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THE LIBRARY OF THE

FEB6-1941

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

ZOOLOGICAL SERIES

OF
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Volume 24 CHICAGO, JANUARY 31, 1941 No. 17

MALACOLOGICAL NOTES— II

BY FRITZ HAAS

CURATOR OF LOWER INVERTEBRATES
A NEW MARINE PROSOBRANCH SNAIL FROM THE YUCATAN COAST

A small gastropod shell from Yucatan in Field Museum's collec-
tions since 1895 proves to represent a fine new species of the fascio-
larid genus Latirus. On corresponding with Dr. Paul Bartsch of the
United States National Museum about it, I learn that he has already
recognized the same form from three specimens in his charge. One
of these, with photographs of the others, has been forwarded for com-
parison with our specimen. I am greatly indebted to Dr. Bartsch for
his courtesy in allowing me to publish a description of the new form.

Latirus festivus sp. nov. (pi. 1; pi. 2, figs, a, 6).

Type from Mujeres Island, Yucatan, Mexico. No. 13754 Field
Museum of Natural History. Collected in 1895 by C. F. Millspaugh.

Diagnosis.— A small species of Latirus, characterized by heavy
and brightly colored spiral sculpture, by complete absence of axial
ribs and by a comparatively small and narrow aperture which shows
two columellar folds.

Comparisons. — The allied West Indian Latirus ernesti Melville
differs from festivus in its ochraceous ground color with white lirae,
and in the greater number and more nearly equal width of the lirae.
Mitra roborea Reeve, which I suspect to be a Latirus, is known only
from its description and figure. It differs from festivus in being higher
(16.5) and more slender (width only 6.5) ; by different color pattern,
namely, white cords on a blackish-brown background; and by the
cords being, apparently, narrower than the separating spaces.

Description of type. — Shell elongate, biconical to turreted, strongly
and spirally sculptured; aperture comparatively short; a short canal,
curved leftward and backward; spire acuminate with broad apex,
consisting of about six whorls; suture hardly visible. A broad yellow

No. 489 167

168 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

spiral cord or lira just beneath the suture, followed by two narrower
purplish cords of almost equal width bordered with yellow; on the
penultimate and the antepenultimate whorl, a third narrow yellow
cord is developed between the broad subsutural one and the two
narrower lower ones, and there may even be traces of additional
narrow cords on the last two whorls. The last whorl shows one broad
yellow subsutural cord, two to three narrower purplish ones, another
broad yellow one and, lastly, toward the base of the shell, two narrow
purplish cords; the canal is adorned by one broad yellow and two
narrow purplish cords, so that, as a whole, there are three broad
yellow cords and six to seven purplish ones on the last whorl and its
canal. The cords have a polished, enameled surface and are separated
by incised narrower lines; these incised lines are black and show a
fine but distinct vertical striation (pi. 2, fig. a). The apical whorls are
worn and thus have a dull appearance; their colors are alternately
grayish-blue and grayish-purple. The nepionic part of the apex has
entirely disappeared. The columella is lined with an especially heavy
coat of purplish brown enamel, which is raised and forms a decided
rim at its left side and which vividly contrasts in color with the gaily
sculptured outer surface. There are two rather obvious oblique
folds on this columellar enameled coat, corresponding in position
to the continuation of the two purplish spiral cords of the surface
situated between the central and the lower broad yellow cord; but
these two columellar folds are separated from the cords mentioned
by the raised enamel coat of the columella. At the base of the shell
there is a kind of narrow, shallow, umbilical chink, bordered at the
left by the external surface and at the right by the rim of the enameled
coat of the columella.

Measurements. — The type is an immature specimen, measuring
7 mm. in height, 3 in width, and 2.5 in height of aperture; the para-
type measures 10.75 in height, 4.25 in width, and 4 in height of
aperture.

