K. J. Bush — Notes on the Family PyramidellidcB. 475 



Art. XLIII. — Notes on the Family Pyramidellidce ; by K. J. 



Bush, Ph.D. 



[Brief Contributions to Zoology from the Museum of Yale Univ. — lxix.] 



There has recently been published by the Boston Society 

 of Natural History an article on the very interesting family 

 of Pyramidellidse, written by Mr. Paul Bartsch,* Assistant 

 Curator in the Department of Mollusks of the U. S. National 

 Museum at Washington City, D. C. 



In his introduction the author carefully reviews all of the 

 literature relating to this family from the northeast coast of 

 America, naming the species in each work, from Thomas Say, 

 in 1821, to George W. Tryon, in 1886. He states that his 

 paper is largely based on the U. S. National Museum collec- 

 tions ; that lie had also for study the collection from the 

 Philadelphia Academy of Sciences and the large private collec- 

 tion of Rev. H. W. Winkley, etc. etc. Quoting, as regards 

 the synonymy : " In the present paper we have confined our- 

 selves to the specimens at hand and to citations of literature 

 necessary to a complete understanding of the nomenclature." 

 A further review of the work on this family, undertaken since 

 1886, and overlooked by Mr. Bartsch, may prove of interest to 

 those studying this group. 



The Pyramidellidsef belonging to the fauna of the east 

 Atlantic have never been studied as a whole, but several stu- 

 dents of Malacology had described a comparatively few species, 

 those of special interest in this connection being from different 

 localities along the coast of New England, West Indies, and 

 Florida ; in many instances without figures and, most unfortu 

 nately, if figures were attempted^ they are at the present time 

 considered too poor for accuracy in determining the species. 



About 1896 the entire, very large collection of the Pyrami- 

 dellidse made by the U. S. Fish Commission during the years 

 from 1872 to 1887, from the Bay of Fundy and the Banks of 

 Newfoundland, south to Cape Hatteras, N. C, as well as 

 many collections made by others at Labrador, Florida, and 

 the Bermudas, in the Museum at Yale University were given 

 into my charge to prepare for publication. In this connection 

 a card catalogue of between 250 and 300 specific names referred 

 to about 75 genera or subgenera was made. 



* Pyramidellidte of New England and the adjacent region. Proceedings 

 Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xxxiv, pp. 67-113, plates 11-14, 1909. 



f This group as given by Tryon (Manual of Conchology, vol. viii, parts 32 

 and 33, pp. 294 to 413, pis. 72 to 79, 1886) is a compilation of all kiiown 

 species with their descriptions and figures ; a new name is proposed where 

 a former one proves preoccupied. 



