224 SMITH : ON THE GENUS ASTARTE. 



1874, 



Astarte Banksii Sow. (non Leach), id., I.e., f. 7. 



1875. A. (Nicania) striata Morch. Arctic Manual, p. 132. 

 1875. A. banksii, id., I.e. 



1877. A. warehami Smith. Annals Nat. Hist, vol. xx., p, 114. 

 1877. A. warehami Jeffreys. Annals, Sept., vol. xx., p. 234. 



1877. A. striata Leach. Smith, Ann. Mag. Nat, Hist, Aug., 



vol. xx., 1877, p. 143. 



1878. Nicania Banksii Sars. Norg. Arkt Fauna, p. 51. 

 Habitat. — Spitzbergen, Greenland, east coast of North 



America, Faroe Islands, Norway, Siberia, Franz Joseph Land, 

 Baltic, North Britain and west coast of Davis Straits. 



This species is excessively variable in form and sculpture, 

 and in the words of Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys — "if a specimen of the 

 smooth, flat and triangular form were placed side by side with 

 the fine ribbed, convex and rounded variety globosa it would be 

 difficult to imagine that they were the same species." 



The variety striata Leach, from West Greenland, is 

 generally fairly distinguishable by its more transverse and less 

 triangular shape than the normal British and north European 

 specimens. The variety globosa Moller, also originally described 

 from Greenland, is scarcely separable from the striata, the extra 

 roundness of the outline being but very slight and the greater 

 thickness of little account. The banksii Leach, was founded on 

 a specimen brought home by Captain Ross from off the south of 

 Spitzbergen. These are remarkable on account of their very 

 triangular shape and the very smooth surface, the fine ridges 

 being replaced by mere concentric striae. A. tiddevallensis of 

 J. Smith, and A. propifiqua of Landsborough, are said by Jeffreys 

 to be synonymous with this species. The variety warehami has 

 the umbones uearly " central," is of a pale-greenish-yellow, attains 

 a breadth of nearly an inch, and has as many as "sixty fine, close, 

 sharp, regular concentric ribs." Hancock's figure however, 



J.C, iii., July, 1881 