Notes on paratypes. — No. 253874 United States National Museum,
with photographs of two additional specimens in the same lot, are
full-grown, and afford information as to the form of the aperture in the
adult. These shells are much worn. The aperture in these specimens
(pi. 2, fig. &) is pear-shaped, with a small but obvious sinus at the upper
end, bordered by a knob-like protuberance at the left side. The short
canal is narrow, bent to the left and backward. There is no indica-
tion of an external lip; the last whorl seems to bend inward at the
aperture, with an ill-defined thickening of the edge. The external

Field Museum of Natural History

Zoology, Vol. 24, Plate 1

LATIRUS FESTIVUS sp. nov.
Type, Field Museum No. 13754; X

THE LlBUMrf

OF THE
MWERSITY OF

1941 MALACOLOGICAL NOTES— II: HAAS 169

ribs do not appear as teeth on the outer margin of the aperture, but
the incised spiral lines of the outer surface are so impressed as to
form narrow raised ridges on the inner surface, thus appearing as
internal teeth when seen from the aperture. The interior surface
of the aperture is purplish-brown, with the inner ridges whitish by
contrast.

Discussion. — The only species closely allied to the new form is
Latirus ernesti Melville, from the West Indies (pi. 2, fig. c). This shell,
not recorded since its original description (Proc. Mai. Soc. Lond., 9,
p. 147, 1 fig., 1910), is certainly related tofestivus and with it appar-
ently forms a distinct group within Latirus, superficially resembling
typical Latirus (especially L. craticulatus Linnaeus and turritus
Gmelin) but differing in lacking the vertical folds, or rounded ribs,
which cross the spiral cords in the typical subgenus. Other features
of the shell exclude festivus-atod ernesti from the other subgenera of
Latirus. The distinction of a new subgenus for these forms should,
however, await additional material, and especially the study of the
anatomy of the soft parts.

Mitra roborea Reeve was described in 1845 (Proc. Zool. Soc.
Lond., 1845, p. 57) and figured in 1849 (Reeve, Conch. Icon., 2,
pi. 37, fig. 306) without adequate description or statement of its
origin. Most authors have ignored this form, but Tryon (Man.
Conch., 4, p. 140, pi. 41, fig. 201, 1882) lists it as a mitrid of the genus
Cancilla, though suspecting that it might be a Latirus. This supposi-
tion is made more likely by the discovery of festivus.

In the hope of locating the type of roborea, I wrote to Mr. J. R.
Le B. Tomlin, of the British Museum, who replied as follows: "A
few years ago I went through all the Mitridae in the British Museum,
and fortunately kept notes. I do not think that roborea is a mitrid
at all. Anyhow it was described ex coll. Metcalfe and the British
Museum possesses hardly anything of his. I recollect only one set
of types there that belonged to Metcalfe — a Turrid. Some years
ago I made a considerable effort to find out what had happened to
his collection. He seems to have died over ninety years ago. After
much writing I unearthed some grandchildren of his and met one of
them in London. He said that the collection was sold by his father —
probably at Stevens' Auction Rooms — but he could give no details
whatever. Anyhow, all trace of the collection has vanished. As
there is no specimen in existence, I'm afraid roborea must be written
off as a lost species." The figure of Mitra roborea is here reproduced
(pi. 2, fig. d).

170 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY — ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

APICAL SCULPTURE OF THE GENUS IMBRICARIA SCHUMACHER

Neither Schumacher, the author of the mitrid genus Imbricaria
(Essai Nouv. Syst. Habitations Vers Test., p. 71, 1817), nor Swain-
son, who bestowed the generic name of Conoelix upon the group of
species under consideration (Zool. Illus., 1, pi. 24, 1821), nor any
of the subsequent authors of malacological textbooks, mentions the
rather strongly developed apical sculpture of these shells. In their
accounts the apical part of the shell of this genus is described as
almost smooth. Kiister was apparently the only one to note this
strange apical feature of Imbricaria, for he states that the first whorls
of Imbricaria dactyloidea Anton show longitudinal furrows (Martini-
Chemnitz, 111. Conch. Cab., 5, p. 74, 1839).

In arranging the species of Imbricaria in Field Museum I have
been struck by the singular sculpture and peculiar shape of the apices
of some fresh specimens. Thus Imbricaria olivaeformis Swainson
has a blunt apex, consisting of about 3^ whorls which are regularly
latticed by the crossing of vertical striae with two rows of revolving
striae; at the end of the last apical whorl this sculpture becomes
gradually weaker, especially in its lower part, and the following
whorls show only a kind of crenulation on their upper suture, but
are otherwise smooth; the sutural crenulation continues less regularly
on the following whorls (pi. 2, fig. e).

