144 



off St. Francis Island, 1 poor; in 10 to 15 fathoms, 1 poor; 

 in 17 fathoms Backstairs Passage, 4 dead; in 22 fathoms, 

 6 fresh ; in Gulf St. Vincent, below 25 fathoms, 37 dead and 

 fresh ; in 40 fathoms off Beachport, 6 good ; in 45 fathoms 

 east of Nep tunes, 1 poor; in 55 fathoms off Cape Borda, 

 58 good ; in 62 fathoms, 4 moderate ; in 90 fathoms 

 off Cape Jaffa, 13 moderate; in 104 fathoms, 35 

 miles south-west of Neptunes, 13 moderate; in 110 fathoms 

 off Beachport, 1 fresh, 4 moderate; in 130 fathoms off 

 Cape Jaffa, 1 good, 4 moderate ; in 200 fathoms off Beach- 

 port, 1 very poor. 



Diagnosis. — It approaches P. gemmulifera, Hedley, 

 Proc. Linn. Soc, New South Wales, 1907, vol. 

 xxxii., part 3, p. 510, pi. xix., fig. 44, 

 but has a smooth protoconch ; any axial sculp- 

 ture on it, which is very rare, is only a faint striation near 

 the upper suture, and close to the abrupt ending of the proto- 

 conch, quite different from the ribbing of Hedley's species. 

 The spire-whorls are well rounded, and contain mostly three 

 spirals. It is a larger species. Gatliff and Gabriel have 

 recorded this shell for Victoria in Proc. Roy. Soc, Victoria, 

 1910, vol. xxiii. (N.S.), part 1, p. 89, as Columhella gem- 

 mulifera, Hedley, noting the differences as varietal, which I 

 regard as specific. 



Variations. — When alive the shell is translucent shining 

 uniform light-amber colour, the protoconch rather darker, 

 or a broad whitish band may encircle the middle of the 

 whorls, fading out before reaching the aperture ; the proto- 

 conch may be purple ; generally the shell is translucent or 

 opaque-white, probably from bleaching. Sculpture. — The 

 axials and spirals may be well marked, but the tuberculation 

 obsolete, giving a latticed pattern. There may be two spirals 

 in the first spire-whorl ; the back one may then split behind 

 into a third, which gradually enlarges, and this may in the 

 fourth whorl give off another one behind. There may rarely 

 be three spirals in the first spire-whorl, and four in the 

 second. 



Type in my collection. 



Pyrene cominellaeformis, Tate. 

 Columhella cominellceformis, Tate, Trans. Roy. Soc, South 

 Australia, 1892, vol. xv., p. 126, pi. 1., fig. 8. Type locality— 

 Fowler Bay to Victoria. Pritchard and Gatliff, Proc Roy. Soc, 

 Victoria, 1899 (1898), vol. xi. (N.S.), part 2, p. 204, "Western 

 Port"; Pace, Proc. Mai. Soc, London, 1902, vol. v., p. 68. 



Dredged on Yatala Shoal 6 to 10 fathoms, 1 ; in 15 

 fathoms off Middleton, 1 dead; in 22 fathoms Backstairs 

 Passage, 1 alive, 1 dead. 



