Part I — Australasia. 279 



Before attacking the Tertiary Mollusca of Australasia Mr. Harris 

 had the advantage of previously visiting and collecting from very 

 manj' of the classic localities in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, 

 and Britain, as well as to a limited extent in Spain, Northern Africa, 

 and the United States ; also of studying many foreign museums, 

 and of vsrorking over the French, Austrian, Italian, and British 

 Collections in the National Museum, so that he has had excellent 

 training for working out those from the Antipodes. 



The present work embraces collections made by the late Hon. 

 Walter Mantell, Sir James Hector, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., and others 

 from New Zealand ; by W. H. Grigson, Esq. ; by John Dennant, 

 Esq., F.G.S., and others from Victoria; the Count Strzelecki, and 

 others from Tasmania ; by Commodore Goodenough, R.N. ; by Henry 

 Y. Lyell Brown, Esq., F.G.S. ; by R. Litton, Esq., and others from 

 South Australia. 



The most beautiful specimens described in this Catalogue are un- 

 doubtedly those obtained from the Murray River deposits, and 

 from Muddy Creek, Victoria ; amongst these may specially be 

 mentioned the great Cyprcsa [Erosaria) gig as, the largest known 

 species of Cyprcea, living or fossil, presented by John Dennant, Esq., 

 who is also the donor of many other Tertiary shells from Victoria, 

 which now adorn the cases in the Molluscan Gallery VIII of the 

 Geological Department. Conus Newtoni, sp. nov. ; Pleurotoma 

 septemlirata, sp. nov. ; P. suhconcava, sp. nov. ; DriJlia oblongula, 

 sp. nov., and D. vixumbilicnta, sp. nov, ; Voliita lirata, Johnston ; 

 Mitramultisulcata,sp.iiov.; Latirtis Tatei, S]). nov.; Ifurex Otwayensis, 

 sp. nov. ; Stromhus denticostatus, sp. nov. ; Tylospira coronata, 

 Tate (sp.) ; Gerithium apheles, Tenison- Woods; Emarginula Wannon- 

 ensis, sp. nov. ; Liotia Boblini, Johnston ; Turbo Hamiltonensis, sp. 

 nov., and Turbo JEtheridgei, Tenison-Woods, are justly figured as 

 new or interesting forms of shells from Australia. 



A considerable space is taken up in the Plates in this work 

 with drawings of the " protoconch " in Tornatellcsa ; Adelactoeon ; 

 Bingicula; Terebra; Conns, Leptoconus, Lithoconus, Chely conus; 

 Pleurotoma ; Columbarium ; Teleochilus ; Daphnella ; Sarpa ; Volu- 

 tilithes ; Lyria ; Voluta, Pterospira, AuUca, Vohitoconus, Amoria ; 

 Scaphella ; Mitra, Cancilla ; JJromitra ; Conomitra ; Fiisus ; 

 Latirus ; Leucozonia ; Tritonofasus ; Murex ; Pseudovaricia ; Euthria ; 

 Plios ; Nassa; Lotorium; and Turritella. Much reliance is placed 

 by the author on this earliest (Embryonic) stage of shell-growth 

 as a means of working out phylogeny. To the same end he 

 also adopts four other stages : 2, Brephic ; 3, Neanic ; 4, Ephebic ; 

 5, Gerontic ; — or in common parlance : 1, Embryonic (generally 

 passed in the egg) ; 2, Infancy ; 3, Youth; 4, Adult; 5, Old Age, 

 or senile stage. 



Of course it is only in a few shells that we can distinguish any 

 very strong contrasts, corresponding to these periods of life ; but 

 we can usually detect clearly, the Embryonic, the Ephebic, and 

 tlie Gerontic stages ; as to the Brephic and Neanic stages, they are 

 not so easily defined in the Gasteropoda. 



