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TESTACEA ATLANTICA
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TESTACEA ATLANTICA
OR THE
LAND AND FRESHWATER SHELLS
THE AZORES, MADEIRAS, SALVAGES, CANARIES,
CAPE VERDES, AND SAINT HELENA
T. VEBNON WOLLASTON, M.A, F.L.S.
if
LONDON
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1878
BIOLOGY
LIBRARY
Calm in its beauty lay the western sea;
And every rippling wave which leapt around
Those craggy iales took up the ehoral sound
Which tells, great pictured Continent, of thee.
O blest ATLANTIS, can the legend be
Built on l wftcf fancied wfafch^ thy name surround 1
Ot doihu the, story of thy classic , abound
With the. stefliv a>itsi of ^ature's'-face/ agree ?
What if no tongue may tell ! thy halo fair
Still lingers round the isles which slumber there ;
And as those towering peaks, sun-gilded, rise
Into the bosom of primeval skies,
Bathed in God's glance, and ocean-girt, they stand,
Like trophies left by time to mark that shadowy land.
Lyra Devoniensis, p. 135.
EVEN HAD IT NOT BEEN CERTAIN, FROM HIS HIGH
SCIENTIFIC ATTAINMENTS AS A GENERAL NATURALIST,
THAT NO WORTHIER NAME COULD BE CONNECTED WITH
THE DEDICATION OF THE PRESENT VOLUME THAN THAT
OF THE LATE
RICHABD THOMAS LOWE, M.A.
I NEVERTHELESS SHOULD HAVE FELT THAT THE PAR-
TICULAR FRIEND OF MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS' STANDING,
IN WHOSE COMPANIONSHIP SOME OF THE PLEASANTEST
PERIODS OF MY LIFE HAVE BEEN SPENT, AND THAT
TOO AMONGST THE VARIOUS ISLANDS OF THESE ATLANTIC
ARCHIPELAGOS, IS THE ONE OF ALL OTHERS WITH WHOSE
MEMORY IT IS MY EARNEST DESIRE THAT IT SHOULD
BE ASSOCIATED
M15723
PREFATORY REMARKS.
IT is now exactly thirty years since I commenced to collect (in
the autumn of 1847) the Land-Shells of the various outlying
islands and rocks of the Madeiran Group ; and although Insects,
rather than Mollusca, formed at that time the main object of
my researches, I was nevertheless enabled to add a considerable
number of unmistakeably new species to the careful and elabo-
rate catalogue which had previously been compiled by my excel-
lent friend, and after-companion, the late Eev. K. T. Lowe. Not
10 mention the many explorations and encampments which I
subsequently enjoyed in Mr. Lowe's company during four suc-
cessive trips to the archipelago, the last of which occupied the
summer of 1855, it was not until January of 1858 that the
liberality of John Gray, Esq., gave me the first opportunity of
turning my attention to the Canarian fauna.
By a somewhat curious coincidence Mr. Lowe was at that
particular time spending the winter in Teneriffe, so that Mr.
Gray's yacht was generously placed at our disposal to visit the
numerous islands of the widely-scattered Canarian Group ; and,
although Mr. Gray's sojourn was unexpectedly curtailed, I did
not return to England until the following July, and with the
full intention, even then, of making a second expedition so soon
as the necessary arrangements could be completed. This, for-
tunately, did not require long ; for I again had a very profitable
interval, from February to July of 1859, in the Canarian archi-
pelago, joined, as before, by Mr. Lowe.
Seven years now elapsed, during which I was completely
taken-up by the working out of the material which had been thus
v iii PREFATORY REMARKS.
lately accumulated ; and it was in January of 1866 that Mr.
Gray once more offered his yacht for a united trip to the Cape
Verdes, Mr. Lowe, as on the previous occasions, accompanying
us. Our stay at the Cape Verdes extended over but a couple of
months, added to which the season was unusually dry and un-
productive ; nevertheless we gained a certain knowledge of the
fauna, sufficient, at any rate, to convince us of its extreme
poverty.
I had now an interval of nine years, without anything fur-
ther to occupy me beyond the gradual elaboration, and occa-
sional readjustment, of the island material, according as fresh
supplies were transmitted by various naturalists who chanced,
from time to time, to visit one portion or another of the Atlantic
Groups ; but in August of 1875 Mr. Gray again stepped forward
with a totally new proposal, namely, that we should take a
a steam into the southern hemisphere and make the acquaint-
ance of St. Helena. Meanwhile our worthy and greatly valued
friend, the Rev. R. T. Lowe, had passed to his rest, a sad acci-
dent having overtaken him, on his outward voyage to Madeira,
during April of the preceding year ; so that we could no longer
reap the advantage of his society and experience ; nevertheless
all that we could do, to supply the deficiency, we did, and were
on this occasion joined by Mrs. Wollaston, who had become
deeply interested in the Lepidopterous fauna of the islands of
the Atlantic. We accordingly made ourselves ready for a last,
and thorough, campaign ; and, having received, through the
kind consideration of the Earl of Carnarvon, special letters to
His Excellency the Governor, H. R. Janisch, Esq., and having
had quarters allotted to us in the best and most central resi-
dence in the island, ' Plantation House,' a spot from whence
the great Cabbage-Tree ridge is the most easily accessible, we
reached the remote little rock on the 4th of September 1875,
and at once commenced our researches. Mr. Gray having de-
cided to move on after a few weeks to the Cape of Good Hope,
we remained exactly six months at Plantation ; and during that
period we were enabled to investigate the Natural History of
the island with a fair amount of accuracy.
I have thought it desirable to enter into the above details,
PREFATORY REMARKS. ix
in order to place on record that the several islands and archipe-
lagos (with the exception of the Azores) which are treated of in
this volume have been visited personally by myself. Neverthe-
less I should hardly have been inclined to undertake so serious
a task as the critical examination of the characters and habitats
of so many species, had not the bequeathment to me by Mr.
Lowe of his extensive conchological collections (to be distributed
to various Museums, though with power to reserve for my own
use whatever types I might require) thrown on to my hands a
mass of material so unexpected that, in order to do it full jus-
tice^ I felt that it would be absolutely necessary to treat the
whole subject afresh, and to revise (so far as was practicable)
every form which has hitherto been published from the island-
groups to which the present memoir has reference.
I will merely add that this Treatise is not intended to be a
Monograph, but rather a critical enumeration of all the forms
which have been recorded, up to the present date, in the several
Atlantic archipelagos ; nevertheless in most cases I have given
diagnostic remarks which it is hoped will be found useful, if
not in every instance actually to identify the species, at any
rate to supplement the published descriptions of them, and to
point out more particularly in what they differ from their im-
mediate allies. And since I have the firmest conviction that
the question of habitat is even more important (if possible) in
a professedly geographical catalogue than elsewhere, I have
spared no labour in sifting the evidence for the exact localities
(in those instances where I have not been able to vouch for
them by personal observation), and have frequently preferred
to omit the latter altogether than run the risk of perpetuating
confusion by placing upon record what there is every reason to
suspect is not strictly accurate. This being the case, I have
been less anxious to erect new species than to clear up difficul-
ties concerning the old ones, and have always therefore avoided
doing so except in instances where the characters were well de-
nned and it seemed positively essential that the additional
forms should not be omitted from the list. Indeed, although
the mere titles of a few others have of necessity been altered, the
following twenty-nine are the only actual novelties which I
have considered it necessary to characterize :
x PREFATORY REMARKS.
Hyalina osoriensis . . Canaries
Mellissii . . .St. Helena
Patula garachicoensis . Canaries
Helix (Iberus) forensis . . Madeiras
(Leptaxis) subroseotincta . Cape Verdes
(Macularia) gibbosobasalis ". Canaries
(Hemicycla) vermiplicata , '%-' , Canaries
granomalleata . Canaries
nivarise . . Canaries
(Gronostoma) crispo-lanata ; Canaries
beata . . Canaries
gomerse . . Canaries
(Hystricella) echinoderrna . Madeiras
Leacockiana Madeiras
(Coronaria) Grabhami . Madeiras
(Lemniscia) Watsoniana . Canaries
Bulimus palmensis . . . Canaries
osorien-is . ' . . Canaries
chrysaloides \ . Canaries
interpunctatus 'V-. . Canaries
Lowei . . . Canaries
savinosa . . ; Canaries
Subulina melanioides . . St. Helena
Pupa Loweana . . . Madeiras
corneocostata . . * Madeiras
relevata . . . Madeiras
degenerata, W. . . Madeiras
Lovea iridescens, W. . . Madeiras
Auricula Watsoni, W. . . Salvages.
Throughout the various local catalogues (given at the end
of each respective section) I have prefixed an asterisk (*) to
those species which have been found likewise in a subfossil con-
dition ; and when the name is also in italics, it implies that the
particular species has hitherto been met with only subfossilized,
in which case, until evidence to the contrary has been ad-
duced, the latter must be regarded practically as extinct.
As a matter of generalization, however, it is only in the
Madeiran list that I would place any reliance on the conclu-
PREFATORY REMARKS. xi
sions to be drawn from the subfossil statistics ; for it is in the
Madeiran archipelago alone that the Heliciferous deposits
(whether calcareous or muddy) have been accurately denned (as
regards their extent and character), and systematically investi-
gated ; and although it is true that beds of a similar nature
exist in the other Groups also, they have not there been pointed
out, or localized, with equal precision, and it is to be feared
that many of the forms which have been reported, from time to
time, by travellers, as ' subfossilized,' were founded upon
examples which were merely dead and bleached, and which, in
point of fact, were not obtained from any deposits which could
be looked upon as truly subfossiliferous ones. In the Madeiran
archipelago, on the contrary, the beds are both well known and
rigidly circumscribed, and may therefore be safely reasoned upon
in discussing the geological structure of the islands ; and, al-
though in reality there may be more of them than those with
which we have hitherto become acquainted, it is only from three
regions, up to the present date, that the strictly subfossil speci-
mens are recognized, namely (1) Porto Santo, (2) near Canical
in Madeira proper, and (3) on the extreme summit of the
Southern Deserta. So uniform however is the geological con-
formation of these various sub- African Groups, that we may feel
tolerably confident that the same arguments which apply to the
Madeiras will apply with an almost equal amount of truth to
the others.
TEIGNMOTJTH, Oct. 11, 1877.
CONTENTS.
Page
PREFATORY REMARKS . . . . . v . vii
I. AZOREAN GROUP ......!
II. MADEIRAN GROUP . . . . . 57
III. SALVAGES . . . . . . . 290
IV. CANARIAN GROUP , . , . . . 298
V. CAPE VERDE GROUP .. . . . . . . 487
VI. ST. HELENA ... . . , . . 529
SUMMARY AND GENERAL CATALOGUE . . . . 561
INDEX 581
TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
I. AZOEEAN GEOUP.
THE islands of the Azorean archipelago are the only ones treated
of in this volume with which I have personally no acquaintance;
and so desirable do I consider it that some practical knowledge
of the principal habitats concerned should be possessed by any-
body who undertakes to review critically the natural productions
of a given region, that nothing would have induced me to admit
the Grastropodous fauna of the Azores into the present cata-.
logue did not the geographical position of the group give it so
especial an interest in connection with the Madeiras and the
Canaries that I cannot but feel that it is better to waive all
scruples with reference to a personal exploration than omit the
opportunity of incorporating whatever happens to be known on
that branch of our subject which pertains to those particular
islands. I shall therefore, with the help of such material as
I have been able to examine, rely almost exclusively for my
data on the only three works, relating to that archipelago, to
which I have access ( the only three, indeed, so far as I am
aware, which contain any information which is at all to be
depended upon), namely (1) Notice sur VHistoire Naturelle
des Acores, par A. Morelet, Paris 1860; (2) Elements de la
Faune Acoreenne, par H. Drouet, Paris 1861 ; and (3) a
Natural History of the Azores, by Frederick Du Cane Godman,
F.L.S., London 1870.
So intimately bound-up are the Azores with the various
other islands of (what we may be permitted to designate) this
4 Atlantic province,' and so significant is their bearing on the
general questions relating to the whole fauna, that we must be
thankful for the results of even the comparatively small amount
of labour which has hitherto been bestowed upon them. Yet,
B
2 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
although far less so than either their plants or their Coleoptera
(the former of which have been accurately investigated by Dr.
Seubert, Mr. H. C. Watson, and others), the Land Mollusca of
the archipelago, owing to the observations of Morelet, Drouet,
and Grodman, have .perhaps been better worked-out than the
geiie^aiity otVthe/clep^rtments of which, in the aggregate, the
.Natural jlistpry is made up. Yet, judging from the analogy of
^IjeJ inO: 1 ^ ^outhBrn: groups, it is impossible to believe that the
nine islands which compose this widely-scattered assemblage
(and which are mapped out, as it were, into three divisions
topographically distinct) should possess no more (or even no
considerable number more) than the 7 1 Pulmoniferous Gastro-
pods which have been brought to light, for the most part, by
the united exertions of the three independent explorers to whose
published volumes I have just called attention. Eather should
we suspect that a longer and more careful research, in distant
spots and at a high altitude, such as have shown themselves to
be so prolific at the Madeiras and Canaries, will sooner or later
augment the list to (if not more) at least 1 00 species.
Perhaps however it will be objected that the Cape Verdes,
on the other hand, which include a more extensive area still,
and are represented by no -less than ten islands, have as yet
yielded but 40 Gastropods, and that, moreover, to a larger
number of investigators. But to this I would reply, that the
cases are not parallel ones : for the unhealthy and poverty-
stricken Cape Verdes have become so deteriorated and dried-up
since the destruction of their forests, and after all have been
visited for periods so short and insufficient by each successive
adventurer, that the several departments of their Natural His-
tory have not stood a fair chance of a proper examination ;
whereas the Azores, which enjoy one of the dampest atmospheres
in the world and are more or less clothed with a rich vegetation
(even though seldom aboriginal), present all the conditions
except those of soil (which however is much the same in the
whole of these Atlantic archipelagos) for the full development
of the Terrestrial Mollusks ; so that I do not believe that a safe
comparison can be instituted, from the data as hitherto ascer-
tained, between the respective faunas of those two particular
groups. Far rather should we be content to contrast the
Azorean fauna with that of the Madeiras (which already num-
bers 176 species, well separated from each other), or with that
of the Canaries, which, although less perfectly investigated,
has been found to contain (even hitherto) 189.
