THE PHILIPPINE 



Journal of Science 



D. General Biology, Ethnology, 

 AND Anthropology 



Vol. VIII AUGUST, 1913 No. 4 



A DESCRIPTION OF SOME PHILIPPINE THALASSEM^E WITH A 

 REVISION OF THE GENUS 



By Lawrence D. Wharton 



(From the College of Liberal Arts, University of the Philippines) 



Two plates and 3 text figures 



During a residence at the marine biological station of the 

 University of the Philippines and the Bureau of Science at Port 

 Galera, Mindoro, in 1912, I collected 3 species of Thalassema. 

 One of these, Thalassema sorbillans Lampert, was described from 

 the Philippines in 1883 and has not been recorded elsewhere. 

 Another, Thalassema semoni Fischer, has been previously re- 

 corded from Amboina by Fischer, and from the Maldive 

 Islands by Shipley, but has not before been found in the Philip- 

 pines. The third species is new, and I have called it Thalassema 

 griffini in honor of Dr. L. E. Griffin by whose aid and encourage- 

 ment I have been able to complete this paper. Later in the year, 

 Mr. A. L. Day, of this laboratory, on a trip of the Government 

 cableship Rizal, obtained one specimen of a species which seems 

 to be T. formosulum Lampert. A brief description of this 

 specimen has been included. 



Thalassema sorbillans Lampert. 



Thalassema sorbillans Lampert, Zeitschr. f. wiss. Zool. (1883), 39, 

 340; Shipley, Willey's Zool. Results (1899), pt. 3, 352. 



Numerous specimens of this species were collected from a 

 sandy beach on Buquete Island, Port Galera. The sand was 

 fine, containing much organic matter to a depth of about 15 

 cm. ; at this depth it passed abruptly into a layer of coarse, clean 



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