221 



An examination of the valves dredged with the type of L. columnarius in 

 100 fathoms, off Cape Pillar; of the valves dredged off the Schouten Island; 

 and the complete specimen dredged off Port Arthur, led me to conclude that 

 they were all conspecific with Torr's L. pelagicus. The girdle of the Port Arthur 

 sp'ecimen, in which a portion is fairly well preserved, is clothed with long, flat, 

 pointed imbricating scales very similar to those of L. liratus, Adams and Angas, 

 but it is furnished also with a number of slender, white spicules, in this respect 

 corresponding with Torr's description of the girdle of L. pelagicus. I wrote 

 recently Mr. Chas. Hedley in reference to this feature, and he has re-examined 

 the type of L. columnarius, and he writes to me as follows, on February 26, 1923 : 

 "The girdle of the type is much shrivelled, but looking at it again for the pur- 

 pose of this letter, I should consider it to be spiculose." 



It will be seen that while there is some divergence in the sculpture and 

 angle of divergence of the various specimens examined (the former is probably 

 due to wearing), there are not sufficient grounds for separating them into two 

 species, the fact of the presence of spicules on the girdle of L. cohimnarius 

 having been overlooked in the original description. Mr. Iredale had concluded 

 that the large specimens I am describing in this paper under the name of L. 

 profundus were possibly Torr's L. pelagicus, because of the spiculose character 

 of the girdle; the extreme elevation of the shell of L. columnarius easily dis- 

 tinguishes that species from any other known member of this genus. I figure 

 a photograph of one of the valves of the type of L. pelagicus, edge on, and also 

 a valve of one of May's L. columnarius in a similar position ; they will be seen 

 to be almost identical. 



Lepidopleurus, profundus, n. sp. 



PI. xvi., figs. 2, 2a. 



{^Lepidopleurus inquinatus. Reeve of Sykes, Proc. Mai. Soc, vol. ii., pt. 2, 1896= 

 Lepidopleurus inquinatus, of Reeve of Ashby, Proc. Roy. Soc. Vict., ii (N.S.), 1921.) 



Introduction. — The recognition of the New Zealand Lepidopleurus, as being 

 conspecific with Reeve's type of Chiton inquinatus, leaves the deep-water species 

 (I.e.) without either description or name. I therefore propose the name of L. 

 profundus, referring to its deep-water habit as compared with its littorine rela- 

 tives, L. liratus, Adams and Angas, and L. inquinatus. Reeve. The specimens 

 referred to in the following description were indeterminately referred to by 

 Iredale and May, in their discussion under the heading Lepidopleurus inquinatus, 

 Reeve (Proc. Mai. Soc, vol. xii., pts. 2 and 3, Nov., 1916, pp. 98, 99). 



General appearance and colour. — Slightly carinated, not evenly arched as in 

 L. matthewsianus, Bed., and is slightly more keeled than is the case in L. liratus, 

 Adams and Angas, sculptured in dorsal and pleural areas with narrow, finely 

 granulose, longitudinal ribs, and in the lateral areas with closely packed, granu- 

 losa radial ribs of about half the width ; this area is also strongly corrugated 

 by transverse growth sulci. 



The colour of the type, which has evidently been in spirit, is pale biscuit 

 colour, but the fresh specimen from Port Arthur is Pinkish-Buff along the dorsal 

 ridge and mottled Pinkish-Cinnamon along the sides (Ridgway's Colour 

 Standards, pi. xxix.). 



Anterior %'alve. — Raised, broad, decorated with closely-packed, very narrow, 

 polished, granulose, radial ribs (about 100 in type) ; the granules coalesce and 

 are less rounded than is the case of L. liratus. 



Posterior valve. — Mucro very distinct, median, or a little behind the middle, 

 the anterior portion decorated similarly to the dorsal and pleural areas of the 

 median valves, the sculpture of the posterior half corresponds with that of the 