When we consider the geographical position of the Azores
with reference to Europe, the centre of the group being in
much the same latitude as Lisbon, and when we also bear in
AZOREAN GROUP. 3
mind the constant intercommunication which is (and long has
been) going on between Portugal and the islands, and when we
further recollect how eminently liable many of the Terrestrial
Mollusks are to accidental transport through indirect human
agencies, it is not surprising that we should find a larger
European element in the Azorean fauna than what is indicated
in the sub- African archipelagos farther to the south. Thus,
out of the 71 species which have been proved to inhabit the
cluster, about 27 (some of which have been established equally in
the Madeiras, Canaries, and Cape Verdes) exist on the opposite
continent, leaving 44 eatfra-European ones, which we may
perhaps pause for a few moments to contemplate. Now these
44 members of the Gastropoda are not all of them exclusively
Azorean ; and it is natural therefore to enquire if they include
amongst them anything which is sufficiently characteristic of
the (so-called) ' Atlantic province ' to tend to affiliate the pre-
sent group, in any degree whatsoever, with the more southern
ones which have yet to be considered. Remembering the mar-
vellous segregation of the e#ra-European types in the Madeiras
and Canaries, the majority of which are confined to their own
particular islands and do not permeate even their respective
archipelagos, we should a priori anticipate that there would be
next to nothing in common (when the European element has
been removed) between the faunas (whether singly or combined)
of those groups and that of the Azores. Yet there are a few
points of contact, nevertheless, which seem to me to bespeak a
certain unmistakable affinity between them. Thus the Helix
erubescens and paupercula and the Patula pusilla, all of them
emphatically ' Atlantic,' are represented at the Azores and
Madeiras, the second extending to the Canaries, and third to
the Canaries, Cape Verdes, and even St. Helena ; and the Pupa
microspora, which is essentially sylvan and unlikely to be
introduced by accidental means, crops up likewise in the Azores,
the Madeiras, and the Canaries. Then the depauperated phasis
of the European Pupa umbilicata, which was separated by Mr.
Lowe under the name of P. anconostoma (and which I am not
aware has been observed on the European continent) is so
strictly ' Atlantic ' that it ranges from the Azores to St. Helena;
and the rather undue development of the Vitrinas and Pupcs
(the latter under an emphatically Madeiran and Canarian type),
as well as of the Leptaxis section of the genus Helix (so sugges-
tive of the Madeiras and Cape Verdes), although under expo-
nents which are themselves distinct, is much in harmony with
the idea of this Atlantic ' province ' being but portions of a
once continuous whole. The appearance, too, at the Azores of
that remarkable Cyclostomideous genus Craspedopoma, so
B 2
4 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
exceptionally developed in the Madeiran group and which is
present also, though more sparingly, at the Canaries, is a fact
which should particularly be noticed ; as well as the occurrence
at the Azores and Canaries of the Bulimus variatus, W. et B.,
and of that singular little species the Hydroccena gutta,
which, of all the members of the Gastropoda, is perhaps the
least likely to have been accidentally naturalized. As for the
Auriculidce, which seem to be much the same in the three
archipelagos, I lay but little stress upon them, for those
littoral forms, which in their modus vivendi are practically
marine, have almost everywhere a wide geographical range.
These few instances, however, of course do not embody all
that the archipelagos have in common, for they are principally
' Atlantic ' forms, from which the strictly European element has
been eliminated. If we take the actual species into account
which the Azores (even as hitherto imperfectly known) would
appear to possess conjointly with the more southern groups, we
shall find that there are about 26 which occur equally in the
Azores and Madeiras, and about 19 in the Azores and Canaries;
which (taking the European element for what it is worth)
undoubtedly shows an amount of affinity between the three
archipelagos which cannot well be ignored. The Eev. H. B.
Tristram, in his account of the Pulmoniferous Gastropods of the
Azores, published in Mr. Grodman's volume, can scarcely have
had very reliable data to draw upon in instituting his compari-
son between the Azorean fauna and those of the two archipelagos
the next in succession to the south of it, for he asserts that it
has only 7 species in common with the Madeiras, and 4 with
the Canaries ; whereas, according to my computation, it pos-
sesses (as just stated) at least 26 in common with the Madeiras,
and 1 9 with the Canaries ! * Or, if we regard the Madeiras and
Canaries as integral portions of a single ' Atlantic province,' no
less than 31 species out of the 71 of which the Azorean fauna is
made up permeate more or less of the latter, 5 of them ranging
even to the Cape Verdes, and 5 to St. Helena. 2
1 The 26 species which are found equally in the Azores and Madeiras are
these : Arion ater, lAmax gagates, ntaximus, flavus, and agrestis, Testacella
Maugei, Hyalina cellaria and crystallina, Patula rotundata and pusilla, Helios
pulchella, erubescens, aspersa, pisana, armillata, 2wupercula and lenticula,
JBulimus ventricosus, Stenogyra decollata, Achatina lubrica, Balea perversa,
Pupa microspora and anconostoma, AwicuM cequalis and vesjwtitta, and
Pedipes afra : whilst the following 19 are those which are common to the
Azores and Canaries: Testacella Maugei, Hyalina cellaria and crystallina,
Patula punilla, Helix pulchella, aspersa, lactea, pisana y apicina, paupercula,
and lenticula, Bulimus ventricosus and variatus, titenogyra decollata, Pupa
micro&pora and anconostoma,, aiwicula cequalis and bicolor, and Hydrocfsna
2 Mr. Tristram says, likewise, that It should be observed that, of all the
1'nlinonifera of the Azores, Pedipes afer is the only one common to the
AZOREAN GROUP. 5
A good deal has been urged about the ' American affinities '
of the Azorean species of Zonites (i. e. Hyalina) ; but, when we
look closer into the matter, it seems to me to be scarcely worth
consideration. For, out of the six members of that genus which
have hitherto been brought to light, half are ordinary European
ones, namely, the cellaria, crystalling and fulva (the first
and second of which occur likewise at the Madeiras and Cana-
ries, the cellaria ranging even to St. Helena) ; so that, after all,
there are but three remaining, and those bear, confessedly, only a
superficial resemblance to certain American forms from which
they are specifically quite distinct. Moreover the Hyalinas and
Patulas are subject to considerable development in these various
Atlantic groups, the former having at the Canaries 6 extra-
European exponents (besides 2 European ones), and the latter
1 1, all of which are extra-European ; whilst even in the Madeiran
archipelago there are 1 extra-European and 2 European Hya-
linas, and 7 extra-European and 2 European Patulas. Therefore
the presence of 3 'Hyalinas (extra-European) at the Azores
which are primd facie somewhat suggestive of American ones
(though the H. atlantica alone appears to me to be worth
even mentioning) is hardly a matter, I think, of sufficient geo-
graphical significance to warrant a serious discussion on the
6 American element ' in the fauna.
But as I must reserve any mere speculative observations for
the final section of this volume, our present duty being simply to
investigate the facts, I will not do more now than refer to Mr. Tris-
tram's remark that ' The class of Grasteropods is by far the most
numerous of all the forms of life in the Azores; and among them
are found a larger proportion of peculiar species than in any other
class,' for it seems to me that it is a conclusion which is not
warranted by what has hitherto been ascertained concerning the
Natural History of the islands. For instance, how about the
plants ? 47 8 exponents of which (including 40 which are strictly
endemic) are registered in Mr. H. C. Watson's latest catalogue ;
whereas the Land-shells have reached hitherto but 71 species
(33 of which, at the utmost, are peculiar). Or, if animal life
was meant, and not vegetable, what about the Coleoptera ? of
which even already 212 representatives have been recorded in
Mr. Crotch's carefully prepared list.
Also, in commenting upon the total absence of the freshwater
African continent.' But here, again, I am sorry that I cannot agree with
him ; for, despite the little that we know (comparatively) of the African
f auna, there are certainly 14 of the Azorean species, and probably many more,
which abound in Algeria and Morocco : namely, the Limasc agrestis, Hyalina
cellaria, and crystallina, Helix asjjersa, lactea, pisana, apicina, armillata, and
lenticula, Bulimus ventricosvs, Stcnogyra decollata, AcJtti>ia Inlrica, Auricula
, and Pedipes afra.
6 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
genera in the Azorean archipelago, Mr. Tristram adds : ' There is,
however, one singular hiatus in the molluscous fauna. Though
there are abundant streams, springs, and lakes, presenting the
most favourable conditions for their existence, not a single repre-
sentative of the Pulmobranchiate Mollusca has yet been disco-
vered. These are to be found in every other portion of the
globe. Not an island in the Pacific, not even Greenland and
Iceland which are beyond the usual range of the Pulmonifera,
are without representatives of this class ; yet in the Azores no
species of the world-wide genera of Limncea, Physa, Ancylus,
Neriiina, Cyclas, or Cyrcena has yet been found.' Now to this,
again, I really cannot subscribe ; for, in point of fact, what do
we know about ' every other portion of the globe,' and of every
' island in the Pacific ' ? In all probability we should find plenty
of instances in which the aquatic forms are wanting ; for, even to
come nearer home than the Pacific, the most remote and isolated
spot I have hitherto had an opportunity of exploring, namely
St. Helena, happens to be in precisely the same predicament as
the Azores. There are streams and tanks in the interior of that
island, in profusion, trickling rocks, waterfalls, and pools ; and
yet not a single freshwater species has occurred (beyond a
Succinea, which lives as well out of the moisture as in it, and the
modus vivendi of which may well be paralleled by that of the
Hydroccena gutta at the Azores). And so literally true is this,
that the same hiatus is equally observable in the Coleoptera,
the Hydradephagous groups of which are altogether absent.
Moreover it seems far from unlikely that a similar deficiency may
be indicated in the Sandwich Islands ; at any rate it appears to
be so as regards the water-loving forms of the Coleoptera, for
the Rev. T. Blackburn, writing lately from Honolulu, says (vide
Ent. Month. Mag.' xiii. 228) ' Notwithstanding the frequent
use of the water-net, I have not yet seen a single species of
Hydradephaga.'
Perhaps a word or two may be desirable, before I conclude,
as regards the various habitats which are cited in the present
section. Throughout the other portions of this volume the ma-
jority of the localities are added from my own personal observa-
tions ; and in the generality of the instances where that is not
the case, I have had abundant means for testing their accuracy.
The Azores, however, are to me a terra incognita ; and I have
been compelled therefore to rely, almost exclusively, on the pass-
ing remarks of MM. Morelet and Drouet. The question conse-
quently arises, where extreme precision is absolutely essential,
how far vague and general terms, such as are too often employed
with a looseness which is self-evident, can be trusted. Where
the actual islands are mentioned by name, it would never occur
AZOEEAN GROUP. 7
to me to doubt for a single instant the truthfulness of the asser-
tion ; but what the exact meaning may be (as Mr. H. C. Watson
has pertinently asked) of such expressions as ' all the islands,'
' toutes les iles,' ' tout Farchipel,' &c., more particularly when
used by naturalists who confessedly have explored but imperfectly
some of the remote detachments of the group, and one of which
was not visited by them even at all, is an enigma which I must
confess myself totally unable to solve. In my own instance, if out
of an archipelago of ten islands a given species had been ob-
served on nine of them, and even if I felt well-nigh certain that
it would be met with equally on the tenth, still nothing would
induce me to call that species actually 'universal' until the one
missing link had been proved to a demonstration. I should un-
doubtedly express my belief that it would eventually be ascer-
tained to be universal ; but, holding the most perfect accuracy
to be a sine qua non, and knowing by experience how often an
organism is non-existent upon an island, or rock, while it abso-
lutely swarms on another which belongs to the same assemblage,
I could not risk my reputation by making a positive statement
which it is at least possible might turn out ultimately to have
been fallacious. Therefore I will not hold myself answerable for
the complete truthfulness of the particular idioms, published by
others, to which I have just called attention ; but in those
cases where I have reason to feel dissatisfied with the value of
the evidence for these professedly wide habitats, I shall, while
indicating (in the local catalogue) the asserted universality by
quoting the species under ' all the islands ' (as indeed can
scarcely be avoided), cite, at the same time, the exact authority,
alongside, which must be responsible for the entry.
Although unwilling to make the above remarks, I look
upon them nevertheless as neither more nor less than a neces-
sity ; for, out of the 176 species which have been ascertained to
occur in the Madeiran group, only four (namely ihelt.erubescens,
paupercula, and polymorpha, and the Clausilia deltostoma)
have been found as yet to be absolutely universal, and that
too in an archipelago composed of but Jive islands, and in spite
of the most careful researches of many naturalists extending over
a period of nearly fifty years ; yet, out of the 69 species which
were met with by Morelet and Drouet during a single sojourn of
five months at the Azores (the H. niphas, Pfr., and Bulimus
solitarius, Poir., not having been found by them at all, and the
H. advena, W. et B., being erroneously admitted into the
Azorean list), no less than 23, or exactly one-third, are said to
inhabit ' tout 1'archipel,' i. e. the whok nine islands which
constitute that far more widely scattered cluster. Judging
from the analogy of the Madeiras (and the case at the Canaries
8 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
is even stronger still, two species only, the H. lancerottensis
and lenticula, having been ascertained to be positively universal),
surely some explanation is required for a fact so unprecedented
and remarkable.
If it should be urged however that the smallness of the
three Desertas renders it so unlikely that any large number of
species would be found upon each one of them separately that
the parallel drawn between the 5 Madeiran and the 9 Azorean
islands is hardly a just one, I will regard the Desertas as consti-
tuting a single detachment of the archipelago. But even in that
case the species which have proved hitherto to permeate the
entire group (composed of Madeira proper, the Desertas, and
Porto Santo) are but 8 in number, out of the 176, which it
will be admitted form a striking contrast to the 23 (out of a
fauna of only 69) which have been placed on record by Morelet
and Drouet as existing on every one of the nine islands of the
Azorean cluster.
As in the other local catalogues, I have appended an asterisk
(*) to those few species which have been observed also in a sub-
fossilized state ; and in those instances where they have been
found only subfossilized, under which circumstances they must
be looked upon as extinct (at any rate until further evidence shall
have proved the contrary), the names have been put likewise in
italics.
In accordance with the remark which I have just had occa-
sion to make, the capitals which precede the exceptionally wide
habitats given in the Azorean list at the close of the present
section indicate the authorities which must be held responsible
for their accuracy, the letter ' M ' referring to M. Morelet, and
4 D ' to M. Drouet.
Sectio I. INOPERCULATA.
Tam.1. LIMACID^E.
Genus 1. ARION, Ferussac.
Arion ater.
Limax ater, Linn., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1081 (1767)
Arion empiricorum, Fer., Tabl. Syst. 17 (1821)
ater, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 162 (1854)
empiricorum, Alb., Mai. Mad. 11 (1854)
rufus, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 137 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 140 (1861)
ater, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 2 (1867)
AZOREAN GROUP. 9
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; sub lapidibus
foliisque emortuis, vulgaris.
The Arion ater, Linn. ( rufus, Linn., == empiricorum,
Fer.), which is so general throughout Europe and which occurs
also at Madeira, appears to have become established in the
Azores, where, according to Morelet and Drouet, it inhabits all
the islands of the archipelago.
Although seldom quite black (as its name would imply),
the A. ater has nevertheless an occasional dark variety, or state.
It is more often (indeed in Madeira almost universally) of a
dull ochreous- or olivaceous-brown, with the edge of its pedal
disk (which is entirely visible from above) of a reddish-yellow
inclining to orange and transversely striped with regular but
remote dusky lines which are sometimes very distinct, but at
others obscure. As in the Arions generally, this slug has its
body totally unkeeled, and furnished at the tip with a mucous
pore or gland, its respiratory orifice anterior in position, and
its shield (which is even, and not wrinkled at any rate when
the animal is fully extended) closely contiguous to the head in
front.
Arion fuscatus.
Arion fuscatus, Fer., Hist. 65. t. 2, f. 7.
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 137 (1860)
fuscus, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 140 (1861)
Habitat S. Miguel ; juxta Ponta Delgada et Pico do Fogo
(sec. Morelet) deprehensus.
A European Arion, which according to Morelet and Drouet
occurs sparingly around Ponta Delgada in S. Miguel, and like-
wise (as stated by the former) on the Pico do Fogo. By
Drouet it is identified with the Limax fuscus of Miiller, but
by Morelet with Ferussac's Arion fuscatus.
