47 MOLLUSCA OF KING ISLAND. By W. L. May. WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF FIVE NEW SPECIES. Plate VII. (Read 9th July, 1923.) During the month of Novembei", 1922, I spent some days on King: Island visiting relatives, and took what opportunity offered to investigate the Mollusca. No really comprehensive list of the Island's shell fauna appears to have been pub-lished. In one of the early French expeditions in 1802 the Naturalists Peron and Lesueur made considerable collec-tions, their take being-worked up principally by Lamarck and Blainville. Some of the species described by Tenison-Woods in the seventies of last century were from the Island, and they and others appeared in his Census which was com-piled in 1877. Some of these, however, have not been re-taken and require confirmation. The late Professor Tate had a small parcel of King Island shells sent him by some correspondent, and they were recorded by Tate and May in their Revised Census, 1901. There also appeared in the Victorian nature publication, "The Wombat," Vol. V., page 35, 1902, a fairly long list containing 135 species. I collected at Currie Harbour, Surprise Bay, Eraser, and near "Grassy." The first two on the West Coast, and the others on the East. The mo.st remarkable feature was the absence of many conuiion Tasmanian shells, particularly the larger bivalves. I saw no sign of our common edible mussel, M. plannlatus, no Donivia or Mactra, scarcely any Pecteiis, neither Tellina, Gari, nor CarcUnvi appeared, and the Veneridiai were only represented by Antiyona lucjojnis and Gomphiiia nndnlosu. I saw no Trigonias, but was assured that they have been taken near Fraser. The Chitons are moderately represented, Heteror.nuu sulnnridis being extremely abundant, but Sypha-rochilov peUis-ser])C]itis, so common all round the Tasmanian coa.st, was not seen. The West Coast is very rough and wild, and quite exposed to the prevalent westerly gales; here the rock fauna were Limpets, Moiiodoiita, ncvibicium.
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