Al12 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History [Vol. LIII 
Aspatharia is here used as the next available name to replace the 
generic name Spatha of recent authors. Spatha was originally proposed 
by Lea for the single species nilotica Sowerby.' It was thus a monotypic 
genus. Lea subsequently? added Anodonta rubens Lamarck, which has 
venerally been considered the type of Spatha. Since the species nzlotica 
is a Mutela, Spatha becomes a synonym of that earlier genus, and we 
are compelled to substitute Aspatharia, which was the first name based 
pea a member of the genus under consideration. 
Subgenera of Aspathoria | 
1. Subgenus Aspatharia, proper. Beaks corrugated, the corruga- 
tions diverging in very broadly A-shape. The rest of the oblong, 
moderately convex valves may be smooth or corrugate-tuberculate. 
Mantle margins wholly open between branchial and pedal orifices. 
Type: Margaritana vignouana Bernardi. | ; 
2. Subgenus Spathopsis Simpson. Beaks having short, concen- 
tric waves, the rest of the oblong or oval, moderately convex valves 
smooth, or rarely having some corrugations on the posterior slope or 
borders. Lunule very narrow, its border slightly higher in the right 
valve. Mantle margins very shortly concrescent below the branchial 
orifice. Type: Anodonta guillaini Récluz. 
3. Subgenus (?) Arthropteron A. T. de Rochebrune. Beaks and 
soft parts unknown. Valves oval, smooth, moderately convex. Lunule 
large, lanceolate. Type: Arthropteron ouassoulou A. T. de Rochebrune. 
4. Subgenus Brazzea Bourguignat. Beaks and soft parts un- 
known. Valves oval, much inflated, thin and lustrous; the thin, 
irregular margin of the left valve projects slightly above the right in 
front of the beaks in perfect examples. Type: Brazzea anceyi Bour- 
guignat. — | 
5. Subgenus (?) Moncetia Bourguignat. Beaks and soft parts 
unknown. Valves oblong with blunt ends, very much compressed and 
flattened; surface dull. Type: Moncetva anceyr Bourguignat. 
The third, fourth, and fifth of these groups probably contain a 
single species each. Arthropteron seems to differ from the rubens group 
of Aspatharie only by its large lunule, a character of rather minor im- 
portance, possibly abnormal. It 1s somewhat curious that de Roche- 
brune repeatedly speaks of this lunular area as posterior, while his figure 
shows that it is anterior to the beaks. 
11838, Trans. American Phil. Soc., N.S., VI, p. 118. 
20p. cit., p. 141. 