Arion subfuscus.
Limax subfuscus, Drap., Hist. Nat. 125. pi. 9. f. 8 (1805)
Arion subfuscus, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 138 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 140 (1861)
Habitat ins. omnes (testibus Morelet et Drouet) ; vulgaris
in S. Miguel (sec. Drouet).
Likewise a European species, and one which appears to be
common at the Azores, according at any rate to Morelet and
Drouet, who state that it occurs on every island of the archi-
pelago. Like the A . fuscatus, it has not yet been observed in
the Madeiran group.
10 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Grenus 2. UMAX, Linne.
Limax gagates.
Limax gagates, Drap., Hist. Nat. 122. pi. 9. f. 1, 2 (1805)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 162 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 12. t. 1. f. 3-5 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 139 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 141 (1861)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 3 (1867)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; sub lapidibus
vulgaris..
This European slug, which is extremely common in the
Madeiran archipelago, and which has become naturalised even
at St. Helena, appears to be universal at the Azores according to
Morelet and Drouet-r-who cite it as inhabiting every island of
the group.
The strongly carinated, longitudinally sulcate body of the
L. gagates (the keel of which extends from the extreme end of
the tail to the hinder margin of the shield), and its more or less
ochreous-black, or sometimes cinereous-brown, hue, added to its
not very large size (its greatest length being seldom more than
about an inch), and the two rather conspicuous grooves (sepa-
rated by a raised line) at the top of its neck, will sufficiently
distinguish it.
Limax maximus.
Limax maximus, Linn., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1081 (1767)
cinereus, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 5 (1774)
antiquorum, var. s., Fer., Tabl. Syst. 20 (1821)
cinereus, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 162 (1854)
antiquorum, Alb., Mai. Mad. 12. t. 1. f. 2 (1854)
maximus, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 138 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 140 (1861)
cinereus, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 4 (1867)
Habitat ins. omnes (testibus Morelet et Drouet).
The European L. maximus, which has become established
at Madeira, appears to have also been naturalised in the Azorean
archipelago, where, like the L. gagates and agrestis and the
Arion ater and subfuscus, it is said by Morelet and Drouet to
occur on every island of the group.
The L. maximus is a species which is extremely variable in
size, and a good deal also both in colour and markings; but
normally it is more maculated, or blotched, than the generality
of the Limaces, its surface (which is usually of a pale brownish-
cinereous hue, with the shield a trifle lighter, and with a faint
AZOREAN GROUP. 11
ochreous or even lilac tinge) being spotted with large but un-
equal longitudinal patches of black, those on the shield how-
ever being, most of them, both rounder, smaller, and more
isolated or better defined. The blotches on the body seem to
be brought about by four or five broken-up longitudinal stripes,
which are occasionally subconfluent and suffused, but nearly
always more interrupted (or fragmentary) before than posteriorly.
It is coarsely sculptured, except on the shield, with a multitude
of subconfluent longitudinal grooves or (which amounts to much
the same thing) intervening wrinkles ; and its hinder part is
acutely carinated for about a third of the length from the tip of
the tail to the edge of the shield.
Limax flavus.
Limax flavus, Linn., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1081 (1767)
variegatus, Drap., Hist. Nat. 127 (1805)
flavus, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 162 (1854)
variegatus, Alb., Mai Mad. 12. t. 1. f. 1 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 1 38 (1 860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 140 (1861)
flavus, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 4 (1867)
Habitat S. Miguel ; in hortis umbrosis- circa Ponta Delegada
et Villafranca lectus.
The European L. flavus, Linn, (or variegatus, Drap.) is
said by Morelet to occur 'dans les jardins ombrages,' around
Ponta Delgada and Villafranca, in S. Miguel, where, as is the
case with it at Madeira, it has doubtless been naturalised. It is
a large species, varying from about an inch to nearly two inches
in length ; and its colour is usually of a pale dirty brownish-
yellow, but mottled (or coarsely reticulated) with cinereous-
brown, the sides, however, and the foot, being free from
markings. Its keel is much abbreviated, extending from the tip
of the tail to about a third of the distance to the hinder edge of
the shield (the ground-colour of which is often a trifle paler than
the rest of the surface, as seen from above).
Limax agrestis.
Limax agrestis, Linn., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1082 (1767)
Drap., Hist. Nat. 126. pi. 9. f. 9 (1805)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 39 (1831)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 162 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 139 (I860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 141 (1861)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 5 (1867)
12 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; vulgaris.
In its comparatively small size, the extremely mucose and
variable L. agrestis has more in common with the L. gagatea
than with the other slugs which are here enumerated ; never-
theless, apart from every minor character, its total freedom from
a keel will at once separate it from that species. It is universal
throughout Europe ; and, according to Morelet and Drouet, it
occurs on every island of the Azorean archipelago. Morelet
registers a variety from Villafranca in S. Miguel, and another
from the valley of the Furnas. In Madeira it is by far the most
abundant of all the slugs which have hitherto been brought to
light, often swarming in open grassy spots of a high altitude ;
and considering that it has been placed on record in Mr. Lowe's
publications since 1831, it is surprising to me that Morelet
should not have been aware that it exists in the Madeiran
group, for, speaking of the four Limaces included in his
Azorean catalogue (which are the exact species found at Madeira),
he says ' A 1'exception du Limax agrestis, toutes les especes de
cette section se retrouvent aux iles Maderes.' It is certainly
true that Dr. Albers did not happen to meet with it, and so was
rash enough to omit it from his exceedingly inaccurate mono-
graph ; but Albers passed only a single winter at Madeira, and
collected a mere fragment of the species which had been ascer-
tained to occur ; whereas Mr. Lowe's researches extended over a
period of nearly fifty years, and the results, which had long been
made known, were readily accessible. Therefore I cannot under-
stand how any experienced naturalist should have endorsed the
evidence given by the former (who had had but a few months'
experience in the archipelago), in preference to that of the
latter.
Genus 3. VIQUESNELIA, Deshayes.
Viquesnelia atlantica.
Viquesnelia atlantica, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 139. t. 1.
f. 1 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 141 (1861)
Habitat S. Miguel ; juxta Ponta Delgada, Furnas, et cset.,
sub lapidibus, prsecipue in cultis, parce degens.
This is the most anomalous of the Azorean Limacidce ; and
its interest is still further increased by the fact that the only
other member of the genus which has hitherto been brought to
light in a recent state (namely the V. Dussumieri, Fischer) is
Indian. In a fossil condition, however, the rudimentary remains
of a mollusk which would appear to be closely allied to (if not
actually identical with) the Azorean one were found abundantly
AZOREAN GROUP. 13
in the nummulitic limestone near Feredjik in Roumelia ; and it
was for the reception of the particular species which they repre-
sent that the genus was established by Deshayes (Journ. de
Conch, v. 283) in 1859. And shortly afterwards another ex-
ponent of the group was met with by M. d'Archiac, in a similar
formation, in the Pyrenees. It would seem, therefore, judging
from the only evidence to which we have access, as if the type
had become extinct on the European continent but that it still
lingered at the Azores; though this may in reality be more
apparent than real, seeing what large tracts of country both in
Spain and Portugal are still practically uninvestigated.
According to Morelet and Drouet, it is only in S. Miguel
that the V. atlantica has yet been detected, where it occurs
sparingly around Ponta Delgada and in the valley of the
Furnas, its movements being described as unusually sluggish
and peculiar. The animal is said to be of a somewhat reddish
olivaceous-brown, rather attenuated in front, but with its poste-
rior half not only compressed and carinate but very coarsely
wrinkled. It seems to be obliquely truncate towards the tip ;
but whether the subapical angle carries a mucous gland, as its
mere outline would lead one to suspect (though the ' dryness ' of
its surface would perhaps rather militate against that hypo-
thesis), the diagnosis does not specify. Its shield (when the
creature is fully expanded) is nearly medial in position, the
hinder half, which covers the internal shell (stated to be some-
what ancyliform and oblong), being elevated and protuberant.
Fam. 2. TESTACELLID^E.
Grenus 4. TESTACELLA, Cuvier.
Testacella Maugei.
Testacella Maugei, Per., Tabl. Syst. 26 (1821)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. 8. Trans, iv. 40
(1831)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 163 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Aqor. 143 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. A for. 142 (1861)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 6 (1867)
Mouss.y Faun. Mai. des Can. 11 (1872)
Habitat S. Miguel, Sta. Maria, et Fayal (teste Drouet) ;
prsecipue sub lapidibus in cultis.
The European T. Mangel, which is found in the Madeiran
and Canarian archipelagos, occurs (according to Drouet) in S.
Miguel, Sta. Maria, and Fayal, principally about gardens and
14 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
other cultivated grounds; but there is no evidence that the
nearly-allied T. haliotidea has been observed at the Azores.
The rather robust, somewhat ancyliform shell of this Testa-
cella, which is opaque, usually more or less (as it were) eaten-
into and decorticated, and of a pale dingy olivaceous-yellow
externally, but which is whitish, shining, and pearl-like within
the enormous aperture, will readily distinguish it. The latter is
somewhat parallel-sided and oblong ; but the curve at the upper
angle of the outer margin is a little interrupted by a slight ex-
cavation or sinuosity which is best seen when the shell is
viewed from the direction of the nucleus. The lines of growth,
although very irregular, are for the most part exceedingly
apparent, a few deeper and coarser ones than the rest, filled-
up with a brownish deposit, being also more particularly con-
spicuous.
Tarn. 3. VITRJNID^E.
Grenus 5. VITRINA, Drop.
Vitrina brumalis.
Vitrina brumalis, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 146. t. 1. f. 4
(1860).
Drouet, Faun. A$or. 146 (1861)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. vii. 22 (1876)
Habitat S. Miguel ; in Caldeira de Sete-Cidades prsecipue
lecta.
This Vitrina, which is found in S. Miguel, particularly
within the Caldeira of the Sete-Cidades, measures about 9 milli-
metres across its broadest part; it is excessively thin and
fragile, being well-nigh membranaceous ; and its spire is re-
markably depressed. Its aperture is largely developed; the
lower or columellary border of its peristome is exceedingly
narrow, and almost wholly membranaceous ; and (as in the
three following species) its spiral whorls are visible from beneath
up to their extreme apex.
Vitrina jnollis.
Vitrina mollis, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 147. t. 1. f. 5
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. A cor. 144 (1861)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. vii. 22 (1876)
Habitat Terceira ; inter Angra et Praya copiose deprehensa.
It is in Terceira that the present Vitrina appears to have
been met with, particularly between Angra and the little town
of Praya. It is of about the same size as, or perhaps a trifle
AZOREAN GROUP. 15
larger than, the last species, and has the spire similarly de-
pressed, and the spiral whorls traceable (from beneath) up to the
apex ; nevertheless it is more rounded in outline, the basal
volution being a little more convex both above and below, its
surface is somewhat smoother, and its colour is appreciably
deeper or more pronounced. Its aperture, too, is not quite so
elongate or produced, and has its columellary border (which is
extremely membraneous) less narrowed.
Vitrina brevispira.
Vitrina brevispira, Morel., Hist. Nat. des A ^or. 148, t. 1.
f. 6 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. A$or. 146 (1861)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. vii. 22 (1876)
Habitat Sta. Maria, et S. Miguel ; prsecipue, in ilia, ad col-
lum Pico Alto vulgaris.
Judging from the diagnosis and figure, the present Vitrina
does not seem to me to differ very materially from the V.
brumalis ; and, although Morelet and Drouet mention it as
occurring more particularly in Sta. Maria, it is found also (like
that species) in S. Miguel. It is, however, apparently, a trifle
smaller, and has its spire a little more minute and lateral, as
well as composed of half a volution less. The lower border too
of its aperture is, if anything, even narrower and straighter ; and
its suture is said to be somewhat denticulated.
Vitrina finitima.
Vitrina finitima, Morel., Hist. Nat. des A for. 150. t. 1. f . 7
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. A for. 145 (1861)
Pfeif., Mon. Hel. vii. 22 (1876)
Habitat Flores; sub ligno lapidibusque in humiusculis,
vulgaris.
In its size and general contour (the shell measuring about
8 millimetres across its broadest part), as well as in the ex-
tremely narrow and membraneous lower border of its peristome
and the fact of its spiral whorls being visible from beneath up to
the extreme apex, the V. finitima is very similar to the
brevispira ; nevertheless, apart from its ultimate volution being
just appreciably rounder, it may at once be recognised, both
from that species and the others, by the right or upper edge of
its peristome being a little thickened and even subreflexed, a
structure which is decidedly anomalous in the members of this
genus.
The V. finitima was taken abundantly by M. 'Drouet in
16 TESTACEA ATLANT1CA.
Flores ; but it does not appear to have been observed in any of
the other islands.
Vitrina angulosa.
Vitrina angulosa, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 191. t. 2. f. 1
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 144 (1861)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. vii. 23 (1876)
Habitat Sta. Maria ; ad basin montis Pico Alto parce
reperta.
This is the smallest of the Azorean Vitrinas, measuring only
6 millimetres across its widest part ; but, not to mention its
diminutive bulk, it may be recognised by its ultimate volution
(which is, in proportion, largely developed, and somewhat convex
beneath) being appreciably angulose. The colour seems to be of a
more brownish-, or even reddish-, green than is usually the case
in this genus, and its whorls are about three in number. It was
found in Sta. Maria, at the base of the Pico Alto, and would
appear to be scarce.
Vitrina laxata,
Vitrina laxata, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 144. t. 1. f. 3
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 142 (1861)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. vii. 21 (1876)
Habitat Sta. Maria, et S. Miguel ; in convallibus umbrosis
praecipue degens.
The V. laxata is the largest of the Azorean Vitrinas
(measuring about 12 millimetres across its widest part), and one
which is said by Morelet to approach nearer than the others to
the ordinary European types, particularly to the V. diaphana.
It is extremely thin and fragile, with the ultimate whorl very
broadly developed or produced, causing the aperture to be ex-
ceedingly large or elongated ; and, as in the V. pelagica, the
upper and lower margins of its peristome (the latter of which is
bordered by a narrow membrane) are connected across the body-
volution by an extremely faint lamelliform thickening.
The present Vitrina is found in Sta. Maria and S. Miguel,
in the former of which islands a variety is said to occur which is
a little more globose and also a trifle less fragile.
Vitrina pelagica.
Vitrina pelagica, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 143. t. 1. f. 2
(1860).
55 Drouet, Faun. Acor. 143 (1861)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. vii. 21 (1876)
AZOREAN GROUP. 17
Habitat Sta. Maria ; sub lapidibus, et cset., versus Pico Alto
deprehensa.
The present Vitrina, which is found about the Pico Alto in
Santa Maria, is apparently a trifle less fragile, and more Helici-
form in its contour, than the other species, its less largely
developed aperture and the widened and somewhat convex base
of its ultimate whorl, in conjunction with the margins of its
faintly thickened peristome being connected by an extremely
thin intervening lamina, recalling somewhat the F. Blauneri
which is so characteristic of Grand Canary. Its proportions
however are not quite the same as those of that species, its
spire is less flattened, and the columellary edge of its lower lip
is narrowly and shortly expanded and subreflexed, forming
(according to the diagnosis) a kind of very minute umbilical
fossette or chink.
