30 JOURNAL 01'" CON'CHOI.OGY, VOI,, I5, NO. I, JANUARY, 1916. 



{B). — Recent Forms. 

 I. — ^Harpa costata L. 



Buixlniim costatiim Liniiceus, Syst. Nat., x., p. 738 ; xii., p. 1202. 



,, ,, Gmelin, p. 3482. 



BitcciniDii costatum Mawe, Linn., Syst. Conch., p. 119, frontispiece, 



f. 4, 1823. 

 Bnccinum harpa e Bruguie're, Diet., no. 9. 

 Biicciuinn imperiale Chemnitz, taf. 66, figs, i, 2, taf. 70, f. i. 



,, ,, Martini, Conch. Cab., iii., t. 119, f. 1093. 



Uarpa iniperialis Lamarck, An. Sans Vert., vii., i, ed. x., p. 129. 



,, „ Reeve, Conch. Syst., ii., p. 226, pi. 263, f. i. 



,, ,, Reeve, Conch. Icon., Harpa, no. 5, t. 2, f. 5. 



Harpa costata I^., Sowerby, Thes. Conch., iii., p. 169, figs. 4, 5, 23. 

 Harpa ventricosa Lamarck, var., L. C. Kiener, Coq. Viv. Purp., i., 



p. 7, pi. ii., f. 2. 



Habitat : Mauritius. 



This most beautiful and still uncommon species is undoubtedly the 

 Buccitiuui costatutfi L., as proved by the examination by Mr. Sylvanus 

 Hanley of the actual Linnean specimens (Ipsa Linnsei Conchylia, 

 p. 251). It appears that upon first publishing this as a species the 

 illustrious author felt so doubtful of its real distinctness that he placed 

 it in the tenth edition of his 'Systema,' with a cypher attached, between 

 nos. 400 and 401. Although the description is insufficient, the ribs 

 are mentioned as 'confertis,' crowded, and this points to the correct- 

 ness of the identification. 



It is indeed strange that Kiener did not sufficiently understand this 

 fine shell, but followed certain of his forerunners in blindly merging 

 it with H. ventricosa. H. costata is somewhat rotund in outline, of 

 light painting typically, the larger well-developed examples being 

 usually of a pale fawn colour, tinged with carneous; ribs thin, smooth, 

 sometimes very closely overlapping, more distant in some varieties, in 

 number 2 1-35, or even over 40. I may here mention that the specimen 

 figured in Reeve's Conch. Icon,, vol. i. (1843) as being in the collec- 

 tion of the Rev. Francis J. Stainforth, has been for twenty years or 

 more in my possession. He was a friend of many members of my 

 family, and had presented this specimen to my cousin, Miss Augusta 

 Hardcastle, of Brighton, who generously bequeathed it to my care. 

 This is supposed to be one of, if not the most perfect example known 

 to exist, and to possess the maximum number of ribs. It is not, how- 

 ever, equal in colour to the very beautiful examples in our National 

 Collection, noteworthy both in form, colour, and elegance. 



