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Murex treremis
It is expected that at least one additional trip will be made to the area in the near future to supplement the collections
made in 1964.
The Southwest-Australian cowry Zoila marginata has been described by Gaskoin in 1849. During more than a century the beach
shell preserved in the British Museum remained unique (see Sowerby 1870, Thesaurus Conch., Cypraea, fig. 45-46). In the
present decade, however, a few other specimens have been collected: Three shells have been figured by C. N. Cate (1961,
Veliger 3, plt. 14) and by C. S. Weaver (1961, Sean Raynon Sabado (n.s.) 18:1 and 1962, Sean Raynon Sabado (n.s.) 33:1).
Cate's shell is said to come from Albany, the two other shells came from the Abrolhos Islands (the last specimen was taken
alive). Recently I received from a collector who asked me not to mention his name, three more marginata for examination. Two
came from south of Perth while the third came from Shark Bay.
To illustrate all forms and color variants of P. l. humphreysi would require several plates, and only some have been
illustrated here.
If a new prior name should come to light which would invalidate Gray's C. humphreysi because of primary homonymy or
chronological precedence, only then would C. l. yaloka take its place; in the meantime, however, C. l. yaloka is a junior
synonym of humphreysi (Gray) and does not even merit to be retained as a "form" name.
I have been asked to comment on the opinion of Prof. Dr. F. A. Schilder (Cowry, 1964, 1(7):103) that "The name of the
West-American species allied to Luria isabella Linnaeus, 1758 is mexicana Stearns, 1893, and not (as many modern American
conchologists write) isabellamexicana." Schilder's comment was prompted by our statement: (Emerson and Old, 1963, Amer. Mus.
Novitates, no. 2136, p. 6)"...the component words of an originally proposed compound name are to be united without a hyphen,
and the name is to be treated as originally published in that form," which was based on Articles 26a and 32c(i) of the
current International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
Actually Schilder and I agree on the taxonomic status of Stearns' taxon, which was proposed as "Cypraea (Luponia)
isabella-mexicana" (Stearns, 1893, Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus., 16(941): 348, 352), but we disagree on the nomenclatural status of
this taxon, because of differing interpretations of the above mentioned provisions of the Code. We both concur in the belief
that Stearns' taxon is a distinct species which is closely related to Cypraea isabella Linné of the Indo-Pacific fauna.
Schilder, however, cites Stearns' taxon as {Cypraea} mexicana, believing that " 'Cypraea isabella-mexicana' is to be regarded
as a ternary designation of the subspecies mexicana belonging to the species isabella." Whereas I cite Stearns' taxon as
{Cypraea} isabellamexicana, following a literal interpretation of the Code.
Official interpretations of the provisions of the Code must be based on decisions made by all the members of the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, and until this matter has been decided by this body, students must use
their own judgment, based on objective criteria, in interpreting the Code.
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murex treremis
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