Fam. 4. HELICIDJE.
Genus 6. HYALINA, Gray.
( Radiolus, Woll.)
Hyalina volutella.
Helix volutella, Pfeiff., Proc. ZooL Soc. Land. 33 (1856)
brumalis, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi. 149
(1857)
Zonites brumalis, Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 164
(1858)
Helix volutella, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iv. 102 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 166. t. 3. f. \
(1860)
Zonites volutella, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 148 (1861)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; sed vix
abundans.
A very beautiful little Hyalina which, according to Morelet
and Drouet, is found on every island of the Group. It is ap-
parently peculiar to the Azores ; and, judging from the diag-
nosis and figure, it has much the same discoidal outline as the
//. cellaria, but is considerably smaller and with a more minute
(but nevertheless very deep) umbilicus; and its volutions are
transversely striped, or radiated, with reddish-brown, or yellowish-
red, bands. It appears to be subject to slight modifications in
the different parts of the archipelago, the examples from Fayal
and Sta.> Maria having their spire more elevated than those
from S. Miguel, as well as their striae more distinct (which
latter fact is said to diminish somewhat their brilliancy) ; whilst
those from Graciosa, on the other hand, are not only (when
c
18 TESTACEA ATLANTIC A.
adult) less strongly striate, but likewise more solid and of an
obscurer surface, being free (according to Drouet) from darker
radiating transverse lines.
By Mr. Grodman the H. volutella was met with in the island
of Fayal.
Hyalina miguelina.
Helix miguelina, Pfeiff., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 33 (1856)
Vidaliana, M orel. et Drouet, Journ. de Conch, vi. 148
(1857)
Zonites Vidalianus, Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 164
(1858)
Helix miguelina, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel iv. 78 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 164. t. 2. f. 6
(1860)
Zonites Miguelinus, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 147 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria, S. Miguel, et Terceira ; sub lapidibus in
umbrosis, vulgaris. In Sta. Maria necnon semifossilis invenitur.
Judging from the diagnosis and figure, this Hyalina (which
occurs abundantly in Sta. Maria, S. Miguel, and Terceira)
seems, in its discoidal contour and widened ultimate whorl, to
have much the prima facie aspect of the H. cellaria, or,
perhaps, still more, of the Canarian H. lenis and the imme-
diately allied forms ; but it is apparently a little larger with a
very much smaller umbilicus, and faintly striped transversely
(or radiated) with obscure and irregular (sometimes obsolete)
fulvescent lines. According to Morelet and Drouet the speci-
mens from S. Miguel are generally thinner, more brilliant, and
more largely developed, than the others ; whilst those from
Sta. Maria (in which island it is found also subfossilized)
are not only smaller, more solid, less shining, and more dis-
tinctly striate, but have their last volution rather less dilated ;
and those from Terceira are a trifle more convex and less
narrowly umbilicate.
Mr. Tristram, in alluding to this shell, in his account of the
Pulmonifera which had been met with at the Azores by Mr.
Grodman, 1 speaks of it as being (like the H. atlantica) ' im-
perforate ' ; but there can be no doubt that in this respect he
was mistaken, for it is expressly defined by Morelet as
'anguste umbilicata ' (Drouet even calling it ' ombiliquee ') ;
1 I regret that I am not able to cite Mr. Godman's work amongst my
references to the Azorean Gastropods ; but as no absolute list is given of the
species which he obtained (the chapter by Mr. Tristram containing merely
observations on the general catalogue of MM. Morelet and Drouet), it is
scarcely possible to allude formally to the volume amongst the absolute
synonyms.
AZOREAN GROUP. 19
added to which, a decided, though small, perforation is clearly
indicated in the figure. And I should very much doubt whether
its so-called 'American affinities' are at all more traceable than
its Canarian ones.
( Lucilla, Lowe.)
Hyalina cellaria.
Helix cellaria, Mull, Hist. Verm. ii. 28 (1774)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 177 (1854)
Albers, Mai. Mad. 17 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 165 (1860)
Zonites cellarius, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 149 (1861)
Hyalina cellaria, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 15 (1872)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; vulgaris. In
Sta. Maria etiam semifossilis occurrit.
The common European H. cellaria is reported by both
Morelet and Drouet to occur on every island of the Azorean
Group, varying a little in the different parts of the archipelago.
The examples from S. Miguel are said to be, on the average,
somewhat larger than those from the other islands, those from
Sta. Maria (where it exists likewise in a subfossilized state)
more solid, and those from Terceira more convex. It is a
species of a widely acquired range, it being eminently liable to
accidental introduction through indirect human agencies ; and
it has consequently become thoroughly established in the
Madeiras and the Canaries, and even at St. Helena.
( Crystallus, Lowe.)
Hyalina crystallina.
Helix crystallina, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 23 (1774)
Lowe, Gambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 47
(1831)
Albers, Mai. Mad. 17. t. 2. f. 18-21
(1854)
Morel, Hist. Nat. des Acor. 167 (1860)
Zonites crystallinus, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 149 (1861)
Hyalina crystallina, M ouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 17 (1872)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; sub lapidibus,
minus frequens.
Said by Morelet and Drouet to be found on all the islands
of the archipelago, where it has doubtless become naturalized
from the European continent. It is a little species which is
eminently liable to accidental transmission, along with consign-
ments of trees and plants ; and it has consequently gained
a footing both in the Madeiran and Canarian Groups.
c 2
20 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
( Conulus, Fitz.)
Hyalina fulva.
Helix fulva, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 56 (1774)
Drap., Hist. Nat. 81. t. 7. f. 12. 13 (1805)
Conulus fulvus, Fitzinger, Syst. Verz. 94 (1837)
Helix fulva, Pfeiff., Mori. Hel. i. 30 (1848)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 169 (1860)
Zonites fulvus, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 150 (1861)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; hinc inde sub
lapidibus.
According to Morelet and Drouet, the European H. fulva,
Miill., is found on every island of the Azorean Group ; and
this is all the more remarkable, inasmuch as it has not
hitherto been observed in any of the more southern archi-
pelagos. Considering too its inconspicuousness, one can only
conclude, from the fact of its having been detected by those
anomalously successful naturalists on nine different islands
which are so widely separated from each other, that it must be
extremely abundant ; yet, curiously enough, they do not give us
to understand that this is the case.
( Hettcella, Beck.)
Hyalina atlantica.
Helix atlantica, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi. 149
(1857)
Zonites atlanticus, Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 164
(1858)
Helix atlanticus, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iv. 344 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 167. t. 3. f. 2
(1860)
Zonites atlanticus, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 149 (1861)
Habitat ins. omnes (teste Godman et Drouet); in Sta.
Maria necnon semifossilis occurrit. Sec. Morelet in Sta.
Maria, S. Miguel et Fayal invenitur. In Flores, sec. Drouet,
' au milieu des bois de genevriers ' copiose vivit.
According to Godman and Drouet, this Hyalina occurs on
every island of the Azorean Group ; but it is only for Sta.
Maria, S. Miguel, and Fayal that Morelet actually refers to it,
though he speaks of it, indefinitely, as ' repandue dans la
plupart des iles de 1'archipel.'
Drouet, however, mentions expressly that in Flores ' cette
zonite vit en abondarice sous les pierres et dans les mousses, au
milieu des bois de genevriers.'
The complete freedom from an umbilicus is the main point
which will at once distinguish the present Hyalina; and in
AZOREAN GROUP. 21
that respect it is said to be somewhat on a North-American
type, having, according to Mr. Tristram, a good deal in com-
mon with the Helicella suppressa of Say. It is fulvo-corneous
in hue, shining, diaphanous, and but feebly striated, but at the
same time sufficiently solid in substance ; and the columellary
border of its peristome is minutely and shortly expanded, or
thickened, at the point of its insertion, so as to seal-up the
spot which is usually occupied by the umbilical perforation.
Both Morelet and Drouet speak of a small variety of this
species as occurring in Fayal, and which measures only 5 milli-
metres (instead of about 9) across its broadest part.
G-enus 7. PATIILA, Held.
( Patulce normales.)
Patula rotundata.
Helix rotundata, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 29 (1774)
Patula rotundata, Held, in Isis, 916 (1837)
Zonites rotundatus, Gray, Man. 165, t. 5. f. 44 (1840)
Helix rotundata, Morel., Hist Nat. des Acor. 174 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 156 (1861)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 81 (1867)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Drouet) ; vulgaris, ac late diffusa.
According to Morelet the common European P. rotundata
'est extremement multiplied aux Apores,' but he does not
mention in what particular islands he met with it. Drouet,
however, supplies the required information by adding ' Habite
tout 1'archipel' ; though whether that expression (as in other
places) is used indefinitely, or whether it means to imply that
he has actually taken the species in the whole nine islands
of the Group, I have no mean of ascertaining ; and I can there-
fore only tabulate the range in accordance with the terms in
which it is asserted. Morelet speaks of the Azorean examples
of this Patula as being slightly different from the ordinary con-
tinental ones. ' Elle constitue,' says he, ' dans ces iles, une
variete locale, plus convexe que le type, plus fortement striee, et
dont les tours de spire sont aussi plus nettement separes.'
The P. rotundata has been introduced within the last few
years into Madeira, where however it is extremely rare; but
hitherto it has not been observed at the Canaries.
( Acantkinula, Beck.)
Patula monas.
Helix monas, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 173. t. 3. f. 5
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 156 (1861)
22 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Habitat S. Miguel, et Fayal ; in ilia ad Las Furnas, sed in
hac juxta Caldeira reperta.
This extremely diminutive Patula (which is unknown to
me except through the excellent figure given by Morelet)
appears to recede from the P. pusilla, mainly, in being a little
less conical (or with the spire more depressed), as well as in
being more coarsely costate, and in having a rather wider
umbilicus. From the placida, Shuttlew., it is said to differ
' par I'eyasement de 1'ombilic, et la forme a peu pres circulaire
de 1'ouverture.' It is recorded by Morelet from S. Miguel and
Fayal, namely from the valley of the Furnas in the former,
and from the edges of the Caldeira in the latter. Drouet gives
only S. Miguel as its habitat, amongst dead leaves, and under
stones, in woods.
Patula pusilla.
Helix pusilla, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 46. t. 5.
f. 17 (1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 101 (1848)
servilis, Shuttl., Bern. Mitth. Diagn. 6 (1852)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. iii. 101 (1853)
pusilla, a. annulata, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land.
176 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 18. t. 2. f. 7-10 (1854)
servilis, Morel., Hist. Nat. des A$or. 173. t. 3. f. 6
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 156 (1861)
hypocrita, Dohrn, Mai. Bldtt. 1 (1869)
Patula servilis, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 25. pi. 2.
f. 13-16 (1872)
Habitat S. Miguel, et Fayal ; sub lapidibus in inferioribus
(haud procul a mare), sec. Morelet, sed sec. Drouet inter folia
emortua in sylvis ; rarior.
I have had no opportunity of inspecting Azorean examples
of this minute shell ; nevertheless if it is rightly referred by
Morelet and Drouet to the servilis of Shuttle worth, it is iden-
tical with the Madeiran P. pusilla, Lowe, for there cannot be
the slightest doubt whatsoever that Shuttleworth's species and
Lowe's are one and the same. Indeed there is hardly a single
member of the Atlantic Grastropods which is more widely dis-
persed than this little Patula ; for not only does it occur
in the Azorean and Madeiran archipelagos, but likewise at the
Canaries and Cape Verdes (from whence it was re-enunciated by
Dohrn under the name of H. hypocrita), and even in the inter-
mediate districts of St. Helena. Had Morelet been aware
(which I am surprised was not the case) that Shuttleworth's
AZOREAN GROUP. 23
H. servilis and Lowe's pusilla are conspecific, he would not
have fallen into the error of supposing that the species had not
yet been observed in the Madeiran Group. But, so far from the
latter being the case, it was absolutely first described (in 1831)
from Madeira, where it is one of the most abundant of the
land-shells.
The P. pusilla (assuming Morelet's identification of it to be
correct) appears to have been noticed hitherto only near Ponta
Delgada in S. Miguel, and in Fayal ; in the latter of which
islands it is expressly stated by Morelet to have been found in
rocky places near the sea. This exactly accords with its usual
habitat in the Madeiran archipelago, for it is comparatively
seldom that it is to be met with (like the P. placida, Shuttl.) in
the laurel-woods of a high altitude ; nevertheless it does occa-
sionally occur in the latter also, and therefore Drouet's remark
that, in Fayal, it exists ' au milieu des feuilles mortes dans les
bois de lauriers et de genevriers ' may be likewise applicable,
for he would doubtless have at once perceived the difference
had the examples to which he alludes been referable to the
placida, rather than to the pusilla.
Apart from its diminutive size, the P. pusilla (which is a
trifle smaller, darker, and more depressed than the placida)
may be readily known by a certain number of its oblique,
transverse, thread-like striae being more developed than the
rest ; for although they are sometimes exceedingly faint, .at
others they are quite conspicuous and at once distinguishable
beneath even an ordinary lens. Morelet's figure, though other-
wise good, does not represent this latter character with suffi-
cient precision.
Patula aculeata.
Helix aculeata, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 81 (1774)
Gray, Man. 149. t. 4. f. 33 (1840)
Pfeiff.,Mon. Hel. i. 50(1848)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 175 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 157 (1861)
Habitat S. Miguel, et Fayal ; in montibus parce lecta.
The European P. aculeata is recorded both by Morelet and
Drouet from S. Miguel and Fayal, where it appears to occur at
a rather high elevation ; but it has not hitherto been noticed
in any of the more southern archipelagos. According to Drouet
it is found in the laurel woods, amongst fallen leaves.
24 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Genus 8. HELIX, Linne.
( Vallonia, Risso.)
Helix pulchella.
Helix pulchella, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 30 (1774)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 45
(1831)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 45. t. 12. f. 1-4 (1854)
Morel, Hist. Nat. des Acor. 175 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 157 (1861)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 57 (1872)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Drouet) ; sub lapidibus vulgaris.
This common little European Helix which has established
itself in the Madeiras and Canaries, and even at St. Helena,
and which is cited also from the Cape of (rood Hope is found,
according to Drouet, on every island of the Azorean Group.
Morelet indeed does not assert this totidem verbis, but merely
states that it occurs in the archipelago ; and one can hardly
therefore resist the enquiry as to whether the expression
' Habite tout 1'archipel ' is used (here as well as elsewhere)
merely indefinitely, in order to imply the wide distribution of
the species, and its probable occurrence, throughout the cluster,
or whether it is to be accepted in its true and literal meaning,
and as a positive guarantee that it has been carefully ascer-
tained to exist on each of the nine islands which constitute
the entire Group. If the latter fact is intended to be conveyed,
MM. Morelet and Drouet deserve unbounded praise for the
perfectly incredible proportion of their species which they have
succeeded in detecting on all the detachments of an archipelago
which is so widely scattered ; but if, on the other hand, the
term is employed without absolute precision, I cannot too
strongly express my belief that loose statements of this kind,
which are not strictly in accordance with facts, are neither
more nor less than disreputable, calculated as they are to place
on permanent record what is simply and de facto untrue.
( Leptaxis, Lowe.)
Helix vetusta.
Helix vetusta, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi. 152
(1857)
Morel, Hist. Nat. des Acor. 176, t. 5. f. 12
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 158 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria, semifossilis ; hactenus recens haud
detecta.