In Imbricaria vanikorensis Quoy the apex is much like that in
the preceding species, but the sutural crenulation is stronger on the
later whorls and continues even to the body whorl; the apex is nearly
cylindrical, passing rather abruptly into the conical part of the spire.
The earliest whorls on the specimen studied are too much worn to
show any traces of sculpture, but they presumably had the same
pattern of cancellation as the adjoining apical whorl (pi. 2, fig./).

ANOTHER AMERICAN RECORD OF BULLARIA STRIATA

In addition to the common North American bubble shell, Bullaria
(Bullaria') occidentalis Adams, a closely related European species,
B. striata Bruguiere, has occasionally been collected on the American
side of the Atlantic Ocean along the shore of Palm Beach County,
Florida. A specimen in Field Museum supplies a further record
with an indisputable specimen, No. 13056, of striata from Charlotte
Harbor, De Soto County, Florida.

APICAL SCULPTURE OF NORRISIA NORRISI

The trochid genus Norrisia Bayle, with its unique species norrisi
Sowerby from California, is described by authors who have dealt

1941 MALACOLOGICAL NOTES— II: HAAS 171

with it, as absolutely or almost smooth. I have found no remark
whatever as to an apical sculpture. A young specimen of Norrisia
norrisi, with only 3}/£ whorls (Field Museum No. 7658), from
Monterey, California, proves that there is a rather dense system
of incised spiral lines on the first whorls in the unworn young shell
(pi. 2, fig. gf). These lines become less obvious on the fourth whorl,
where they are crossed by numerous growth marks; they soon dis-
appear on later whorls. Old and full-grown specimens show scarcely
any traces of this original apical sculpture, since the incised grooves
no longer show on their somewhat worn apical portions.

ADDITIONS TO THE MOLLUSK FAUNA OF BERMUDA

In identifying mollusks collected by T. H. Bean in the course of
the Field Museum Bermuda Expedition, in 1905, I find several spe-
cies new to the archipelago and one species apparently even new to
science. The land shells collected by Bean represent twelve local-
ities and belong to seventeen of the more common species. There
are no pupillids, endodontids, nor any of the smaller zonitids in the
lot. There is no need of enumerating this part of the material.

Marine mollusks from about twenty localities amount to forty-
eight species, most of them widespread and already recorded from
Bermuda. Tenagodus (Agathirsus) squamatus Blainville seems not
to have been recorded since Ball's list. It was taken by Bean
at the Argus Bank, at a depth of thirty fathoms. Other forms
from the same locality include Laevicardium (Laevicardium) mortoni
Conrad, Pusula (Niveria) quadripunctata Gray, and Triphora (Tri-
phora) bermudensis Bartsch.

I am grateful to Dr. Paul Bartsch and Dr. Harold A. Rehder of
the United States National Museum for aid in the identification of
certain forms. Lieutenant Colonel A. J. Peile kindly sent me a
copy of his Mollusca of Bermuda (Proc. Mai. Soc., Lond., 17, pp.
71-98, 1926), brought up to date and corrected by his own hand.

Additions to the Bermudian fauna consist of the following species:

Cerithium (Vulgocerithium) semiferrugineum Lamarck —
Grace Island, Castle Harbor, Field Museum No. 13711
(identified by Dr. Harold A. Rehder).

Pusia (Thala?) torticula Dall— Challenger Bank, 28 fathoms,
Field Museum No. 13727.

This species was described by Dall (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 18,
p. 162, pi. 15, fig. 8, 1889) as Mitra (Thala?) torticula from a single

172 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY— ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

specimen obtained in living state off Havana, in 400 fathoms; in
another publication (Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 37, p. 110, 1889) Ball
cites this species in the fossil state from the Florida Keys and from
the West Indies. These notes seem to constitute the only informa-
tion on this little mitrid shell. A dead shell in good condition from
the Challenger Bank, Bermuda, fits Ball's diagnosis and figure of
torticula almost perfectly. According to more recent ideas I refer
torticula to Pusia, preserving, though with hesitation, the subgeneric
reference to Thala, an otherwise Indo-Pacific subgenus. Examina-
tion of the unknown anatomy of torticula is required to establish
this subgeneric reference, or to place it correctly.

