204 



Notes on South Australian Marine Mollusca 

 with Descriptions of New Species. -Part XIV. 



By Jos C. Veroo, M.D. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.). 



[Read October 12, 1911.] 



Plates XXVI. and XXVII. 



Genus Dentalium. 



Since 1904, when I wrote a paper on Dentalium inter- 

 calatum, Gould. (Trans. Roy. Soc, S.A., 1904, vol. xxviii., 

 p. 135), I have dredged in deeper waters, up to 300 fathoms, 

 and have explored the coastline and dredged up to 35 fathoms 

 as far west as St. Francis Island in Nuyts Archipelago, and 

 Point Sinclair; also at Esperance Bay, King George Sound, 

 Ellensbrook, Yallingup, off Bunbury in Geographe Bay, and 

 at Rottnest Island, and off Fremantle in Western Australia. 



As a great amount and a much varied kind of material 

 has thus been accumulated I propose to review my previous 

 Notes on Dentalium and other South Australian genera in 

 the light of these collections. 



Bossevain in "Scaphopodaof the Siboga Expedition, 1906/' 

 p. 22, under Dentalium intercalatum, Gld., reproduces my 

 paper from the Trans. Roy Soc. of S.A. 



In the paper on D. intercalatum, Gld., referred to I 

 write : — "I have vainly endeavoured to discover more than 

 one species among them. They are exceedingly variable, and 

 were it not for intermediate forms quite a dozen species 

 might be created." In going through the literature of 

 Dentalium several species already created ma} T from the 

 description and figures be matched by my specimens, and so 

 would seem to be but variations of the one abundant and 

 protean species. Among these are the following : — 



Dentalium duodecimcostatum, Brazier. 



Dentalium duodecimcostatum, Brazier, Proc. Linn. Soc., 

 N.S.W., vol. ii., 1877, p. 56. Type locality — Darnley Island, 

 Torres Straits, 30 fathoms, sandy mud (Ohevert Exped.); Pils- 

 bry, Tryon, Man. Conch., 1897-8, vol. xvii., p. 13; Hedley, 

 Records Austr. Mus., 1901, vol. iv., p. 128, pi. xvii., fig. 31; 

 Bossevain, Scaphopoda of Siboga Exped., 1906, p. 15. 



Dredged in 22 fathoms in Gulf St. Vincent, 22 in good 

 condition, some alive. 



The only difference between the unique type specimen 

 and mine is that the latter attain the length of only 9 lines 

 instead of 11. 



