PART V 



REPORT ON MOLLUSCA 



FROM ELEVATED MARINE BEDS, "RAISED BEACHES," 



OF McMURDO SOUND 



(With Three Figures in the Text) 

 BY 



CHARLES HEDLEY, F.L.S.* 



Feom the mud of the " Raised Beach " Mr. R. E. Priestley carefully collected a large 

 series of shells, mostly of small size. These specimens are so fresh and glossy that 

 they appear to have come direct from the sea, rather than to be fossils. Probably 

 the low temperature has assisted to save them from that decay which in a mild climate 

 and a similar situation might have overtaken them. Still, it seems safe to assume 

 that their geological age is of the slightest, and that all will ultimately be found to 

 still exist in McMurdo Sound. 



Comparing this collection with the shells dredged by the expedition, on which I 

 have already reported, a difference is noticeable in the presence, absence, and relative 

 abundance of various shells. The explanation may be that the " raised beach " was 

 upheaved from a deeper horizon than the dredgings represent. Mr. Murrayf has 

 explained that shell beaches are not permitted by the ice to accumulate in the 

 Antarctic. It follows that the deposit under examination is not a " beach " in the 

 ordinary acceptance of the term. 



Only the Belgian Expedition has hitherto collected Scissurella ettglypta, Pelseneer,J 

 which is therefore a gain to this hemisphere. 



In the following list of these subfossil shells a star (*) indicates that it was recorded 

 among the recent shells of the Expedition. 



Gasteropoda 



Scissurella euglypta, Pelseneer. 

 *Valvatella refulgens, Smith. 

 * crebrilirulata, Smith. 



minutissima, Smith. 



* This paper was written in October 1910 and proofs sent to the writer in January 1916. 

 During five years' editorial custody, the conchological nomenclature has been extensively revised, 

 so that to bring the article up to date it would be necessary to restudy the subject and rewrite the 

 article. Only ordinary press corrections have been made. — C. H. 



-j- Murray, ante, vol. i, " Biology," 1909, p. 2. 



j Pelseneer, Moll. " Belgica " Exped., 1903, p. 17, ff. 43-45. 



ii 85 n 



