100 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



exception of V. exoleta, to the animal of which he had already given 

 a special name {Arthemis). 



On p. 95 he describes Femis cMone, Linn., and on the next page 

 he describes the enclosed animal in detail, giving it the name of 

 Callista coccinea, and referring to a figure of which he says — "fig. 1, 

 Tab. XX inspicientibus Veyius chione adparebit Callistam coccineam 

 tegens," thus making it quite clear that his main object was to 

 introduce an independent binomial nomenclature for the animals, and 

 that he had no intention of subdividing the Linnean genus Venus 

 or of altering the names of the shells which Linnaeus had placed in 

 it. To him the name Venus cliione represented the shell only, and 

 Callista coccinea represented the animal which had constructed this 

 shell. Also he might call V. chione a Callistoderm, but he would not 

 and does not anywhere write of it as Callistoderma chione. 



Moreover, in his opinion, different species of Venus shells might 

 be formed by the same species of Callista. Thus, on p. 91 we have 

 a description of V. verrucosa, Linn., and the mollusc itself is named 

 Callista gemella, the specific name being given " ob insignem ejus 

 similitudinem cum Callista quam Venerem fioridam inhabitare demon- 

 strabimus." Accordingly on p. 98 he says (in Latin), " the mollusc 

 which Venus florida encloses is Callista gemella, and we have shown 

 that V. verrucosa is (also) a cover (teguraento) of this," referring back 

 top. 91.1 



I think it will now be admitted that Poll's intention was to 

 introduce two separate and independent systems of nomenclature, 

 one for the molluscs and the other for the shells, each system having 

 its own series of generic and specific names. Consequently his list 

 of the Sicilian species of Venus and their ' inhabitants ' reads as 

 follows : — 



Shell. Animal. 



Venus chione, Linn. Callista coccinea. 



V. verrucosa, Linn. Callista gemella. 



V. gallina, Linn. Callista Candida. 



V. rudis, Poli. ? (animal not known). 



V.Jlorida, Linn. Callista getnella. 



V. Iceta, Linn. Callista multicirrata. 



V. exoleta, Linn. Arthemis pudica. 



V. litterata, Linn. ? (animal not known). 



It will be noticed that in the "Shell" column there occurs the 

 name Venus rudis, Poli, because he had described a new species under 

 this name. This specific name is rightly accredited to Poli, because 

 he was the first to distinguish it from the other species of the Linnean 

 genus Venus, and because it is clear that he intended the name to 

 apply to the shell and not to the animal, which it seems he had 

 not been able to examine. 



Moreover, he seems to have imagined that it would be convenient 

 to have distinctive generic names for the shells regarded merely as 

 the covers or integuments of his Molluscan genera. Such names he 



1 For these particulars and quotations from Poli I am indebted to the kindness of 

 Mr. J. H. Ponsonby. 



