20 TROCEEDINGS OF THE MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



ON A SMALL COLLECTION OF MARINE SHELLS FEOM NEW 

 ZEALAND AND MACCiUARIE ISLAND, WITH DESCRIPTIONS 

 OF NEW SPECIES. 



By Edgar A. Smith, F.Z.S., etc. 



Read 10th December, 1897- 



The series of shells here referred to and described, were kindly 

 placed at my disposal by Mr. Henry Suter, of Christchnrch, New 

 Zealand. Those from Macquarie Island, situated to the south-west of 

 New Zealand, are of especial interest, since five out of the eight 

 species are well-known Patagonian forms. The three others also, 

 supposed to be new species, will probably eventually be found in 

 Patagonia. They were collected by Mr. A. Hamilton, who thus 

 writes respecting them: — "The shells collected by me at Macquarie 

 Island were all from Lusitania Bay, on the north-east side of the 

 island. The large red, or scarlet, bivalve ^ was attached to the large 

 floating kelp by a strong fleshy foot adhering very firmly, sometimes 

 thi'ee or four together. The small univalves, Paludestrina, and the 

 small Lascea and Modiolarca, were obtained by scraping a small moss- 

 like seaweed from the rocks (volcanic breccia) between tide-marks. 

 The range of tide is not great — four or five feet — at that part. 

 Unfortunately, I did not see the flat tidal reef in the north of the 

 island below the JSTuggets until the day I left. On these reefs much 

 might be found. The currents set strongly from west to east at this 

 place at the time of the year when I was there." 



It is a fact well known to botanists that quite a considerable 

 number of species of seaweeds are common to the Patagonian region 

 and the shores of New Zealand, the wide distribution doubtless being 

 caused by ocean currents. The shells from Macquarie Island are all 

 such as either attach themselves to, or might be found living upon, 

 floating algee. They evidently have been transported in this way, 

 and the presence of some of them at Kerguelen and other localities 

 between Patagonia and Macquarie Island would seem to indicate the 

 direction in which the species have travelled, namely, fi'om west 

 to east, confirming Mr. Hamilton's statement with regard to the ocean 

 currents. Abeady a few species of Mollusca have been quoted as 

 common to the two regions, e.g., Mytilus Magellanicus, Chem., 

 M. chorus, Molin., Saxicava arctica, L., and Callochiton illwninatus, 

 Gray ; also Euthria antarctica, Keeve, and Patella Magellanica, Gmel,, 



^ Ifodiolarca trapezina. 



