Var. elegans fandtes paa Stat. 23. 
Vestfjorden (Lofoten) er det nordligste Punkt Expe- 
ditionen paatraf denne Art, men Prof. Sars har den fra 
Finmarken. Dr. Jeffreys angiver den fra “Porcupine” Ex- 
peditionen nordenfor Skotland (155—632 Fayne) og fra 
*Valorous” Exped. (690 Favne) imellem Britiske Øer og 
Grønland. 
Fra Stat. 124 (850 Favne) haves en Ægkapsel, halv- 
kugleformig med smal Rand og indeholdende kun 1 Em- 
bryon. Jeg skulde tro, at denne tilhører Troschelia Berni- 
ciensis, uagtet fuldt udviklede Exemplarer ikke her forekom. 
Enten maa den tilhøre Troschelia eller Neptunea ebur. 
Som ganske unge ligne disse to Arter hinanden ikke saa 
lidet, men den første har en noget grovere Spiralsculptur 
og en eiendommelig skarp Længdestriering. Fmbryonet er 
afbildet Tab. III, Fig. 12 a, 5; det er stærkt opsvulmet, 
Spiret nedtrykt og næsten i Niveau med Hovedvindingen. 
Apex fuldstændig regelmæssig. Sculpturen spiralribbet og 
forsynet med stive Haar rundt Ribberne; rundt den grunde 
Sutur gaar ligeledes en Krands af Haar; Længdestriæ 
regelmæssig og skarpe. 
Jeg havde haabet at finde frem Radula, hvad der 
flere Gange har lykkes mig med Embryoner paa et lig- 
nende Udviklingstrin, for derved at faa Arten konstateret, 
men desværre uden Held, saa fuld Sikkerhed for Bestem- 
melsen kan ikke gives. De grove distancerede Spiralribber 
og den regelmessige Længdestriering synes dog at pege 
mere mod Troschelia Berniciensis end mod Neptunea ebur. 
Buccinum. 
Hvad der er Art og hyad der er Varietet inden denne 
Slægts polymorphe Former er vanskelig at afgjøre, og Van- 
skeligheden bliver ikke mindre, jo større Materiale man har 
for sig. Flere hundrede Specimina fra en Mængde Lokali- 
teter ligger for mig, og naar hertil kommer de mange For- 
mer, som jeg har seet omkring i de-europæiske Museer og 
private Samlinger, løber det saaledes sammen, at jeg kunde 
være fristet til kun at erkjende en Art for de nordiske 
Buccina. Men om end der synes at være Overgange imel- 
lem de fleste Arter, saa vil en saadan Sammenslaaen af 
Former neppe være heldig; thi mange af disse have en 
speciel lokal Interesse, og deres Forekomst er indenfor be- 
stemte geografiske Grændser. Saaledes optræder B. groen- 
landicum paa denne Side af Atlanterhavet først nordenfor 
26 
Var. elegans came up at Station 23. 
The Vestfjord (Lofoten) was the most northerly point 
at which the North-Atlantic Expedition obtained specimens 
of this species; but Professor Sars has taken it in Finmark. 
Dr. Jeffreys (*Porcupine” Exped.) records it from the north 
of Scotland (155—632 faths.), and also (“Valorous” Exped.) 
between Great Britain and Greenland, at a depth of 690. 
fathoms. 
At Station 124, depth 350 fathoms, was obtained an 
egg-capsule, semi-globose, with a narrow margin, and con- 
taining only one embryo. The Expedition did not meet 
with Troschelia Berniciensis m this locality, but yet I 
have reason to believe the capsule belongs to that spe- 
cies; any other known form, saving possibly Neptunea 
ebur, is at all events out of the question. In the ear- 
hest stages of development these two species resemble 
each other not a little; but the former has a somewhat 
coarser sculpturing and a peculiar well-defined longitudinal 
striature. The embryo, represented in Pl. HI, fig. 12 a, 3, 
is much inflated; spire depressed and almost on a level 
with the body-whorl. The apex perfectly regular. The spi- 
ral ribs of the sculpturing are furnished with stiff bristles ; 
the shallow suture having likewise a fringe of hairs, the 
longitudinal striæ are regular and distinct. 
I had hopes to extract the radula, — which I have 
several times succeeded in doing with embryos in the 
same early stage of development, — and thus identify 
the species, but failed, I am sorry to say, in the at- 
tempt; and hence a conclusive determination is impossible. 
Meanwhile, the distant and coarse-ribbed spiral sculpture, 
along with the regular longitudinal striature, would seem 
rather to be in favour of Troschelia Berniciensis than of 
Neptunea ebur. 
Buccinum. 
To decide what are species and what varieties within the 
polymorphous forms of this genus is indeed a delicate question 
to adjust; and the difficulty does not tend to diminish in 
proportion as the subjects of examination increase. Seve- 
ral hundreds of specimens from a number of localities 
lie before me; and adding to these all the forms I have 
seen in the Museums of Europe and in private Collec- 
tions, the confusion is such, that I am tempted to acknow- 
ledge only one species of the northern Buccina. But, 
though transition-forms, apparently do occur in most of the 
species, a general heaping together of these congeners can 
hardly be either practical or advisable, seeing that to 
many of the forms attaches special local interest, their dis- 
tribution being strictly confined within certain geographical 
