22 CARBONICOLA, ANTHRACOMYA, AND NAIADITES. 



1856. This description King pointed out, in a note (dated December 27th, 

 1855) appended to his paper "On Anthracosia, &C.," 1 could not be accepted for 

 his shell. He said, " A few days ago (December 22nd) I received from Professor 

 Sedgwick, for the library of Queen's College, Galway, the Third Fasciculus of 

 his ' Synopsis of the Classification of British Palaeozoic Rocks,' in which I perceive 

 that Professor McCoy has published a genus under the name Carbonicola. My 

 friend evidently thinks it synonymous with Anthracosia, which he admits being 

 aware that I intended describing. However, if the genus Carbonicola possess the 

 characters diagnosed by Professor McCoy, it is clearly not the same as my 

 Anthracosia, which does not possess lateral teeth. There are certain errors in the 

 remarks under the genus Carbonicola, which it must be obvious to anyone that I 

 am not called upon to correct ; but it is otherwise with several interspersed 

 through the work," &c, December 27th, 1855. 



It is a curious fact that amongst the many hundreds of shells I have seen and 

 examined from British and foreign Coal-measures none possess anterior or pos- 

 terior lateral hinge-teeth, nor is there any specimen in the Woodwardian Museum 

 at Cambridge, where Professor McCoy obtained his types, which answers to his 

 description. I can altogether bear out Professor King's contention that, what- 

 ever the shell which Professor McCoy thought he was describing may have been, 

 it could not have been an interior of one of the Coal-measure bivalves. Was he 

 drawing from his knowledge of recent Unios, and, like Sowerby, de Koninck and 

 later on Salter, stating what he thought probably would be seen if he obtained an 

 interior ? 



Professor McCoy enumerated under his genus Carbonicola the following 

 species : 



Carbonicola acuta. 



„ subconstricta. 



Carbonicola subconstricta, var. robusta. 

 „ turgida, Brown. 



He gave reasons for considering C. robusta as only a variety of subconstricta. 



Professor King in his paper (supra cit.) gives a good description of the 

 generic characters of Anthracosia, and shows reasons for considering that it 

 belongs to the family Unionidds. He gives figures of the hinges of Anthracosia 

 Beaniana, and the exteriors of Anthracosia acuta, Sow., and Anthracosia Smithii, 

 Brown. 



The description of the hinge and teeth, as given by Professor King, is rather 

 complex, and is the form of hinge which the species Anthracosia, aquilina possesses. 

 I shall, I think, show that King's A. Beaniana is one of the varietal forms of 

 A. aquilina. 



1 ' Arm. Mag. Nat. Hist.,' ser. 2, vol. xviii, January, 1856, pp. 51 — 57, pi. iv. 



