113 



ON THE AUSTRALIAN PECTENS CONFOUNDED 

 WITH THE NEW ZEALAND P. LATICOSTATUS. 

 (Gray.) 



By Peofessoe Ralph Tate, F.G.S., P.L.S., Etc., 

 Corr. Memb. 



The only species of the section Vola, inhabiting New 

 Zealand-waters, is generally known under Gray's name of 

 P. laticostatus, to which is referred P. Novce Zelandice, Reeve, 

 as a synonym ; but neither names should be employed, 

 inasmuch as the first is pre-occupied by a Lamarckian species 

 fossil in Pliocene Strata in Italy, and the second by another 

 New Zealand species, established by Gray. 



Eastern Australia, Tasmania, and South Australia have 

 each a species of Vola, which has been confounded with that 

 belonging to New Zealand. The Port Jackson shell is 

 locally known as P. fumatus, Reeve ; the Tasmanian shell is 

 referred by the Rev. J. E. Tenison- Woods to P. fumatus, 

 which is considered by him as the same as P. laticostatus, 

 he writes* : — 



" I regard it as identical with P. laticostatus, Gray. They 

 would have been recognised as identical long ago, but for the 

 foregone conclusion that the common shells were necessarily 

 different, because of the different habitat." The South 

 Australian shell is named P. laticostatus, by Mr. G. F. Angas.f 



Though not indifferent to the opinions of these con- 

 chologists, yet in this particular instance I consider their 

 identifications incorrect, and surmise that they have been 

 made without comparison of authentic specimens. 



Reeve's figures and descriptions of P. fumatus, and P. Novce 

 Zelandice are of little value for the purpose of differentiation 

 — his figures lack detail, and the deficiencies are not made 

 good by the descriptions. As the result of a very careful 

 comparison of an extensive series of actual specimens from 

 each of the four geographic regions, it is my opinion that 

 P. fumatus is very distinct from P. laticostatus, that the South 

 Australian shell is either a local race of P. fumatus, or a 

 closely related species, and the Tasmanian shell is distinct 

 from either P. laticostatus or P. fumatus, though more allied 

 to the former. These several species will be referred to 

 under the names of : — - 



P. fumatus, for the New South Wales shell. 



P. fumatus, var alius, or P. albus, South Australian. 



P. meridionalis, Tasmanian, and 



P. laticostatus for the New Zealand shell. 



*Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasm. for 1877, p. 56. 

 tCat. of Marine Moll, in Proc. Zool. Soc, 1865, p. 656. 



