306 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. VI, October, 1952 
ornamentation typically most prominent on 
upper whorls, spiral most prominent on lower 
whorls; transverse ridges sometimes nearly 
obsolete on body whorl; inner lip with slight 
callus; outer lip plain, thin; aperture about 
1/3 length of shell, ridged inside by spiral 
sculpture; sutures distinct, usually with nar- 
row shelf just at sutures; short, curved ante- 
rior canal; conspicuous groove at base of 
body whorl; columella spirally ornamented, 
often with groove on upper part; shell color 
ashen. 
Some specimens of N. perpinguis possess 
one or two bands of darker color around the 
middle of each whorl (PL II, Pig. 4). Berry 
(1908) named these specimens variety bifas- 
ciata. However, these shells are now con- 
sidered merely color variations of no taxo- 
nomic significance. 
RECENT GEOGRAPHIC RANGE: Puget Sound, 
Washington, to Magdalena Bay, Lower Cali- 
fornia. 
HABITAT: Common in 10 to 50 fathoms, in 
sand. 
Nassarius californianus (Conrad) 
PL II, Fig. 6 
Schizopyga californiana Conrad, Acad. Nat. Sci. 
Phila., Proc. for 1856: 315, 1856; Carpenter, 
Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Rpt. for 1863: 593, 
1864. 
Schizopyga californica Conrad, Tryon, Man. 
Conch. I, 4: 55, pL 3, fig. 32, 1882. 
Nassa californiana Conrad, Keep, West Amer. 
Shells, p. 185, 1904; Arnold, Calif. Acad. 
Sci., Mem. 3: 231, [non] pi. 4, fig. 3, 1903. 
Alectrion {Schizopyga) californiana Conrad, 
Dali, U. S. Natl. Mus., Proc. 51: 576, 1917; 
Dali, U. S. Natl. Mus., Bui. 112: 102, pi. 
11, fig. 4, 1921. 
Alectrion {Schizopyga) californianus Conrad, 
Oldroyd, I. S., Stanford Univ., Pubs., Univ. 
Ser. Geol. Sci. 2(1): 264, pi. 26, fig. 13, 
1927. 
Alectrion californiana Conrad, Jordan, South. 
Calif. Acad. Sci., Bui. 23: 149, 1924. 
Nassarius {Schizopyga) californianus (Conrad), 
Grant and Gale, San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist., 
Mem. 1: 672, pi. 26, fig. 49, 1931; Keep, 
West Coast Shells, p. 228, 1935. 
Nassarius californianus (Conrad), Jordan, Stan- 
ford Univ., Dept. Geol. Contrib. 1(4): 114, 
1936; Smith and Gordon, Calif. Acad. Sci., 
Proc. IV, 26(8): 187, 1948. 
TYPE LOCALITY: Santa Clara, California 
(Oldroyd, 1927). 
There is much confusion concerning N. 
californianus. Woodring (1946) says the spe- 
cies is based on fossil material which has been 
lost, so the status of this species is uncertain 
until a neotype is designated. The locality of 
this type material was near Santa Clara, Cali- 
fornia, presumably Pliocene. Woodring be- 
lieves this fossil material probably was the 
species later described as Nassa" moraniana. 
"N." moraniana is an extinct Pliocene species 
not known to occur in the Pleistocene. He 
claims the Recent species identified by Dali 
as californiana is not moraniana and evidently 
is not californiana and thus needs a new 
name. Grant and Gale (1931) state, "Whether 
the shell figured by Dali (1921) as califor- 
nianus is identical with Conrad’s presumed 
Miocene species cannot be said at the present 
time." Grant and Gale (1931) further state 
that "Arnold’s figure in his San Pedro memoir 
(1903) is not typical of Conrad’s species, and 
may be of an undescribed variety or even a 
new species." Woodring (1946) proposes a 
new name, "Nassa" delosi, for Arnold’s figured 
californiana. 
The shell figured by Dali (1921) represents 
the species generally recognized today as Nas- 
sarius californianus. Consequently, Dali’s spe- 
cies is the basis of the following description. 
DESCRIPTION: Maximum length, 37 mm.; 
average length, 23-25 mm.; 6 or 7 rounded 
whorls; spiral ribs crossed by transverse ridg- 
es; spiral and transverse sculpture about 
equally well developed, giving shell reticulate 
surface; sutures well defined; aperture about 
1/3 length of shell, with ribs usually not 
apparent within; outer lip plain; callus usu- 
