233 



THE APPLICATION OF THE NAMES GOMPHINA, MARCIA, 

 HEMI TAPES, AND KATELYSIA. 



By A, J. Jtjkes-Bkowne, B.A., F.G.S. 



Read llth Becember, 1908. 

 PLATE X. 

 The shells which form the subject of the following study belong to 

 the family Veneridse, and have been separated from the older generic 

 groups of Venus, Chione, and Tapes. There is, however, much confusion 

 and difference of opinion with regard to the definition of the groups 

 for which the names GompMna, Marcia, and Hemitapes were proposed, 

 and certain species have been placed by different authors under each 

 of these heads. Having had occasion to investigate the history of the 

 names, to consider the validity of the accredited type species, and to 

 make a critical examination of the shells themselves, I propose to 

 give some account of all these matters, with the view of arriving at 

 a satisfactory settlement of the questions involved. 



In order to state the facts as clearly as possible I shall first give the 

 history of each name separately, and will subsequentlj- define the 

 shell-groups under the names which, as it seems to me, they ought 

 to bear. 



I. History op Names and Determination of Types. 

 1. Gomphina, Morch. 



This name was proposed by Morch in his catalogue of Coimt de 

 Yoldi's Collection,^ a work in which many new generic and subgeneric 

 names were employed, and though in no case was any definition or 

 description given, yet they may be regarded as sufficiently indicated 

 by the species which are referred to them. 



Under Gomphina (which Morch placed in the Donacidse) only two 

 species are mentioned, these being Venus undulosa, Lam., and Venus 

 donacina, Chem. They stand in the order above given, but as Morch 

 did not indicate types, it was open to any subsequent author to choose 

 either as the type of Gomphina. The first authors to adopt the name 

 were the Messrs. H. & A. Adams in 1857, who, curiously enough, 

 placed Gomphina as a subgenus of Meretrix," and gave V. donacina., 

 Chem., as the only species referable to it, the reason of this being 

 that in the arrangement of the Veneridse they followed Deshayes' 

 grouping (of 1853), and he had included V. undulosa under the genus 

 Chione. 



Now since the Gomphina of Morch included only these two species, 

 and since the Messrs. Adams expressly excluded the one and included 

 the other, they practically made the group a monotypical one. Under 



1 Cat. Conch. Yoldi, 1852-3. 

 - Genera EecentMoll., 1857, vol. ii, p. 425. 