AZOREAN GROUP. 25
Judging from the diagnosis, and the admirable figure which
is given by Morelet, I am inclined to think that the present
Helix, which has been found hitherto only in a subfossil condi-
tion in the south of Sta. Maria, is perhaps more akin to the
likewise subfossilized H. chrysomela, Pfeiff. (particularly the
larger state of that species, which was subsequently described
by Lowe under the name of fluctuosa], than it is to anything
else which has yet been brought to light in the various Atlantic
archipelagos. Prima facie it has undoubtedly somewhat in
common with certain Canarian members of the Lemniscia sec-
tion, such as the H. tumulorum and phalerata ; but in no
instances are they wholly imperforate, neither are the margins
of their peristome connected by a decided lamelliform callosity;
and although this latter character is by no means distinctive of
Leptaxis proper, but quite the reverse, it nevertheless is strongly
expressed in the H. chrysomela which it is quite impossible
to remove from the same actual group which embraces the
erubescens and membranacea types. Moreover it appears to be
present also in the (equally extinct) H. atlantidea, Morel., from
the Cape Verdes. The rather straightened and thickened lower
lip, too, is much in accordance with what one observes in the
Porto-Santan H. chrysomela ; while its strongly pronounced
keel, and what little we are able to trace of its colouring, are
marvellously suggestive of that same species.
Whether the H. vetusta (which measures about 19 milli-
metres across its broadest part, and has an altitude of about 11)
belongs altogether to a past epoch can hardly be decided, until
the numerous submaritime districts of Sta. Maria have been
more carefully explored.
Helix erubescens.
Helix erubescens, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 40. t. 5.
f. 3 (1831)
et simia, Pfeif., Hon. Hel. i. 270 et 288
(1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc.Lond. 165 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 47. t. 12. f. 11-16
(1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 153 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 150 (1861)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 13 (1867)
Habitat S. Miguel ; in citranetis, prsesertim intra cavernas
arborum et sub cortice laxo, sat copiose latitans.
The very beautiful, but inconstant, H. erubescens, which is
so universal (under various modifications both of contour and
26 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
hue) throughout the Madeiran archipelago, occurs in the orange
grounds of S. Miguel, both around Ponta Delgada, &c., and
even (according to Morelet) in the valley of the Furnas ; and
considering this singular limitation of its habitat, we may feel
tolerably sure that the species is not an aboriginal native of the
Azores, but that in all probability it has become naturalized
accidentally from Madeira. The fact too that it appears to be
confined to a single island of the Group, and that one the most
cultivated of them all, is quite in accordance with this supposi-
tion. Both Morelet and Drouet lay great stress on the curious
fact that it would seem to be attached exclusively to the gardens
and plantations where the orange-trees are grown, concealing
itself more especially within the fissures and cavities of the
trunks, often in large clusters.
Drouet says that at Madeira the H. erubescens is found
essentially in woods, but this is absolutely untrue ; for although
it does occasionally make its appearance in subsylvan spots, as
in the chestnut groves of intermediate altitudes, its normal
range is most unmistakeably beneath stones on the open moun-
tain slopes (as on the grassy declivities of the Pico da Silva,
&c.), and within the lichen-covered inequalities of the weather-
beaten rocks. Indeed on the three Desertas, where it absolutely
swarms, there is not so much as a single tree for it to inhabit ;
and even in Porto Santo, the higher districts (to which it is
confined) are, and clearly always have been, totally devoid of
wood. 1
1 Although it is well-nigh superfluous to do so, I may perhaps just notice
in this place the H. advena, W. et B., which is cited bj Morelet, as one of
his 69 species, on the strength of its having been recorded by Pfeiffer as
occurring not merely at the Cape Verdes [to which it is, nevertheless, abso-
lutely peculiar], but also in the Canaries and Azores. And he even goes on
to affirm that Madeira likewise must be added to its range, inasmuch as
Albers includes it in his [extremely inaccurate] ' Malacographia Maderensis ' ;
so that, according to him, elle est repandue dans les quatre archipels.'
Here then is an accumulation of blunders, both as to habitat and identifi-
cation, which it is perfectly sad to contemplate. In the first place, the H.
advena is confined exclusively to the Cape Verdes ; the examples which Dr.
Albers referred so unhesitatingly to that species, and which he said were
found by M. Hartung in Porto Santo, having nothing whatever to do with it.
And then, as regards its Canarian claims, I thought it was now generally
understood that it was through the excessive carelessness of Mr. Webb that
it was ever quoted amongst the Land-Mollusca of that archipelago at all ;
for, unless I am greatly mistaken, it was communicated originally to the
joint authors of the ' Histoire Naturelle,' along with the equally Cape- Verdian
Stenogyra subdiapkana, by M. Terver, of Lyons, whose orchil-infesting
Helices (the precise countries of which were guessed at with a recklessness
almost unparalleled) have been the means of creating an amount of geo-
graphical confusion which perhaps will never be altogether obliterated.
This unpardonable mode of treatment was inflicted on other species also,
besides those to which I have just called attention, notably on the H.
taniata and tiarella of Madeira, which were pronounced to be ' Canarian,'
AZOREAN GROUP. 27
Helix azorica.
Helix azorica, Alb., Mai. Bldtt. 30 (1852)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. iii. 148 (1853)
Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 165 (1858)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iv. 163 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 154, t. 2. f. 2
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 151 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria, et S. Miguel ; in montibus sub lapidibus,
necnon inter ramulos Ericce vulgaris et cset. latitans, baud
infrequens.
The present variable Helix appears to be confined, according
to Morelet and Drouet, to the mountains of Sta. Maria and
S. Miguel, where it occurs not only under stones but, in the
latter, amongst the shrubs of Erica vulgaris and Myrsine
retusa which clothe so much of the uncultivated country in
the loftier districts of the island. In the former it was met
with on the summit of the Pico Alto.
Judging from their diagnoses and figures, I think there can
be little doubt that the present species and the four following
ones belong to the same group as the H. erubescens ; and, from
the analogy of the latter, which at the Madeiras has a more or
less different phasis for every detachment of the archipelago,
one cannot but feel it possible that some of these forms which
cluster around the H. azorica may prove in reality to be but
insular modifications of a single plastic type. Nevertheless
since it is the opinion of Morelet that they may be upheld as
specifically distinct, I will cite them in accordance with the
conclusions which have been arrived at by himself and M.
Drouet.
The H. azorica appears to be exceedingly thin and fragile,
as well as somewhat shining and pellucid ; and, like the other
members of this particular section, it is wholly imperforate.
Its colour, as in the H. erubescens, is eminently inconstant,
though the more normal individuals seem to be brownish but
mottled with small disjointed (sometimes vermiculiform) mark-
ings of a paler or yellowish hue. Occasionally however the
latter are obsolete, when the shell is concolorous ; and the
specimens from Sta. Maria (which are smaller, and a trifle less
and which were received as such (without evidence) by Webb. Indeed the
H. cyclodon, W. et B., was declared by Terver (in his total ignorance of its
actual habitat) to be not only Canarian, but also from the Cape Verdes, the
Madeiras, and the Azores, a statement which was at once accepted by Webb,
and even by Pfeiffer ; whereas in real fact it has not been detected, as yet, in
any of those Groups, except possibly the Canaries (for it is by no means abso-
lutely certain that it was found even there).
28 TEST ACE A ATLANTICA.
fragile, than those from S. Miguel) are opake, except the nucleus
and the base (which are translucid), and of a uniform pallid or
nearly straw-coloured hue, constituting a well-marked variety,
the ' 7. minor ' of Morelet. The aperture is a little more
rounded in the H. azorica than it is in the cognate forms, and
has its columellary margin but very slightly thickened or
expanded; and the ultimate volution is rather broader or more
developed.
Helix caldeirarum.
Helix caldeirarum, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi. 150
(1857)
azorica (pars), Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 165
(1858)
Pfeiff., Mai. Bldtt. 81 (1858)
caldeirarum, Id., Mon. Hel. iv. 347 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 156. t. 2.
f. 3 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 152 (1861)
Habitat S. Miguel ; sub lapidibus in Caldeira de Sete-Ci-
dades, rarissima.
The H. caldeirarum (which measures about 12 millimetres
^across its widest part), although thin and subdiaphanous, is
apparently not quite so fragile and pellucid as the azorica, and
it is also more appreciably striate ; its surface is of a light
uniform corneous-brown, free from paler blotches or irregular
markings, but ornamented with a well-defined darker band---
which occupies the dorsal region, or circumference, of the ulti-
mate whorl, and runs up alongside the suture of the pen-
ultimate one ; its aperture is not quite so rounded ; the
columellary margin of its peristome is a trifle thicker or more
dilated,^and its last volution is rather less broadly developed.
It seems to have been only in S. Miguel that the present
Helix has hitherto been observed, where it was met with
(though sparingly) by Morelet and Drouet, beneath stones, in
the Caldeira of the Sete-Cidades.
Helix niphas.
Helix niphas, Pfeiff., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 108 (1857)
Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 166 (1858)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iv. 159 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 162 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 153 (1861)
Habitat S. Miguel (teste PfeifTer) ; ex speciminibus a Dom.
Cuming missis descripta.
AZOREAN GROUP. 29
The present Helix, which was described by Pfeiffer from
examples communicated by the late Mr. Cuming, is said to be
from S. Miguel ; but it was not met with either by Morelet or
Drouet. There can be little doubt that it belongs to much the
same type as these immediately allied forms, though its white
colour and more solid substance, in conjunction with the fact
that its ultimate whorl does not appear (judging from the pub-
lished diagnosis) to be at all deflected at the aperture, show it
to be specifically distinct from them all.
In his observations on the H. niphas, Morelet says : ( II est
evident que cette espece se rattache par des liens etroits au
groupe que nous venons d'etudier ; ainsi la taille, la forme glo-
buleuse, la spire conique, 1'absence d'ombilic, le peristome droit,
epaissi au point d'insertion, enfin la direction de la columelle,
sont des caracteres communs a toutes les coquilles de cette
serie. Le nombre des tours de spire, leur developpement
graduel et la simplicite du bord droit, se retrouvent en outre
chez YH. caldeirarum, dont Fespece de M. Pfeiffer semble se
rapprocher d'avantage ; mais elle en differe, ainsi que de toutes
les autres, par la solidite, la couleur, et la direction du dernier
tour de spire qui ne flechit pas a sa terminaison.'
Helix terceirana.
H. caldeirarum (pars), Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi.
150 (1857)
Terceirana, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 158. t. 2. f. 4
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 152 (1861)
Habitat Terceira ; inter arbusculas Myrsine retusa, necnon
sub lapidibus, in Caldeira, copiose lecta.
Apparently very nearly allied to the H. caldeirarum, but
found in Terceira instead of S. Miguel. It appears to be com-
mon in that particular island, where it was found by Morelet
and Drouet beneath stones and about the bushes of Myrsine
retusa in the great Caldeira.
The H. terceirana is more solid, less diaphanous, and more
coarsely striated than the caldeirarum (indeed it is said to be
sometimes quite free from gloss) ; its ultimate whorl is rather
more flattened beneath ; and its peristome is more thickened or
bordered internally, and has the columellary margin gradually
more flattened or dilated towards its point of insertion. Its colour
too is different, the darker zone of the H. caldeirarum being
absent, and the surface usually more or less faintly freckled with
subopake and slightly paler fragmentary markings.
30 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Helix Drouetiana.
Helix Drouetiana, Morel., Hist. Nat. des A for. 160. t. 2.
f. 5 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Ac or. 153 (1861)
Habitat Fayal ; ad orientem montium versus Caldeira ascen-
dentium, sub lapidibus rarissima.
This species appears to be a trifle larger than the three
preceding ones, having about the same expanse (13 millimetres)
across its broadest part as the H. azorica with which also it
agrees somewhat in its general type of colouring, in the fine-
ness of its striation, and in its ultimate whorl being a little
widened. It is however more solid and less transparent than
the azorica and caldeirarum ; its spire is appreciably more
acute and prominent ; and its peristome is more decidedly
thickened within, and has the columellary margin more flattened
or expanded. From the H. azorica it further differs in its
aperture being less rounded, and in its axis being shorter (or
less vertically visible) at its point of junction with the lower
lip. In ornamentation the H. Drouetiana is of a pale yellowish
brown, but variegated with more or less evident and irregular
transverse radiating lines of a more corneous hue ; and there is
usually a darker, interrupted, or broken-up zone at the circum-
ference of the basal volution, and which runs alongside the
suture of the penultimate one.
The H. Drouetiana was met with by M. Drouet in Fayal,
towards the east of the mountains which rise so as to form the
Caldeira ; where, moreover, it would appear to be scarce.
( Pomatia, Beck.)
Helix aspersa.
Helix aspersa, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 59 (1774)
Pfeif., Mon. Hel. i. 241 (1848)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 152 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 151 (1861)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 69 (1872)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; in cultis late
sed vix copiose diffusa.
According to Morelet and Drouet, the common H. aspersa,
Mull., occurs on every island of the Azorean archipelago, where
doubtless it must have been introduced from the European conti-
nent. It is a species which is extremely liable to accidental trans-
mission, along with consignments of trees and plants ; and it was
in all probability in that manner that it has become thoroughly
naturalized at St. Helena. Into Madeira it was imported a
AZOREAN GROUP. 31
comparatively few years ago, but I have no evidence that it has
succeeded in establishing itself to any appreciable extent ; but
in Palma of the Canarian Group it has gained a complete foot-
ing, and, since it assumes there a slightly local aspect, there is
reason to suspect that it may have existed in that island for at
all events a considerable period.
( Maoularia, Alb.)
Helix lactea.
Helix lactea, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 19 (1774)
W. et B., Ann. des Sc. Nat. 28. Syn. 313
d'Orb., in W. et B. Hist. ii. 2. 55 (1839)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 152 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 150 (1861)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 70 (1872)
Habitat Sta. Maria, et S. Miguel ; in inferioribus, sed haud
abundans.
The Mediterranean H. lactea, which is found in the Canarian
Group, and is very abundant on the coast of Morocco, occurs
sparingly around Ponta Delgada in S. Miguel, as well as in a
calcareous district in the south of Sta. Maria. Morelet, who
remarks that the Azorean examples are very similar to those of
Portugal, is of opinion that it has probably been imported into
the islands.
( Euparypha, Hartm.)
Helix pisana.
Helix pisana, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 60 (1774)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 52 (1831)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 21. t. 3. f. 118 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 153 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 150 (1861)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 28 (1872)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; in inferioribus,
prsecipue cultis, vulgaris.
By both Morelet and Drouet the common European H. pisana
is said to occur on every island of the Azorean archipelago,-
abounding in gardens, and other cultivated spots. It is locally
plentiful in the Madeiran and Canarian Groups ; and in the
latter, as well as on the intermediate isolated rocks of the
Salvages, it is developed into several very beautiful and well-
defined varieties. Hitherto, however, it has not been observed
at the Cape Verdes.
32 , TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
( Xeropliila, Held.)
Helix armillata.
Helix ' striata, Drap. ? ' Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv.
