Andrew

After reading your note, I looked for and found an entry for "Otago Heads"
in my collection. It was for a specimen of Fusitriton magellanicus.

I often wonder about some of the place-names that are on the data slips. It
is nice to get a correction.

Russ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Grebneff" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 8:55 PM
Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] Paging Patrice Bail or Allan Limpus


> On Sat, Dec 27, 2008 at 9:38 PM, Patrice BAIL <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> I can answer. What is your problem?
>> Patrice Bail
>> 2 square La Fontaine 75016 Paris
>
> Hi Patrice
>
> I am concerned to see "Sorenson" or "Sorrenson" Canyon being used as a
> locality. To my knowledge, and that of Bruce Marshall, there is no
> such canyon.
>
> We both think that originally it may have arisen as an error for
> Saunders Canyon, and is now being used deliberately by a certain
> dishonest Australian shell dealer (who, when I e-mailed him politely
> to correct it and other obviously falsified NZ "data", sent me an
> abusive message and cut me off from his online offerings so that I
> could not check on his "data" again).
>
> Saunders Canyon lies off Cape Saunders, which is on the southern side
> of Otago Peninsula, Dunedin. There is certainly no Sorenson Canyon off
> the Otago Peninsula.
>
> The canyons, from south to north, and: Saunders, Papanui, Taiaroa and
> Karitane; all except the last lie off Otago Peninsula, which lies
> within the boundaries of Dunedin city.
>
> Also, "Otago Heads" is a colloquialism, and Powell's use of it is to
> be regretted. Powell also could not spell Katiki Beach, misspelling it
> "Kartigi". There is only one head, Taiaroa Head, which is the south
> side of the Otago Haqbor entrance, and is the northernmost part of the
> peninsula, the very tip. The north side is set into the harbor and is
> the sandy Aramoana Beach.
>
> From Plate 11, Warrington is not on the Otago Peninsula, but some
> kilometers north of Taiaroa Head.
>
> Amuri Bluff is a common error for Haumuri Bluff, which is a classic
> late Cretaceous fossil locality for marine molluscs and reptiles.
>
> A couple of personal observations on NZ volutes:
>
> Alcithoe arabica reaches comfortably over 200mm in Foveaux Strait
> (between South Island and Stewart Island). Some specimens can have as
> many as 9 distinct plaits, though most have fewer.
>
> A. aillaudorum, apart from its slightly larger size, has a strong
> resemblance to the latest Oligocene - earliest Miocene A. lepida.
>
> A. wilsonae "acuminata" occurs right off Otago Peninsula, and I have
> dredged it in and near Papanui Canyon, which lies north of Saunders
> Canyon and south of Taiaroa Head, the4 most-dredged of the Dunedin
> canyons. My largest specimen is on the order of 90-100mm (my
> collection is packed away and not accessible at present), which is
> very thinwalled and lacks a terminal varix; it has a strong
> color-pattern.
>
> I have quite a few specimens of various "forms"  of A. wilsonae from
> the shelf & canyons off Dunedin, and they intergrade. My smallest are
> fully-adult smooth specimens about 3cm in length.
>
> From my specimens of A. knoxi, which comes up live in the same
> dredgehauls as A. wilsonae, and from a specimen supposedly of A.
> wilsonae from the Auckland Islands, I suspect that these two names are
> grades within a single species.
>
> I will be most interested to see what Bruce's molecular work brings to
> light!
>
> I hope this is of some use to you.
>
> Happy New Year!
>
> Regards
> Andrew Grebneff
> Fossil preparator
> Otago University
> Dunedin
> NZ
>
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