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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XI, July, 1957 
grove roots or in the mud, and also among 
shoreline rocks. Commonly associated with 
Nerita undata. 
geographic range: Apparently more 
abundant along continental and high-island 
shores than on atolls. USNM collections are 
distributed from East Africa through the In- 
dian and Pacific oceans to Hawaii and Tahiti, 
and from the Philippines and Marianas south 
to northern Australia. Reported from the 
Ryukyu Islands. Uncommon in Micronesia. 
Littorina undulata Gray, 1839- 
Hirase and Taki (1951) pi. 79, fig. 11; 
Tinker (1952) p. 174, 2 figs, on p. 175. 
Characteristically 0.37 to 0.87 inches long 
with a purplish columella. Exterior variously 
marked with brown zig-zag streaks, dots, or 
indefinite color markings. 
Lives near and above high tide line along 
rocky shores, both ocean and lagoon. Groups 
of L. undulata commonly occur in rock 
crevices. 
GEOGRAPHIC range: USNM collections 
are from the coast of India, Ceylon, and 
Cocos-Keeling Atoll eastward to the Line 
Islands and Samoa, and from southern Japan 
south to New Guinea and New Caledonia. 
Reported from Hawaii but not from Austra- 
lia. Fairly common in Micronesia. 
Family CERITHIIDAE— Ceriths 
Genus Rhinoclavis Swainson, 1840 
Rhinoclavis aluco (Linne, 1758). 
Hirase and Taki (1951) pi. 83, fig. 7. 
Characteristically 2 to 2.5 inches long. 
Ordinarily lives on lagoon shelves, buried 
in sand among roots of turtle grass and other 
seaweeds, or in sand pockets on or among 
small lagoon reefs. Invariably found below 
low tide line, commonly at depths of a few 
feet. 
geographic range: Apparently limited to 
the western and west central Pacific, uncom- 
mon in Micronesia, and absent from Hawaii. 
USNM records are from the Ryukyu, Philip- 
pine, Palau, Caroline, Solomon, Samoan, and 
Fiji islands, the Sulu Archipelago, the Schou- 
ten Islands off New Guinea, and from north- 
ern Australia and New Caledonia. 
Rhinoclavis aspera (Linne, 1758). 
Hirase and Taki (1951) pi. 83, fig. 1. 
Characteristically 1 to 2 inches long. 
Ordinarily lives in sand on lagoon floors or 
off the edge of seaward reefs. Also found in 
sand pockets on seaward reef flats and on 
small lagoon reefs. Invariably occurs below 
low tide line, usually at depths of 3 to 15 
fathoms. 
GEOGRAPHIC range: USNM collections 
are from Mauritius and Ceylon eastward 
throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans to 
the Cook Islands, and from southern Japan 
and Palmyra south to northern Australia. 
Apparently not found in Hawaii, but fairly 
common in Micronesia. 
Rhinoclavis sinensis (Gmelin, 1791) (syn. obe- 
liscus Bruguiere, 1792). 
Hirase and Taki (1951) pi. 83, fig. 4; Tinker 
(1952) p. 166, 3 figs, on p. 167 [as C 
obeliscus Bruguiere]. 
Characteristically 1.25 to 2 inches long. 
Lives among sand and rocks on seaward 
reef flats both windward and leeward, and on 
small reefs of sandy lagoon shelves. Ordi- 
narily found near, or a few feet below, low 
tide line. 
GEOGRAPHIC range: According to USNM 
records, distributed along the entire east Afri- 
can coast from Natal, Durban, South Africa, 
to the Red Sea, eastward throughout the In- 
dian and Pacific oceans to the Society and 
Tuamotu islands, and from southern Japan 
and Hawaii south to northern Australia and 
New Caledonia. A fairly common species in 
Micronesia. 
Rhinoclavis tenuisculpta (Reeve, 1866). 
Characteristically 1 to 1.75 inches long and 
sculptured with nodulose spiral cords, of 
which 4 or 5 may be heavier than the others. 
Shell white and typically mottled with brown, 
