﻿171 
  

  

  A 
  EEVISION 
  OF 
  THE 
  SPECIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  FAMILY 
  PYEAMIDELLID^ 
  

   OCCURRING 
  IN 
  THE 
  PERSIAN 
  GULF, 
  GULF 
  OF 
  OMAN, 
  AND 
  

   NORTH 
  ARABIAN 
  SEA, 
  AS 
  EXEMPLIFIED 
  MOSTLY 
  IN 
  THE 
  

   COLLECTIONS 
  MADE 
  BY 
  MR. 
  F. 
  W. 
  TOWNSEND 
  (1893-1900), 
  

   WITH 
  DESCRIPTIONS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  SPECIES. 
  

  

  By 
  James 
  Cosmo 
  Melvill, 
  M.A., 
  D.Sc. 
  

  

  Read 
  10th 
  June, 
  1910. 
  

  

  PLATES 
  IV-VI. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  in 
  1901 
  ^ 
  that, 
  in 
  collaboration 
  with 
  Mr. 
  R. 
  Standen, 
  I 
  first 
  

   essayed 
  a 
  catalogue 
  of 
  the 
  Gastropoda 
  of 
  the 
  Persian 
  Gulf 
  and 
  

   contiguous 
  seas, 
  including, 
  of 
  course, 
  the 
  family 
  a 
  revision 
  of 
  which 
  

   is 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  this 
  paper. 
  During 
  the 
  period 
  of 
  over 
  nine 
  years 
  

   which 
  has 
  elapsed 
  since 
  its 
  publication, 
  a 
  large 
  amount 
  of 
  most 
  

   valuable 
  and 
  distinguished 
  work 
  amongst 
  the 
  molluscan 
  products 
  of 
  

   the 
  deep 
  sea 
  has 
  been 
  accomplished 
  ; 
  the 
  citing 
  of 
  four 
  or 
  five 
  names 
  

   amply 
  bear 
  witness 
  to 
  this, 
  e.g., 
  Mr. 
  Charles 
  Hedleyon 
  the 
  Australian 
  

   fauna. 
  Dr. 
  M. 
  M. 
  Schepmau 
  on 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  Siboga 
  " 
  

   Expedition 
  to 
  the 
  East 
  Indies, 
  Mons. 
  Ph. 
  Dautzenberg 
  & 
  Fischer^ 
  on 
  

   the 
  Mollusca 
  of 
  Annam, 
  Dr. 
  Sturany 
  on 
  Erythraean 
  species, 
  and 
  

   Dr. 
  W. 
  H. 
  Dall 
  & 
  Mr. 
  Paul 
  Bartsch, 
  recently 
  having 
  given 
  special 
  

   attention 
  to 
  this 
  family, 
  have 
  published 
  two 
  papers 
  of 
  extreme 
  

   importance, 
  viz., 
  (1) 
  "A 
  Monograph 
  of 
  West 
  American 
  Pyramidellid 
  

   Molluscs",^ 
  (2) 
  "Notes 
  on 
  Japanese, 
  Indo-Pacific, 
  and 
  American 
  

   Pyraraidellidae 
  ".* 
  In 
  the 
  first-mentioned 
  treatise 
  about 
  300 
  or 
  more 
  

   species 
  are 
  catalogued, 
  nearly 
  two-thirds 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  new 
  to 
  science, 
  

   while 
  a 
  more 
  complete 
  subgeneric 
  classification 
  of, 
  especially, 
  the 
  genera 
  

   Turbonilla 
  and 
  Odostomia 
  has 
  been 
  essayed. 
  In 
  the 
  latter 
  the 
  chief 
  

   feature 
  is 
  the 
  figuring, 
  for 
  the 
  first 
  time, 
  of 
  several 
  of 
  Dr. 
  Arthur 
  

   Adams' 
  Japanese 
  and 
  North 
  Chinese 
  shells 
  of 
  this 
  group. 
  

  

  The 
  student 
  of 
  this 
  fascinating 
  but 
  diflScult 
  subject 
  owes 
  an 
  

   especial 
  meed 
  of 
  gratitude 
  to 
  these 
  authors 
  for 
  having 
  to 
  some 
  extent 
  

   thrown 
  an 
  elFective 
  searchlight 
  over 
  the 
  insufficiently 
  described 
  and 
  

   unfigured 
  species, 
  without 
  measurements, 
  without 
  detail, 
  which 
  were 
  

   so 
  profusely 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  world 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  sixties, 
  during 
  Dr. 
  Adams' 
  

   visit 
  to 
  the 
  East. 
  These 
  papers 
  mainly 
  appeared 
  dui'ing 
  the 
  four 
  

   years 
  1860-3 
  inclusive, 
  in 
  the 
  pages 
  of 
  the 
  Annals 
  and 
  Magazine 
  

   of 
  Natural 
  History. 
  It 
  is 
  true 
  the 
  author 
  fixed 
  upon 
  no 
  actual 
  

   types, 
  and 
  consequently 
  in 
  many 
  instances 
  one 
  can 
  never 
  be 
  quite 
  sure 
  

   whether 
  the 
  labelling 
  be 
  correct, 
  and 
  whether 
  such 
  specimens 
  should 
  

   be 
  accepted 
  as 
  the 
  true 
  exponents 
  of 
  the 
  describer's 
  diagnoses. 
  

  

  ^ 
  Proc. 
  Zool. 
  Soc. 
  Lond., 
  1901, 
  pp. 
  327-460, 
  pis. 
  xxi-xxiv. 
  

   - 
  Journ. 
  de 
  Conch., 
  voL 
  liv, 
  pp. 
  179-99, 
  1907. 
  

   3 
  Smithsonian 
  Inst., 
  U.S. 
  Nat. 
  Mus., 
  Bulletin 
  68, 
  pp. 
  1-258, 
  1909. 
  

   * 
  Proc. 
  U.S. 
  Nat. 
  Mus., 
  No. 
  1452, 
  vol. 
  xxx, 
  pp. 
  321-69, 
  pis. 
  xvii-xxvi, 
  Washington, 
  

   1906. 
  

  

  