53(1831)
Lowei, Pot. et Mich, (nee Per. 1835), Gall, des
Moll. 91 (1838)
armillata, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. 113 (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 116 (1853)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 20. t. 2. f. 32-35 (1854)
eumaeus, Lowe, Proc. Linn. Soc. Loud. ; Zool. 198
(1860)
armillata, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 174. t. 3. f. 7
(1860)
Drouet 9 Faun. Acor. 155 (1861)
Habitat ins. omnes sec. Drouet, sed ins. fere omnes sec.
Morelet; in cultis inferioribus juxta mare, vulgaris. Prope
Horta, in ins. Fayal, praecipue abundat.
I cannot feel altogether satisfied that the H. armillata,
Lowe, should be separated specifically from the smaller and
more depressed form of the common European H. caperata,
(striata, Drap.), which is so often to be met with, commingled
with the larger and typical one, throughout the maritime and sub-
maritime districts of southern Europe ; indeed Mr. Lowe himself
regarded it originally as a mere state of that species. At Madeira
it is locally abundant ; and, according to Morelet, it has been
taken lately by MM. Bouvier and de Cessac in S. Vicente of
the Cape-Verde Group. It occurs also around Mogador, on the
west coast of Morocco, where it is a trifle more strongly
costate-striate, and from whence it was re-described by Lowe,
in 1860, under the name of H. eumceus.
In the Azorean archipelago the H. armillata is said by
Morelet to be common ' dans la plupart des iles/ but Drouet
(after specially mentioning Sta. Maria and Fayal) adds ' Habite
tout Parchipel ; ' and it seems to me, therefore, that it presents
another instance of that sad want of precision which character-
izes these vague expressions of universality which we are called
upon to believe without the slightest evidence being supplied
to show that they are strictly true. If Drouet really obtained
the H. armillata on the whole nine islands of the Group, why
does he not say so plainly ? But, knowing as I do the extreme
difficulty of procuring even the commonest forms on every
single island' of a widely scattered assemblage, I cannot but
feel unbounded surprise that so overwhelming a proportion of
the Gastropods of MM. Morelet and Drouet should have been
recorded by them as inhabiting ' tout 1'archipel.'
AZOREAN GROUP. 33
Helix apicina,
Helix apicina, Lam., Hist. vi. 102, 93 (1822)
Xerophila apicina, Held, in Isis, 913 (1837)
Helix apicina, Morel., Moll, du Port. 63 (1845)
' Pfei/., M on.Hel.i. 170(1848)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 174 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 158 (1861)
Pfei/-, M OU. Hel. vii. 242 (1876)
Habitat Terceira ; forsan ex Europa introducta.
The European and North- African H. apicina, Lam., was
found both by Morelet and Drouet in Terceira, ' sur les pelouses
au fond de la baie de Praya,' where it appears to be common ;
but they did not meet with it in any of the other islands.
The only evidence of its occurrence in the more southern
archipelagos is embodied in two examples which were taken
during the ' Challenger ' expedition at Teneriffe.
Helix obruta.
Helix obruta, Morel., Hist. Nat. des. Acor. 178, t. 5. f. 13
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 158 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria, semifossilis ; hodie recens haud
inventa.
This rather obscure little Helix appears to be found subfos-
silized, in a somewhat calcareous region, towards the southern
coast of Sta. Maria ; and as it has not been observed hitherto
in a recent condition, it may perhaps have become extinct.
Still, judging from the analogy of the numerous Madeiran
Helices, in a similar predicament, which had long been sup-
posed to have passed away, but which have ultimately been
brought to light as members of the present fauna, it would be
unsafe to assert this until at any rate the neighbouring districts
of the island have been fully and accurately investigated.
Being in an almost colourless state, the characters of the
H. obruta are not easy to be denned ; nor indeed are its affini-
ties very evident, though Morelet compares it with the larger
examples of the H. armillata. It is, however, less depressed
and less angulose than that species, the columellary edge of its
peristome is somewhat less expanded, and its umbilicus is nar-
rower. It seems to me to be rather solid, and faintly marked
with oblique striae, measuring about 8 millimetres across its
broadest part.
34 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
( Sjrirobula, Lowe.)
Helix paupercula,
Helix paupercula, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 47. t. 5.
f. 19 (1831)
Pfeiff., Man. Hel. i. 189 (1848)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 35. t. 8. f. 27-30 (1854)
Morel, Hist. Nat. des Acor. 175 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 157 (1861)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 60 (1872)
Habitat S. Miguel, Fayal, et Pico ; in aridis apricis infe-
rioribus submaratimis, hinc inde ad rupes adhaerens necnon sub
lapidibus.
The curious little H. paupercula, which occurs on the whole
five islands of the Madeiran Group (where it is manifestly abori-
ginal), and which exists likewise (though sparingly) in the
eastern part of the Canarian archipelago, has been detected (at
the Azores) in S. Miguel, Fayal, and Pico, where it is found,
as in the Madeiras, in dry and rocky places near the coast.
Whether it has been naturalized accidentally from the more
southern Group, or whether the Azores constitute a portion of
its primevally-acquired range, is a problem which it is scarcely
possible to solve.
The small size, and flattened, planorbiform outline of this
obscurely-coloured, solid little Helix (which has the singular
habit of cementing itself over, more or less, with a hardened
covering of mud), in conjunction with its whorls being only
about four in number, its basal region inflated and convex,
its umbilicus large, deep, and spiral, and its aperture (which is
a good deal deflexed) powerfully constricted behind, so as to
shape out an annular ridge-like prominence, whilst the peri-
stome itself is comparatively thin, well-nigh circular, and ele-
vated, will readily distinguish it. Its average width, across the
broadest part, is about 2^ lines.
( His2)idella, Lowe.)
Helix horripila.
Helix horripila, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi. 149
(1857)
Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 165
(1858)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iv. 303 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 170. t. 3. f. 3
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 154 (1861)
AZOREAN GROUP. 36
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; praecipue in
umbrosis humidis, vel cultis inferioribus vel montosis, vulgaris.
A rather commonplace little Helix which, according to
Morelet, and judging from his excellent figure, belongs to
much the same type as the H. plebeia, hispida, rufescens,
sericea, lurida, &c., though distinct from them all. It is a
reddish-brown shell, with a faint yellowish band more or less
traceable on the ultimate volution, extremely thin and fragile,
and even subdiaphanous. Its surface is densely crowded with
minute oblique striae, which are decussated by a few fine but
less regular spiral lines (more particularly evident about the
dorsal region and the base) ; and it is conspicuously studded
with short erect hairs, which have a tendency to arrange them-
selves in radiating transverse rows. The peristome is exces-
sively thin and fragile, and has the columellary margin a little
reflexed, as well as minutely and triangularly dilated at its in-
sertion so as very slightly to overlap the edge of the umbilicus
which is, itself, rather small.
According to Morelet and Prouet, the H. horripila is found
on every island of the Group ; and one cannot but admire the
extreme diligence of those two naturalists, who obtained, in one
short visit, so overwhelming a proportion of their species on the
whole nine detachments of an archipelago which is so remotely
scattered as that of the Azores.
( Cwacollina, Beck.)
Helix barbula.
Helix barbula, Charp., in litt.
Rossm., Icon. vii. 11 (1838)
Morel., Moll, du Port. 57 (1845)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 210 (1848)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 170 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 155 (1861)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Drouet) ; sub lapidibus, ad muros,
et cast., prsecipue in cultis, vulgatissima.
The H. barbula, which is so common in Portugal, is, ac-
cording to Morelet, 4 extrement multiplied aux Azores ; ' and he
adds ' se trouve j usque dans les iles lointaines de Flores et
Corvo, ce qui fait presumer qu'elle est indigene de 1'archipel.
On la rencontre au pied des murs, dans les rues meme de
Horta et de Ponta Delgada.' Drouet, however, cuts the matter
shorter by saying < Habite tout 1'archipel ;' and we are therefore
bound to accept this statement, until otherwise explained, as a
positive guarantee that he has either found it or else ascer-
tained that it occurs in the whole nine islands of the Group. I
n 2
36 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
can only hope therefore that this is truly the case, and that in
registering it as universal it is strictly in accordance with
facts. 1
Helix lenticula.
Helix lenticula, Per., Tabl. Syst. 37, 154 (1821)
subtilis, L&ive, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 45. t. 5.
f. 13(1831)
lenticula, Id., Prod. Zool. Soc. Lond. 196 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 43. t. 11. f. 9-12 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 169 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 156 (1861)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 66 (1872)
Habitat Sta. Maria, S. Miguel, et Pico : sub lapidibus in
aridis, rarior.
The South-European H. lenticula, Fer., appears to occur
sparingly in Sta. Maria, S. Miguel, and Pico ; but it was not
observed, by either Morelet or Drouet, in any of the other
islands. It seems to be found under stones at the base of walls,
as well as amongst the plants of Agave americana (or American
Aloe), in dry spots of a low altitude. It is common in the
Madeiran and Canarian archipelagos, but less so at the Cape
Verdes.
( Lemniscia, Lowe.)
Helix vespertina.
Helix vespertina, Morel, Hist. Nat. des Acor. 170. t. b. f. 3
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 154 (1861)
Habitat Terceira; in montibus juxta craterem magnum
Caldeirao dictum parce reperta.
The affinities of this rather insignificant little Helix seem to
me to be very dubious ; and, unfortunately, Morelet gives us no
clue as to its nearest allies. Judging however from his diag-
nosis and very excellent figure, I am inclined to think that it
may perhaps have something in common with the Canarian
species (of Lowe's section Lemniscia) around the H. Wood-
wardia of Tarnier and the cosmenlitia of Shuttleworth ; and I
would therefore cite it accordingly, though at the same time
not without considerable hesitation. It is only in the island of
Terceira that it has hitherto been met with, where it was found
1 The H. barbula. is well distinguished from the lenticula by (inter alia)
its comparatively gigantic size (the larger examples measuring about 5 lines
across their broadest part), its more numerous volutions, its more strongly
costate surface, and by its incrassated peristome, the columellary and basal
margins of which are much more recurved, as well as armed internally with
two obtuse, but unequal, tooth-like callosities.
AZOREAN GROUP. 37
sparingly on the mountains in the immediate neighbourhood of
the great crater known as the Caldeirao.
The H. vespertina would seem to be somewhat depressed
and lenticular, but with the nucleus nevertheless (as in the H.
Woodwardid) prominent, very thin in substance, and glabrous,
but not shining. It is of a corneous brown, but has a faint
paler band immediately below the rather obtuse keel ; its whole
surface is finely and closely striated ; the margins of its peri-
stome are remote, but joined by a very thin lamelliform callus;
and its umbilicus is small and shallow, the outer edge being-
reached (but scarcely overhung) by the very slight columellary
dilatation.
Genus 9. BULIMUS, Scopoli.
Bulimus ventrieosus,
Bulimus ventrieosus, Drap., Tabl. de Moll. 68 (1801)
Id., Hist. Nat. 78. t. 4. f. 31-33 (1805)
Helix ventrosa, Fer., Prodr. 377. t. 52 (1807)
Bulimus ventrosus, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 62
(1831)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 54, t. 14. f. 18, 19
(1854)
Morel., Hist. 'Nat. des Acor. 1 96 ( 1 860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 163 (1861 )
Helix ventricosa, Mouse., Faun. Mai. des Can. 46 (1872)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; sub lapidibus
in aridis, vulgaris.
This Bulimus, which is so widely spread throughout Medi-
terranean latitudes occurring in the Madeiran, Canarian, and
Cape-Verde archipelagos, as well as on the west coast of
Morocco is found, according to Morelet and Drouet, on every
island of the Azorean Group. As elsewhere, it resides princi-
pally, beneath stones and about old walls, in dry spots of a low
elevation. 1
Bulimus solitarius,
Helix solitaria, Poir., Coq. Fluv. et Terr. 85 (1801)
conoidea, Drop., Tabl. de Moll. 69 (1801)
Theba conoidea, Beck, Ind. Moll. 11 (1837)
Bulimus solitarius, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. ii. 216 (1848)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 196 (1860)
1 Considering that this common Bulimus was described by Draparnaud,
under the name of ventrieosus, in 1801, and by Ferussac under that of ventrosus
in 1807, it is difficult to understand why so many authors should quote it
under the latter title instead of the former. So long as the law of priority is
to be recognized, there is a manifest want of consistency in not following it
implicitly.
38 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Habitat Fayal (sec. Dunker) ; a D. Tarns sc. deprehensa.
The Mediterranean B. solitarius (which is well distin-
guished from the ventricosus by its rather shorter or less pro-
duced spire, its more carinated basal whorl, and its larger and
more open umbilicus) was not met with at the Azores by either
Morelet or Drouet ; nevertheless it is stated by Dunker to have
been found commonly by Dr. Tarns in Fayal.
Bulimus Santa-Marianus.
Bulimus Sanctse-Mariae, Morel, et Dr., Joum. de Conch, vi.
150 (1857)
Mouss., Viert. derNat. Zurich, 167
(1858)
Pfeiff.,Mon. Hel. iv. 474(1859)
Santa^Marianus, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 194.
t. 4. f. 6 (I860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 163 (1861)
(.status junior).
Helix membranacea, Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 165
(1858)
Habitat Sta. Maria, et recens et semifossilis ; ad montem
Pico Alto sub lapidibus detecta.
This is rather a short, broad, and inflated Bulimus, par-
taking more of the general contour of the B. ventricosus than
any of the following species ; and it is also thin and fragile,
semitransparent, of a corneous brown, but usually more or less
ornamented with a fascia of darker and paler ray-like, some-
times zigzag markings, which (although seldom quite obsolete)
is occasionally reduced to a narrow line, but which is far more
often so wide as to occupy nearly the whole breadth of the
penultimate whorl. Its peristome is whitish and very slightly
expanded, the columellary margin however being rather more
so, as well as a little dilated (at its point of insertion) over the
umbilical chink.
The B. Santa-Jifarianus, which measures from about 10 to
1 3 millimetres in length, occurs in Sta. Maria, especially under
stones on the Pico Alto, where it is said to be abundant ; and
it was met with likewise in a subfossilized condition, in the
south of that same island.
Bulimus Hartungi,
Bulimus Hartungi, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi. 151
(1857)
Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 166
(1858)
AZOEEAN GROUP. 39
Bulimus Hartungi, Pfeiff., Man. Hel. iv. 503 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 188. t. 4.
f. 2 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 162 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria, et recens et semifossilis ; sub lapidibus
in saxosis, parum vulgaris.
The present Bulimus, which is found in Sta. Maria, and
which occurs also in a subfossil state on the southern coast of
that island, is considerably smaller and less ventricose than the
B. Santa-Marianus (it being only about 10 millimetres in
length), and it seems to be free from a variegated band or
fascia. In point of fact, it is far nearer to the B. vulgaris, of
which it might almost be regarded as a small and stunted
modification peculiar to Sta. Maria (in which island the typical
vulgaris has not yet been observed). Indeed even Morelet
admits that occasional ' formes intermediaires ' of the B. Har-
tungi are not easy to separate from the vulgaris, adding, how-
ever (which seems to me to involve a petitio principii), ' on ne
peut expliquer ici ces deviations du type par 1'alliance des deux
especes, car le B. vulgaris ne parait point exister dans Vile de
Sta. Maria.'
