164 
Records of the Australian Museum (2017) Vol. 69 
Netherlands (middle Miocene). Cypraea ( sensu lato). 
Family Cypraeidae. 
6 Janthinaprimigenia Seguenza (1867:18, figs 1 a-3) and / 
delicata (Philippi, 1844) var. subangulosa Seguenza (1867: 
19), Pliocene, Messina, Sicily. In a review of Seguenza’s 
types remaining in the University of Florence, Bertolaso 
and Palazzi (2000: 34, figs 54-55) illustrated type material 
of Janthina delicata var. subangulosa, and concluded 
that it is a synonym of Torellia delicata (Philippi, 1844). 
Evidently no type material remains of J. primigenia ; 
many of Seguenza’s types were destroyed in the Messina 
earthquake. The small size (D c. 8 mm), low, wide shape, 
numerous narrow whorls and simple, close, fine spiral 
sculpture revealed in Seguenza’s illustrations show that 
these names do not refer to species of Janthina ; both are 
assumed to refer to Torellia delicata (Philippi, 1844). 
Torellia, Family Capulidae. 
7 Shuto (1969: 98, pi. 6, figs 15-18) recorded Janthina 
janthina from latest Miocene rocks of Panay Island, 
Philippine Islands. His illustrations show a small, smooth, 
low-spired shell with a narrowly open umbilicus, evenly 
inflated whorls without the peripheral angulation of J. 
janthina , a straight acline outer lip, and a large (width 3.25 
mm) low protoconch of less than one whorl, so it is clearly 
a direct-developing species; apparently based on a juvenile 
specimen of a terrestrial pulmonate snail. 
8 Sherbom (1922-1933) listed four further names in Janthina 
based on Palaeozoic fossils. Morch (1860: 272) also 
listed several Palaeozoic genera that he thought might be 
related to living pelagic gastropods, including pteropods 
and heteropods: Platyschisma , Raphistoma , Scalites, and 
several species of Murchisonia and Pleurotomaria. This 
list was repeated by Tryon (1887). In view of suggestions 
of a poorly known pre-late Miocene fossil record (Niitzel, 
1998: 89) it is important to record that ah these Palaeozoic 
fossils are now referred to superfamilies Murchisonioidea 
or Pleurotomarioidea and have no relationship to 
Epitonioidea. The species listed by Sherborn are all 
Carboniferous: 
a Janthina glabrata (Phillips).—McCoy in Griffith (1842: 
19); Pleurotomaria glabrata Phillips (1836: 228), 
Pleurotomarioidea. 
b Janthina helicoides (Phillips).—McCoy in Griffith 
(1842: 19); Pleurotomaria helicoides (J. Sowerby) in 
Phillips (1836: 228); Ampullaria helicoides J. Sowerby 
(1826: 40), Pleurotomarioidea. 
c Janthina issedon Vemeuil in Murchison et al. (1845: 
341, pi. 23, figs 5a-b); Scalites issedon (Verneuil) 
in d’Orbigny (1850: 121); Scalites was referred to 
Raphistomatidae (Pleurotomarioidea) by Knight et al. 
(in Moore 1960: 201). 
d Janthina ovoidea (Phillips).—McCoy in Griffith (1842: 
19); Pleurotomaria ovoidea Phillips (1836: 228), 
Pleurotomarioidea. 
Nomina nuda. Several names proposed in Janthina were 
not accompanied by descriptions or illustrations and remain 
nomina nuda. They are listed here with comments, and are 
not included in any of the synonymies below. 
1 Janthina subsinuosa Bronn: Bronn (1826: 328) merely 
listed this name. Presumably based on a Recent 
Mediterranean species of Janthina , but unrecognisable; 
not J. exigua , which is listed on the same page. 
2 Janthina vulgaris Grant: Grant (1833: 14) recorded large 
numbers of Janthina “ vulgaris Lam.” and Velella cast 
ashore at Whitsand Bay, near Land’s End, Cornwall. No 
description or reference accompanied the name. Gray later 
published the name J. vulgaris in several places, but it 
remained a nomen nudum until validated by Gray (1850: 
101), referring to earlier illustrations by Lister, “Forskael”, 
Cuvier, Lesueur, and Quoy [& Gaimard] as referring to this 
species. These references demonstrate that Gray (1850) 
intended to use the name J. communis (= J. janthina ) rather 
than J. vulgaris ; he used the name J. communis for the same 
Quoy & Gaimard illustration earlier in the same work (Gray 
1850:9; referring to Lister, Quoy [& Gaimard, 1833, pi. 29, 
figs 1-2] and “Forskael”), and there is no voucher material 
bearing the name Janthina vulgaris in NHMUK. 
3 Janthina bifida “Nuttall”: Jay (1839: 68) listed this name 
without any indication or description, other than the locality 
“Wahoo” (Oahu, Hawaii) and it has never been made 
available. 
4 Ianthina rotundata (Leach ms) Dillwyn and Ianthina 
mediterranea (Jeffreys ms) Dillwyn: Dillwyn (1840: 59) 
included in a section “Zoological memoranda” the following 
statement: “1824, July—many thousand shells of Janthina, 
of which some retained the animals alive, and skeletons 
of the Medusa Velella and of the Medusa Navicula were 
thrown on the shores of Oxwich Bay—the weather was 
remarkably hot at the time. A few of these Janthina , which 
had before at different times been washed up in the same 
bay, received from Dr Leach his MS name of J. rotundata, ; 
and Mr Jeffreys informs me, that among the multitude 
which now covered the shore, he detected a few shells of 
J. mediterranea mixed with them” [Italics added]. Smart 
& Cooke (1895: 298) also gave an account of strandings in 
the Scilly Isles under the name “ Ianthina rotundata Leach”, 
presumably referring to J. janthina , although again there is 
no way of telling which species they intended. They noted: 
“Occasionally driven on shore from the westward, on the 
beaches facing south-west. The Scillonians have an idea 
that they come in at fixed periods of about seven years. The 
South Wales fishermen about Tenby have the same belief. 
... Occasionally they have occurred in such numbers that 
hundreds might have been collected at once”. The main 
other mention of these nomina nuda the writer is aware of 
is by Locard (1898: 1), who listed “[Janthina] rotundata, 
Leach, 1840. In Dillwyn, Contr. Hist. Swans., p. 59” in the 
synonymy of J. communis. Laursen (1953) also included/. 
rotundata Dillwyn in the synonymy of J. janthina , but did 
not mention/ mediterranea. Some later authors have listed 
J. rotundata Leach as a nomen nudum in the synonymy 
of J. janthina , but the writer is not aware of any means of 
determining which species were intended by these names. 
5 lodes angulatus and lodes norrisii Leach: Gray [ex Leach 
ms] (1847a: 269) published a list of names of British 
Mollusca, including the nomina nuda lodes angulatus and 
lodes norrisii. In Gray’s editorial introduction to Leach 
(1852: x) (Petit, 2012: 94, note 29), Gray stated that lodes 
angulatus Leach is “ Ianthina vulgaris Lam.” ( nomen 
nudum , presumably intended for Z communis Lamarck, = 
J. janthina ), but did not identify lodes norrisii. 
6 Janthina striata Montrouzier: Montrouzier (1860: 115) 
listed this name after his description of J. capreolata 
(Montrouzier, 1860: 114, pi. 11, fig. 4) without providing 
any description or indication for J. striata , and the name 
has never been made available. 
7 Janthina bipartita Tenison Woods: Tenison Woods (1878: 