Cymatosyrinx bartschi sp. nov. (pi. 2, figs, h, i)

Type from Argus Bank, Bermuda Islands. No. 13672 Field
Museum of Natural History. Collected October 13, 1905, by Tarle-
ton H. Bean. A dead shell, in good condition, from a depth of
thirty fathoms.

Diagnosis. — A turritid shell of somewhat uncertain generic posi-
tion, characterized by its short, but slender shape, by the absence
of all spiral elements of shell sculpture, by the presence of stout and
rather densely set axial ribs which leave free a conspicuous infra-
sutural constriction, and by a wide, ear-shaped aperture with both
an infrasutural and a basal notch on its outer lip and with a rather
wide canal at its base.

Comparisons. — The new species does not appear to be closely
related to any Atlantic form. I judge it to be most nearly allied to
the Californian Cymatosyrinx ferminiana Ball (Proc. U. S. Nat.
Mus., 56, p. 7, pi. 8, fig. 4, 1919), from which it differs by the wider
ribless infrasutural zone and by the wider aperture with a more
pronounced basal notch.

Description of type. — Shell with a silky luster, vinaceous cinna-
mon, lighter toward the tip, darker toward the base, acute, slender
(pi. 2, fig. h}. Whorls 7%, the first 1% occupied by a smooth, globular,
creamy-white nucleus, whose apex is somewhat sunk and thus does

PLATE 2. a, Latirus festivus sp. nov., the sculpture of the surface; X 24. b, Lati-
rus festivus sp. nov., paratype, U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 253874; X 4.5. c, Latirus ernesti
Melville (from Melville's original picture); X 2.5. d, Mitra roborea Reeve (from
Reeve's original picture); X about 2. e, Imbricaria olivaeformis Swainson, Field
Museum No. 3915, showing apical sculpture; X 7. f, Imbricaria vanikorensis Quoy,
Field Museum No. 13210, showing apical sculpture; X 7. g, Norrisia norrisi
Sowerby, Field Museum No. 7658, young specimen showing apical sculpture; X 5.5.
h, Cymatosyrinx bartschi sp. nov., Field Museum No. 13672; X 5. i, Cymatosyrinx
bartschi sp. nov., shape of outer lip; X 6.

eld Museum of Natural History

Zoology, Vol. 24, Plate 2

THE LIBHAhr
OF THE
OF ILLINOIS

1941 MALACOLOGICAL NOTES— II: HAAS 173

not project above the following part of the first whorl. Only in the
nucleus and in the earlier whorls of the postembryonic shell is the
suture deep and obvious; in the following whorls it becomes increas-
ingly appressed, producing a smooth, somewhat concave infra-
sutural zone on the upper edge of each whorl. The whorls are
rather strongly and regularly swollen, more so toward the base, and
the above-mentioned infrasutural zone produces a marked strangu-
lation at their upper edge. Axial ribs present with no trace of spiral
sculpture. The ribs consist of well-defined, rather narrow, some-
what undulate threads, which are wider than the interstices between
them. There are fifteen of them on the penultimate whorl. They
start just beneath the infrasutural constriction, leaving it almost
smooth and only occasionally extending into it. The ribs are less
elevated above, where they often bend backward, following the
course of the growth lines; the highest part of the ribs lies toward
their lower end. The ribs on the body whorl extend over its widest
part, gradually fading and finally disappearing toward the base of
the shell and toward the aperture. Aperture rather wide, with a
rather wide distinct canal. Columella smooth, covered by a thin
but obvious callus which extends to "the insertion of the outer lip,
forming a somewhat pad-like incrassation in the parieto-palatal
angle. Outer lip (pi. 2, fig. i) with a rounded but marked and short
sinus at a distance from the insertion, a uniformly but slightly
curved broad central part and a rather abrupt notch at the base;
only the central part of the lip is somewhat thickened and slightly
bent inward.

Measurements. — Length 10.5, diameter 4.