The B. Hartungi is described as both < ruguloso-striata '
and ' spiraliter granulata ' ; and it is said to possess the habit
of coating itself over with a hardened envelope of earth, much
as one sees in the Canarian B. Guerreanus, from Hierro, as well
as (occasionally) in the darker forms of the B. variatus, W. et
B., from Lauzarote, and sometimes even in the badiosus, Yer.,
of Teneriffe. Its volutions are rather convex, with the sutural
line deeply impressed ; and the upper and lower margins of its
peristome are connected by a thin callus.
Bulimus vulgaris.
Bulimus vulgaris, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi. 150
(1857)
Mouss.,Viert.derNat.Zurich,l66 (1858)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel., iv. 418 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des A$or. 184. t. 4.
f. 3 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 161 (1861)
Habitat S. Miguel, et Fayal ; inter folia emortua, sub la-
pidibus, et cset., sat vulgaris.
A species which appears to be found in S. Miguel and Fayal
(in both of which islands it was met with likewise by Mr.
Grodman), being more particularly abundant in the former,
where it occurs beneath stones, under fallen leaves, and at the
40 TESTACEA ATLANT1CA.
base of the walls. It is compared by Morelet to the common
European B. obscurus ; but it is a little larger and more ven-
tricose, and its peristome is more obtuse and thickened. It
seems to be very variable in stature, its extreme length mea-
suring from about 9 to 11 millimetres.
Morelet calls attention to a shell which exists on the moun-
tains of S. Miguel, in the neighbourhood of the Lagoa do
Congro, which is so strictly intermediate between the B. vulgaris
and pruninus (the types of which are otherwise altogether dis-
similar) that he is quite unable to decide to which of them it
should be referred; and he consequently arrives at the con-
clusion that, in all probability, it is a hybrid between the two
species.
Bulimus delibutus.
Bulimus delibutus, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi. 151
(1857)
Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 167
(1858)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iv. 474 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 190. t. 4.
f. 4 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 161 (1861)
Habitat Terceira, et Fayal ; hinc inde in saxosis occurrens.
The B. delibutus, which has been found in Terceira and
Fayal, seems to be very near to the vulgaris, from which it
mainly differs in being a trifle slenderer and more shining, and
in having its suture obscurely and very narrowly edged with
white. It appears also to be more or less lightly marked with
spiral undulating lines, sometimes paler and sometimes darker
than the ground-colour, but which are apt to become obsolete
when the shell happens to be thinner than usual and more
transparent. The columellary edge of its peristome is just
appreciably wider than is the case in the B. vulgaris, and has a
.very slight tendency to be subrecurved.
Bulimus Forbesianus,
Bulimus variatus, Dunk, [nee W. et B., 1833], Ind. Moll.
6. t. 1. f. 24, 25
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 355 (1853)
Forbesianus, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi.
151 (1857)
atlanticus, Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich, 166
(1858)
Forbesianus, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iv. 422 (1859)
AZOREAN GROUP. 41
Bulimus Forbesianus, Morel., Hist. Nat. des A$or. 192. t. 4.
f. 5 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. A$or. 161 (1861)
Habitat Terceira, Graciosa, Pico, et Fayal ; exemplaribus e
Terceira plerumque crassioribus (quare minus translucentibus),
ac magis aut etiam omnino concoloribus.
This is apparently larger and more elongated than any of
the foregoing species, its average length being about 15 milli-
metres ; and it seems to. be somewhat slender and subdia-
phanous, rather shining, granulated at the base, and usually
marbled or variegated with irregular, more or less confluent
and fragmentary, paler lines and spots ; though some examples,
particularly those from Terceira, are said to be concolorous.
There can be little question that it is very closely allied to the
B. variatus, W. et B. (to which indeed it was originally re-
ferred by Pfeiffer) ; and, considering the extreme inconstancy
of that species in the Canarian archipelago, I cannot but feel
doubtful whether it ought to be regarded as more than a modi-
fication of the latter, and one moreover which is not absolutely
similar even in the four islands Terceira, Graciosa, Pico, and
Fayal- on which it is said to occur.
Bulimus variatus.
Bulimus variatus, W. et B., Ann. des Sc. Nat. 28. Syn. 326
(1833)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. ii. 125 (1845)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des A<?or. 192 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. A$or. 160 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria, et recens et semifossilis ; sub lapidibus
haud infrequens.
I have not been able to procure a type from these islands for
comparison, but the B. variatus, W. et B., which is so widely
spread in the Canaries, and which presents so many different
modifications for different islands of the Group, is said both by
Morelet and Drouet to occur in Sta. Maria; and the latter
mentions that it likewise exists in a subfossil state (in company
with the Helix vetusta, &c.) near Praya, on the southern coast.
Considering how little in common, as regards their true faunas
(i. e. after the manifestly introduced species have been elimi-
nated), the Azorean and Canarian archipelagos have with each
other, it is certainly strange that one of the most unmistakeably
indigenous members of the latter should be found, both recent
and subfossilized, in the former. Judging from Drouet's diag-
nosis, the examples from the Azores would seem to accord better
perhaps with the TenerifTan ones (which represent the ' status
42 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
normalis* of this catalogue) than with those from either
Lauzarote or Palma.
Bulimus pruninus.
Bulimus pruninus, Gould, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 190
(1846)
Id., Exped. Shells, t. 6. f. 83 (1851)
cyaneus, Alb., Mai. Bldtt. 31 (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 354 (1853)
Mouss.,Viert.derNat.Zurich,lQQ (1858)
tremulans, Id., Ibid. 167 (1858)
pruninus, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iv. 418 (1859)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Apor. 179. t. 4.
f. 1 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 159 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria, S. Miguel, et Terceira; vulgaris, ac
valde inconstans.
This is the largest of the Azorean Bulimi, measuring from
about 14 to 18 millimetres in length ; and it is, apparently, the
most variable shell in the archipelago, the number of phases,
both in colour and sculpture, through which it passes being
well-nigh endless. Ten of the more conspicuous of them are
alluded to by Morelet, to whose account of the species I must
consequently refer. It is in the three eastern islands Sta.
Maria, S. Miguel, and Terceira that the B. pruninus is found,
and it seems to be as common there as it is unstable, occurring
principally beneath stones, amongst dead leaves, and at the
bases of the walls.
The B. pruninus is a more or less solid shell, and opake,
generally roughly striated but sometimes with the striae obsolete,
with the aperture rather angulose at the base, and with the
peristome (the upper and lower portions of which are connected
by an intervening callus) thickened and (especially towards the
columella) expanded. In colour, it is often (except at the
apex) blueish or plumbeous, passing-off however into a yel-
lowish- or corneous-brown, as well as into a rosy-white, and even
white; but the blueish or cyaneous tint is often indistinctly
traceable in examples in which at first sight it would seem to
have totally disappeared.
Genus 10. STENOGYEA, Shutil.
Stenogyra decollata.
Helix decollata, Linn., Syst. Nat. (edit. 10), 773 (1758)
Bulimus decollatus, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 62
(1831;
AZOREAN GROUP. 43
Bulimus decollates, Alb., Mai. Mad. 54, t. 14, f. 16-17
(1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Agor. 196
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 163 (1861)
Stenogyra decollata, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 120
(1872)
Habitat Sta. Maria, et S. Miguel; hinc inde in apricis
inferioribus, forsan introducta.
It is only in the islands of Sta. Maria and S. Miguel that the
Mediterranean 8. decollata has hitherto been observed, namely,
near the fort of San Braz in the former, in company with the H.
paupercula, and in a somewhat calcareous district of the latter
which constitutes the southern base of vhe Facho. In all pro-
bability it has been naturalized in the archipelago.
Grenus 11. PUPA, Drap.
( Truncatellina, Lowe.)
Pupa microspora.
Pupa microspora, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 275 (1852)
Pfdff., Mon. Hel. iii. 532 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 207 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 61 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des A$or. 197,t. 5. f. 1
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Aqor. 167 (1861)
Mouss.,Faun. Mai. des Can. 124 (1872)
Habitat S. Miguel, Fayal, et Pico ; sub foliis dejectis,
lapidibus, et inter muscos in umbrosis humidiusculis occurrens.
This fragile, subdiaphanous, conical, edentate little Pupa,
which is so abundant, particularly amongst ferns, in the laurel-
woods of a high elevation both in Madeira and the Canaries,
and which is very nearly allied to the European P. edentula,
Drap., was found by Morelet and Drouet in S. Miguel, Fayal,
and Pico, in the first and second chiefly in the Caldeiras, and
in the third amongst the fallen leaves of the Persea azorica.
( Gastrodon, Lowe.)
Pupa umbilicata.
Pupa umbilicata, Drap., Tabl. des Moll. 58 (1801)
Helix anconostoma, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 62.
t. 5. f. 30(1831)
Pupa Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. ii. 314 (1848)
44 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Pupa anconostoma, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 208
(1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 61. t. 15. f. 19-22
(1854)
MoreL, Hist. Nat. des Acor. 198
(1860)
umbilicata, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 165 (1861)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 120 (1867)
anconostoma Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 123
(1872)
umbilicata, Watson, Journ. de Conch. 223 (1876)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Drouet); sub lapidibus necnon ad
muros, prsesertim in cultis, vulgatissima. In Fayal a Revdo.
R. T. Lowe lecta.
The form which this common European Pupa assumes at
the Azores appears chiefly to be the rather smaller one, with a
less developed ventral plait, to which Mr. Lowe gave the name
of anconostoma, and which is so abundant in the Madeiras
and Canaries, and which occurs even at St. Helena. Morelet
is content to speak of it as ' tres commune aux Apores ' ; but
Drouet, less guarded in his mode of expression, adds ' Habite
tout 1'archipel.' It is far from unlikely that the latter may in
reality be true ; nevertheless if M. Drouet did not absolutely
meet with it on the whole nine islands, it is at least rash (to
say nothing of the want of precision in the actual statement) to
assume that it is universal ; for, to take the instance of the
neighbouring Group, although it positively swarms in Madeira
proper, it has not as yet been observed in Porto Santo at all,
and but very sparingly on only two of the three Desertas.
Therefore I cannot but consider it somewhat strange that the
nine Azorean islands, which are far more widely separated from
each other, should have been ascertained to harbour it both
universally and in profusion.
( lAostyla, Lowe.)
Pupa fuscidula.
Pupa fuscidula, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 202. t. 5. f. 5
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 165 (1861)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; sub lapidibus
et inter folia emortua degens.
A Pupa which is said by Morelet and Drouet to be found on
every island of the Azorean Group ; a range which, judging from
the analogy of the allied forms at the Madeiras and the Canaries,
AZOREAN GROUP. 45
is certainly a wide one at any rate for a species which, is mani-
festly aboriginal and which has no appearance of having been
naturalized. It is smaller and rather more conical (or less
strictly barrel-shaped) than the P. tessellata ; and its pale
corneous surface (which is minutely striated and somewhat
shining) is almost entirely darkened or concealed (except
beneath, or at the base of the shell) by a fuscous band which
more or less covers the whorls. The aperture is relatively a
little smaller than in the P. tessellata,, and not quite so
posteriorly-prominent, or downwardly-produced ; and it is
armed internally with five plaits, two of which are ventral
(the outer one being the larger and more salient, and connected
by a corneous sphincter with the angle of the lip), one columel-
lary, and two (which are more immersed or remote) palatial.
Although unmistakeably allied to several Madeiran species
of the laurinea and concinna type, I think nevertheless
(judging from the diagnosis and figure) that the present Pupa
has still more in common with the P. castanea of the Canarian
archipelago, and (perhaps more particularly) with the P.
pythiella.
Pupa fasciolata,
Pupa fasciolata, Morel., Hist. Nat. des A$or. 198. t. 5. f. 2
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 165 (1861)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Morelet et Drouet) ; sub lapidibus
et inter folia emortua, una cum specie prsecedenti, vulgaris.
Judging from the diagnosis and the very excellent figure
which is given by Morelet, this seems to be a more ovate and
ventricose little Pupa than the fuscidula, as well as thinner
and more pellucid, and less broadly clouded with a dark-brown
or castaneous fascia, the latter (at all events as represented in
the plate) being reduced to a somewhat narrower and better-
defined band. Its aperture would appear to have only a single
very distinct plica, namely, in the usual place, on the ventral
wall, at a short distance from the angle of the lip ; nevertheless
there are manifest indications of another, on the columella,
which however is deeply immersed, and by no means con-
spicuous.
The P. fasciolata is reported both by Morelet and Drouet
as existing on every one of the Azorean islands (' dans toutes
les iles de 1'archipel ') ; and it supplies, therefore, another
instance of the extreme diligence of those two explorers, who,
during a single visit extending over a period of but five months,
succeeded in obtaining no less than one- third of their Grastro-
46 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
podous fauna on the whole nine detachments of a Group which
is so widely scattered as that of the Azores. 1
Pupa tessellata.
Pupa tesselata, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. t. 5. f. 6
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 164 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria; in sylvis laurorum et Myricoe in
montibus copiose degens.
This is the largest of the Azorean Pupce which have hitherto
been detected, and one which has been found only in Sta. Maria,
where it is said to occur abundantly, in the laurel and Myrica
woods, on the mountains of .the interior. It is very much on
the Madeiran type, and seems to me (so far as I can judge from
the diagnosis and figure) to have most in common with such
species as the P. laurinea and concinna, with which its some-
what downwardly-produced and trefoil-shaped aperture would
still further tend to affiliate it.
The P. tessellata is a rather oval or barrel-shaped species,
somewhat obtuse at the apex, lightly costulated, and of a ful-
vescent hue, but a good deal darkened, or chequered, with
irregular, squarish, more or less confluent, castaneous makings ;
and its aperture has six plaits, two of which are ventral (the
outer one being the larger, and joined by a corneous sphincter
to the angle of the lip), two columellary, and two (more
internal and less developed) palatial.
( Craticula, Lowe.)
Pupa rugulosa.
Pupa rugulosa, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 199. t. 5. f. 3
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 166 (1861)
Habitat Pico ; in horto quodam versus occidentem insulae,
semel tantum (inter Helicem pauperculam, Lowe) reperta.
The present Pupa and the P. vermiculosa appear to differ
from the other Azorean species here enumerated in being a
little more solid and opake, and more distinctly sculptured
across the whorls with longitudinal costse. Indeed, so far as I
can judge from the diagnoses and figures, I should say that
they are very intimately allied, the rugulosa, however, being
rather the larger of the two, as well as somewhat more oblong
1 And this, I may add, is rendered even still more remarkable when we
take into account that at any rate the island of S. Jorge does not appear to
have been visited by MM. Morelet and Drouet at all.
AZOREAN GROUP. 47
(or less short and ventricose), and with its surface a little more
roughened, though its costse (which are slightly more numerous
and regular) are nevertheless not quite so coarse. Its aperture,
too, is relatively a trifle smaller, and (according to the diagnosis)
is provided with only three plaits, two of which are ventral
(the outer, or larger, one being connected with the angle of the
lip by a corneous sphincter), and the third one on the middle of
the columella. In the figure, however, there would seem to be
indications of a fourth one, on the palate ; but this perhaps
may be merely accidental.
The P. rugulosa is apparently unique, the single example
which served Morelet as a type having been found by Drouet in
a garden, in company with the H. paupercula, Lowe, on the
western coast of Pico.
Pupa vermiculosa.
Pupa vermiculosa, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 201. t. 5.
f. 4 (I860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 166 (1861)
Habitat S. Miguel ; in montibus juxta lacum ad Las Furnas
parce lecta.
