 

 are not fully mature. It is hoped that eventually specimens will be 

 obtained of most of the different species in all stages of growth. 

 It is sometimes suggested that there is a danger of the Marine 

 Biological Branch becoming too exclusively a Conchological 

 Society or a Collecting Society, or a mere record-mongering 

 Society. The true answer to all these objections seems to lie in 



1910 Jan. I 



