184 PROCEEDINGS OP THE MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 



12. Raeta canaliculata, Say. 



Lutraria canaliculata, Say, 1822, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., 



vol. ii, p. 311. 

 Raeta perspicua, Hutton, 1873, Cat. Mar. Moll. N.Z., p. 65 ; 



Suter, 1913, Man. N.Z. Moll., p. 970, pi. Ix, fig. 5. 



This is a North Atlantic species, but a specimen in the Dominion 

 Museum is the type of R. perspicua, Hutton. The original label 

 bears no locality name, nor is any given with the original description. 

 Yet Hutton afterwards (Man. N.Z. Moll., 141, 1880) attaches the 

 locality " Bay of Islands ", and forthwith the species " R. 

 inconspicua " becomes safely installed in the New Zealand fauna. 

 It should, of course, be omitted, and were this the only instance of 

 foreign shells being introduced into the New Zealand lists by Hutton 

 and retained by Suter it might be overlooked. But there are several 

 others. Some may be detected, as when a known West Indian 

 species like AcantJioplema granulata is included, but when foreign 

 shells are made the types of new species, such " species " are likely 

 to be long retained, especially by those who have not access to the 

 types. 



13. Antigona zelandica (Gray). 



Dosina zelandica, Gray, 1835, Yate's New Zealand, p. 309 ; Gray, 



1843, DiefEenbach's Travels in New Zealand, vol. ii, p. 249. 

 Venus zelandica (Gray) ; Hutton, 1873, Cat. Mar. Moll. N.Z., p. 70. 

 Yenus oblonga (not Gray), Hanley, 1856, Cat. Recent Bivalve 



Shells, p. 359, pi. xvi, fig. 1 (possibly two species confused, 



but figure is that of A. zelandica). 

 Chione crebra, Hutton, 1873, Cat. Mar. Moll. N.Z., p. 70. 

 Cytherea crebra (Hutton), Suter, 1913, Man. N.Z. Moll, p. 984, 



pi. Ixi, fig. 1. 



A great deal of confusion exists with regard to the species 

 included by Suter under Cytherea. Gray first described this common 

 species under the name of Dosina zelandica. In 1843 Gray describes 

 a second species [D. oblonga), and had n© more names been applied 

 to these two species all would have been well. ■ Unfortunately, 

 however, Hutton in 1873 described Chione crebra. The type of this 

 is in the Dominion Museum, and is Grav's A. zelandica. Next, in 

 1880 (Man. N.Z. Moll, p. 147), Hutton reduces Gray's " F. 

 zealandica " to the synonymy of oblonga, and keeps his own name 

 crebra for the true zelandica. This course has been followed by 

 Suter (Man. N.Z. Moll, 1913, p. 985). Iredale (1915), in restoring 

 Gray's specific name, fails to note that Gray had correctly separated 

 the two species, and, judging by his list on p. 494, retains crebra for 

 Gray's zelandica and uses zelandica for Gray's oblonga. 