Discussion. — Dr. Paul Bartsch and Dr. H. A. Rehder have
examined the type at my request. They find no turritid form like
it in the collection of the United States National Museum. I there-
fore venture to describe it and to name it in honor of Dr. Bartsch,
in recognition of many kindnesses from him. While there is appar-
ently no doubt that we have an undescribed species, its allocation
to the genus Cymatosyrinx Dall is tentative, the exact systematic
position of the shell in question being scarcely recognizable from
the poor material at hand.

MARINE SHELLS FROM THE MANDEL CARIBBEAN EXPEDITION

The Mandel Caribbean Expedition of Field Museum visited a
number of out-of-the-way islands in the Caribbean. Though only
short faunal lists can be given, their publication may be welcome,
since the localities visited have seldom, if ever, been mentioned in

FEB6-

UNIV£R8ITY OF ILLINOIS

174 FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY— ZOOLOGY, VOL. 24

malacological literature. The specimens listed were collected by
Mr. D. Dwight Davis, Curator of Anatomy in Field Museum.

1. Misteriosa Bank, between Cuba and Swan Island (January

1, 1940).

Sepioteuthis ovata Gabb 1

2. Coxen Hole, Ruatan, Bay Islands, Honduras (January 4, 1940).

Diodora alternata Say
Modulus angulatus C. B. Adams
Cerithium (Vulgocerithium) musca-
rum Say

Fasciolaria (Fasciolaria) tulipa Lin-
naeus

3. Southwest Cay, Glover Reef, off British Honduras (January

18, 1940).

Diodora listen d'Orbigny
Nerita (Nerita) versicolor Gmelin
Nerita (Nerita) peloronta Linnaeus
Nerita (Theliostyla) tesselata Gmelin
Cittarium pica Linnaeus
Astraea (Lithopoma) americana

Gmelin
Littorina (Littorinopsis) angulifera

Lamarck
Tectarius (Cenchritis) muricatus

Linnaeus
Tectarius (Echinellopsis) nodulosus

Gmelin
Cerithium (Vulgocerithium) litter a-

tum Born

Slrombus (Strombus) gigas Linnaeus
Polinices (Polinices) lacteus Guild-
ing

Erosaria (Ocellaria) spurca Lin-
naeus

Dolium (Dolium) perdix Linnaeus
Thais (Stramonita) floridana Con-
rad

Thais (Stramonita) deltoidea La-
marck

Conus (Rhizoconus) mus Hwass
Aplysia (Aplysia) dactylomela Rang
Area (Barbatia) barbata Linnaeus
Codakia (Codakia) orbicularis Lin-
naeus
Cyclotellina (Cyclotellina) fausta

Pultney
Sepioteuthis ovata Gabb (l=sepio-

idea Blainville)

Octopus (Octopus) (t)vulgaris La-
marck. Too young to permit a
correct classification

4. Grand Point, Turneffe Island, British Honduras (January 19, 1940) .

Modulus angulatus C. B. Adams
Area (Scapharca) cwnotZataLamarck
Polymesoda (Pseudocyrena) salma-
cida Morelet

Codakia (Codakia) orbicularis Lin-
naeus

5. Mujeres Island, Yucatan, Mexico (January 28, 1940).

Fissurella (Cremides) nodosa Born
Diodora listen d'Orbigny
Nerita (Thelipstyla) tesselata Gmelin
Dolium (Dolium) perdix Linnaeus
Thais (Stramonita) deltoidea La-
marck

Columbella (Columbella) mercatoria
Linnaeus

Cantharus (Cantharus) auritulalAnck
Area (Navicula) umbonata Lamarck
Area (Barbatia) barbata Linnaeus
Phacoides (Lingo) pennsylvanicus

Linnaeus

Chama (Chama) congregata Conrad
Tivela (Tivela) mactroides Born
Venus (Chione) cancellata Linnaeus

6. Cayos de San Felipe, off southwestern Cuba (January 30, 1940).

Codakia (Codakia) orbicularis Lin- Doryteuthis plei Blainville

naeus

1 According to Adam (Siboga Expeditie, 55, pt. 5, Cephalopoda, p. 30, 1939),
this species should be called sepioidea Blainville.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA