﻿306 
  

  

  ON 
  THE 
  EECENT 
  SPECIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  GENUS 
  VULSELLA.^ 
  

   By 
  Edgar 
  A. 
  Smith, 
  T.S.O. 
  

   Read 
  IQth 
  March, 
  1911. 
  

   PLATE 
  XI. 
  

   Having 
  recently 
  liad 
  occasion 
  to 
  identify 
  a 
  specinaen 
  of 
  this 
  genus 
  

   from 
  the 
  Natal 
  coast 
  it 
  became 
  necessary 
  to 
  stndy 
  the 
  group 
  as 
  

   a 
  whole 
  and 
  to 
  examine 
  the 
  literature 
  of 
  the 
  subject, 
  more 
  particularly 
  

   the 
  reviews 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  by 
  the 
  Marquis 
  A. 
  de 
  Gregorio 
  (Bull. 
  Soc. 
  

   Make. 
  Ital., 
  vol. 
  x, 
  pp. 
  49-72, 
  1884) 
  and 
  A. 
  H. 
  Cooke 
  (Annals 
  and 
  

   ^tagazine 
  of 
  ]!^atural 
  History, 
  vol. 
  xvii, 
  pp. 
  59-67, 
  1886). 
  In 
  the 
  

   first 
  place 
  it 
  seemed 
  imperative 
  to 
  determine 
  with 
  certainty 
  the 
  six 
  

   recent 
  species 
  included 
  in 
  the 
  genus 
  by 
  Lamarck, 
  who 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  to 
  

   characterize 
  it. 
  For 
  this 
  purpose 
  I 
  applied 
  to 
  the 
  Paris 
  Museum 
  for 
  

   loan 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  Lamarckian 
  specimens, 
  and 
  through 
  the 
  kindness 
  

   of 
  Professor 
  Germain 
  I 
  have 
  had 
  an 
  opportunity 
  of 
  studying 
  Vulsella 
  

   Imffidata, 
  spojigiarum, 
  mytilina, 
  and 
  ovata. 
  

  

  The 
  two 
  other 
  species, 
  V. 
  Mans 
  and 
  V. 
  rugosa, 
  were 
  described 
  by 
  

   Lamarck 
  from 
  specimens 
  in 
  his 
  own 
  collection, 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  Geneva 
  

   Museum. 
  On 
  applying 
  to 
  that 
  institution 
  for 
  drawings 
  of 
  these. 
  

   Dr. 
  E. 
  F. 
  Weber 
  very 
  kindly 
  had 
  excellent 
  photographs 
  taken 
  of 
  eacli, 
  

   and 
  also 
  had 
  coloured 
  drawings 
  made. 
  I 
  beg 
  to 
  expi'ess 
  mv 
  thanks 
  to 
  

   him 
  for 
  so 
  kindly 
  acceding 
  to 
  my 
  request. 
  With 
  the 
  aid 
  of 
  the 
  actual 
  

   specimens 
  from 
  Paris 
  and 
  these 
  photographs 
  I 
  am 
  now 
  in 
  a 
  position 
  to 
  

   recognize 
  the 
  Lamarckian 
  species, 
  Avhich 
  otherwise 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  

   impossible 
  from 
  the 
  original 
  inadequate 
  descriptions. 
  I 
  also 
  wish 
  to 
  

   express 
  mj^ 
  sincere 
  thanks 
  to 
  the 
  Marquis 
  A. 
  de 
  Gregorio 
  for 
  sending 
  

   me 
  in 
  a 
  most 
  friendly 
  manner 
  the 
  material 
  described 
  in 
  his 
  work. 
  

  

  The 
  recent 
  species 
  of 
  Vulsella 
  have 
  been 
  listed 
  or 
  monographed 
  

   several 
  times. 
  

  

  1798. 
  Bolten 
  (Mus. 
  Bolt., 
  p. 
  156) 
  quoted 
  two 
  species, 
  V. 
  major- 
  

   and 
  V. 
  minor, 
  the 
  former 
  being 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  the 
  Mya 
  vulsella 
  of 
  

   LinnPBus. 
  

  

  1819. 
  Lamarck, 
  Hist. 
  Anim. 
  sans 
  Yert., 
  vol. 
  vi 
  (1), 
  pp. 
  220-2. 
  

   Six 
  species 
  described: 
  V. 
  liiigulata, 
  liians, 
  mytilina, 
  rugosa, 
  spoiigiarum, 
  

   and 
  ovata. 
  

  

  1858. 
  Reeve, 
  Conch. 
  Icon., 
  vol. 
  xi,spp. 
  1-17, 
  pis. 
  i, 
  ii. 
  In 
  addition 
  

   to 
  the 
  Lamarckian 
  species 
  eleven 
  additional 
  names 
  weie 
  proposed 
  : 
  

   V. 
  attenuata, 
  trita, 
  corollata, 
  lingua-felis, 
  phasianoptera, 
  isocardia, 
  

   crennlata, 
  pholadiformis, 
  riidis, 
  limcsformis, 
  and 
  Tasmanica. 
  In 
  my 
  

   opinion 
  only 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  is 
  retainable 
  as 
  a 
  distinct 
  species, 
  namely 
  

   V. 
  attenuata. 
  

  

  1864. 
  Munier-Chalmas, 
  Bull. 
  Soc. 
  Linn. 
  JJiormandie, 
  vol. 
  viii, 
  

   pp. 
  97-110. 
  

  

  A 
  list, 
  without 
  any 
  comments, 
  including 
  the 
  six 
  Lamarckian 
  and 
  

   eleven 
  lleevian 
  species, 
  also 
  minor, 
  Chemnitz. 
  

  

  1871. 
  Dunker, 
  Jahrb, 
  deutsch. 
  Malak. 
  Ges., 
  vol. 
  ii, 
  pp. 
  1-3. 
  

  

  ^ 
  Published 
  by 
  pei-mission 
  of 
  the 
  Trustees 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  Museum. 
  

  

  