As already implied, the present Pupa is a trifle smaller
and more ovate than the P. rugulosa, and its costse are rather
wider apart, at any rate on the ultimate and penultimate
whorls, where they have also a slight tendency to be flexuose or
vermiform. Its aperture is said to be armed internally with
four plaits (instead of only three) ; but the fourth one cannot
be very conspicuous or well defined, seeing that a different
situation is assigned to it by Morelet and Drouet, the former
citing it as (small and ' punctiform ') on the ventral wall, to
the left of the usual large and prominent one ; whilst Drouet
speaks of it as on the ' bord externe ' (or palate), in which case
(according to him) there is only ' 1 sur la paroi superieure,'
i.e. on the ventral paries. I doubt, therefore, if the aperture
can be regarded strictly as more than 3-plicate.
The P. vermiculosa was met with in S. Miguel, at the base
of the mountains which adjoin the southern border of the lake
in the valley of the Furnas.
( Staurodon, Lowe.)
Pupa pygmaBa.
Pupa pygma3a, Drap., Tabl. d. Moll. 57 (1801)
Vertigo pygmasa, Gray, Man. 201. t. 7. f. 83 (1840)
Pupa pygmsea, Pfei/., Mon. Hel. ii. 362 (1848)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 206 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 167 (1861)
43 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Habitat S. Miguel ; juxta Ponta Delgada parce deprehensa.
This common and minute European Pupa was found both
by Morelet and Drouet in S. Miguel, where in all probability
it must have been introduced accidentally, along perhaps with
consignments of shrubs and plants. It would seem to have
been found principally near Ponta Delgada, though Morelet
alludes to it also as occurring in the Caldeiras.
Genus 12. BALEA, Pridx.
Balea perversa,
Turbo perversus, Linn., Fna. Suec. 2172 (1761)
Balea perversa, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. ii. 387 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 215 (1854)
,, Alb., Mai. Mad. 69. t. 16. f. 15, 16 (1854)
nitida, Mouss., Viert. der Nat. Zurich) 168 (1858)
perversa, Morel, Hist. Nat. des Acor. 206 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 167 (1861)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad., 140 (1867)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Drouet) ; ad muros, in muscis, et
cset., vulgaris.
Morelet makes no particular mention of the exact range of
this common European Gastropod at the Azores, but Drouet
adds, more boldly, ' Habite tout Farchipel ' ; and we have con-
sequently no option but to accept the latter statement (until at
all events it has been otherwise qualified or explained) as
literally and dogmatically true. It is therefore interesting to
feel assured that the B. perversa, which is so nearly absent
from the more southern Groups that it has been observed
hitherto only on the extreme summit of a basaltic mountain in
Porto Santo (where it was detected sparingly by myself), should
be absolutely abundant in the whole nine widely-scattered
islands which constitute the Azores. Such facts as these are of
great geographical importance, and we cannot be too thankful
to M. Drouet for having established so conclusively the Azorean
universality of this species.
It would appear that the examples of this Balea from the
present archipelago are, on the average, a little more shining
than the ordinary continental ones, with their volutions a trifle
more tumid, and their aperture (which is just appreciably
smaller and rounder) free from a ventral plait ; and this cir-
cumstance induced Mousson to describe it as new, under the
name of B. nitida. It is the opinion, however, both of Morelet
and Drouet that these distinctions are not permanent ones, the
individuals varying according to the districts in which they are
AZOREAN GROUP. 49
found, and some of them having their plait conspicuously
developed ; so that it is not possible to regard the Azorean
specimens as representing more than, at the utmost, a slight
geographical variety of the usual type.
Genus 13. ACHATINA, Lamarck.
( Coclilicopa, Fer.)
Achatina lubrica.
Helix lubrica, Mull, Verm. Hist. ii. 104 (1774)
subcylindrica, Chemn., Syst. Conch, ix. 2. 167. t.
135. f. 1235 (1786)
Achatina lubrica, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. ii. 272 (1848)
Glandina azorica,-^., Mai. Bldtt. 125 (1852)
Achatina azorica, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 54 (1853)
Zua azorica, Mouss., Viert der Nat. Zurich, 167 (1858)
Glandina lubrica, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 197 (1860)
subcylindrica, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 164 (1861)
Achatina lubrica, Watson, Journ. de Conch. 223 (1876)
Habitat ins. omnes (sec. Drouet), sed Sta. Maria, S. Miguel,
et Fayal sec. Morelet ; sub lapidibus, et caet., vulgaris.
According to Morelet and Drouet the Azorean examples of
this common European Achatina differ in no respect from the
usual ones, and it is therefore utterly inexplicable how Albers
could have described them (as he did in 1852) as the exponents
of a new species. It occurs also in the cultivated districts of
the Madeiran and (judging from Morelet's list) the Cape-Verde
Groups, where there can be little doubt that it must have
become accidentally naturalized; but since the Madeiran
specimens belong for the most part to the slightly smaller and
slenderer phasis of the shell which Mr. Lowe enunciated as the
A. maderensis (and which is the one equally alluded to in
Dr. Albers' ' Malacographia '), I have not cited the works of
either Lowe or Albers amongst the references (as above given)
of the species. Nevertheless I might have done so without any
real inaccuracy, for there can be little doubt that the rather
narrower and depauperated form which was characterised by
Mr. Lowe, and which is the almost universal aspect assumed in
Madeira, is conspecific with the somewhat larger type.
Morelet speaks of the C. lubrica as abundant in Sta.
Maria, S. Miguel, and Fayal ; but Drouet, as is his wont in so
many other similar instances, adds ' Habite tout 1'archipel ' ;
though whether that means that he absolutely met with it (or
had ascertained positively that it exists) in the whole nine
islands, as the expression would inevitably imply, or whether,
E
50 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
simply, that he thought it must be found upon them all, is a
problem which I am altogether unable to solve. At any rate,
until cause has been shown to the contrary, we have no choice
but to receive his assertion as strictly true.
Fam. 5. AURICULID^E.
G-enus 14. PEDIPES, Adans.
Pedipes afra.
Le Pietin, Pedipes, Adans., Hist, du Seneg. 11. t. 1. f. 4
(1757)
Helix afra, Omelin, Syst. Nat. i. 3715 (1790)
Pedipes afra, Lowe, Zool. Journ. v. 296 (1835)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 218 (1854)
afer, Drouet, Faun. Acor. 169 (1861)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 153 (1867)
Habitat Pico ; rupibus maritimis, sestu maris quotidie sub-
mersis, adhaerens.
The P. afra, which is locally abundant along the shores of
Madeira, and which occurs likewise at the Salvages, appears to
be common on sea-washed rocks in Pico ; but it has not hitherto
been noticed in any of the other islands of the Azorean archipe-
lago. It is a species of a wide geographical range, and one
which seems to be found on many parts of the African coast.
Although it has not yet been observed for certain at the Canaries,
we may be pretty sure that it must exist equally in that Group.
G-enus 15. AURICULA, Lam.
Auricula sequalis.
Melampus aBqualis, Lowe, Zool. Journ. v. 288, t. 1 3. f. 1-5
(1835)
Auricula sequalis, Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 217 (1854)
Vulcani, Morel.* Hist. Nat. des Acor. 207. t. 5. f, 8
(1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 167 (1861)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 135 (1872)
sequalis, Watson, Journ. de Conch. 220 (1876)
Habitat Terceira, et Pico ; rupibus saxisque adhgerens, in
salinis et subsalinis, ad oras rivulorum.
I have mentioned in my account of this Auricula which is
given in the section pertaining to the Madeiran Group that I
possess the most conclusive evidence that the A. Vulcani, of
Morelet, described from examples taken in Terceira and Pico,
and which is said to occur likewise in Teneriffe, is nothing more
AZOREAN GROUP. 51
than a state of the common Madeiran A. cequalis,in which the
outer lip of the peristome is thickened internally into a central
denticle, and in which the impressed spiral lines which are so
often traceable (more especially towards the base) in that spe-
cies happen to be more than usually evident. Judging from
an immense series of the A. cequalis which I have lately over-
hauled, composed of nearly two thousand specimens, I find that
these particular features on which the A. Vulcani was made to
rest are liable to be gradually assumed by every phasis of the
shell, and moreover to an equal extent, and that consequently
they possess no kind of specific significance whatsoever. Indeed
I have examples in which they are so rudimentary as to be barely
appreciable, and others in which they are more and more ex-
pressed until they become comparatively conspicuous ; and as for
the somewhat 'slenderer' outline of the A. Vulcani, I will
merely add that the individuals from the Salvages are almost
invariably a trifle narrower and more elongated than those from
Madeira, and yet they pass so completely into the ordinary type
that it is impossible to regard them as representing more than a
very slightly modified local race of the universal Madeiran shell.
Whether the strictly normal aspect of the A. cequalis, however,
is met with at the Azores, or whether all the examples have the
right-hand margin of the aperture thus incrassated, I have no
means of deciding. In all probability the examination of a
sufficiently long array of specimens would bring to light the ex-
istence (as in Madeira) of both varieties.
Auricula gracilis.
Melampus gracilis, Lowe, Zool. Journ. v. 288 (1835)
Auricula gracilis, Id., Proc. ZooL.Soc. Loud. 217 (1854)
vespertina, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 210. t. 5.
f. 9 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. Acor. 169 (1861)
Alexia Loweana, Pfei/., Mai. Bldtt. xiii. 145 (1866)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 154 (1867)
Auricula denticulata et Loweana, Wats., Journ. de Conch.
220 (1876).
Habitat Pico ; per litora maris, inter rejectamenta, parce
(emortua) reperta.
Several examples of this Auricula are stated by Morelet to
have been found (dead), amongst rejectamenta, on the sea-shore
in Pico ; and the excellent figure given by him, accompanied by
the equally good diagnosis, leaves no doubt whatever on my
mind that his 'A. vespertina ' (which is the title under which
he describes the species) is identical with the A. gracilis, of
E 2
52 TEST ACE A ATLANTICA.
Lowe, from Madeira. Indeed he himself mentions that he
possesses Madeiran examples of the vespertina, differing in no
respect from the Azorean ones except that they are a little more
purpurascent, which is one of the most conspicuous features
which distinguishes the A. gracilis. However, the point, of all
others, by which the shell may be recognised consists in the
number and relative proportions of the denticles and plaits with
which its aperture is furnished, two (the lower one of which is
large and prominent), often increased to three, being on the
ventral paries, one on the columella, and from about one to four
within the outer lip. Apart however from these primary cha-
racters, the A. gracilis may be further known by being very
much smaller than the cequalis, as well as less ovate (or more
strictly fusiform) in outline, and not quite so solid in substance.
Auricula bicolor.
Auricula bicolor, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 209, t. 5. f. 7
(1860)
Drouet., Faun. Acor. 168 (1861)
Alexia bicolor, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 136 (1872)
Habitat Pico ; in salinis subsalinisque ad oras rivulorum,
rupibus saxisque adhserens.
A species which has been found in saline and subsaline
places in the island of Pico, at those parts of the coast where
the rivulets empty themselves into the sea, so that, like the
cognate forms, it appears to live sometimes in salt water and
sometimes in fresh. It is identical with an Auricula which was
met with abundantly by Mr. Lowe and myself in the north of
Lauzarote, in the Canarian archipelago, and which agrees
almost precisely with some examples which I have received from
Marseilles as the ' A. myosotis, Drap.' ; but since it is possible
that the Marseilles shell may have been wrongly identified, I
prefer citing the present species under the name which was pro-
posed for it by Morelet.
The A. bicolor is decidedly peculiar in tint, the pale horn-
coloured surface being more or less conspicuously darkened by
a rich purplish bloom, which sometimes quite covers the spire ;
and its aperture has usually but a single plait (which is large
and prominent) on the ventral wall, though there are occasionally
indications of a minute tubercle-like second one midway between
the former and the insertion of the peristome. Its whorls are
a little convex ; its extreme nucleus is generally pale, transpa-
rent, and tilted ; and the entire shell is rather thin and pellucid
(for an Auricula), having at first sight somewhat the appear-
ance of a Limncea.
AZOREAN GROUP. 53
Sectio II. OPERCULATA.
Fam. 6. CYCLOPHORDLE.
Genus 16. CRASPEDOPOMA, Pfeiff.
Craspedopoma hespericum.
Cyclostoma hespericum, Morel, et Dr., Journ. de Conch, vi.
152(1857)
Cyclostomus hespericus, Pfeiff., Mon, Pneum. Suppl. 1.
122 (1858)
Craspedopoma hespericum, Mouss., Viert. des Nat. Zurich,
168 (1858)
Cyclostoma hespericum, Morel., Hist, des Nat.Acor. 212. t. 5,
f. 10 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. A cor. 170 (1861)
Habitat Sta. Maria, S. Miguel, Terceira, et Fayal ; in mon-
tibus sub foliis emortuis, parum vulgare.
This characteristic little Cyclostomid is quite on the Ma-
deiran type, and is probably more allied to the C. Monizianum
of that archipelago than it is to the lucidum. It appears to be
smaller than the latter, and less globulose, but with much the
same peculiarity of colouring, namely, a coffee-brown, fading-
off frequently (either wholly or in part) into a yellowish or
ochreous tint. Occasionally also it would seem to be somewhat
transparent, but it is more often solid and slightly shining.
The C. hespericum is recorded by both Morelet and Drouet
from the islands of Sta. Maria, S. Miguel, Terceira, and Fayal ;
where it occurs, beneath fallen leaves, &c., at a tolerable eleva-
tion in the mountains.
Fam. 7. HELICINID^E.
Grenus 17. HYDROGEN A, Parreyss.
Hydrocsena gutta.
Hydrocsena gutta, Shuttl, Bern.Mitth. Syn. 145 (1823)
Pfeiff., Mon. Pneum. Suppl. 1. 157
(1858)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des A cor. 214. t. 5.
f. 11 (1860)
Drouet, Faun. A cor. 170 (1861)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 147
(1872)
Habitat Sta. Maria, S. Miguel, et Fayal ; sub foliis emortuis
in sylvaticis editioribus occurrens.
Said by Morelet and Drouet to occur in Sta. Maria, S.
54
TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Miguel, and Fayal, amongst dead leaves in wooded spots of a
rather high altitude. In the Canarian archipelago I have taken
this very minute shell abundantly, in similar situations, both
in Teneriffe and Palma, but always in the dampest places.
Indeed it was usually to be met with about the fronds and roots
of ferns which were kept in a constant state of douche by the
spray of the waterfalls ; and I think therefore that Mousson must
have fallen into some strange error, in his ' Faune Malacolo-
gique des Canaries,' when he states, apparently on the authority
of Blauner, that it lives c sous les pierres dans les lieux arides.'
Indeed this modus vivendi is absolutely disproved by his own
assertion that it exists in company with the Hyalina Clymene,
Shuttl., and the Pupa castanea ; for the only spot in which
those two species have ever been observed together (indeed the
only one in which the former of them has hitherto been found
at all) are some trickling rocks, adjoining a small waterfall, be-
twesn the little town of Grarachico and Ycod de los Vinhos, in
the north of Teneriffe, where they are associated likewise with
the Ancylus striatus, Q. et Gr., and the Physa acuta, Drap. I
suspect, therefore, that the sylvan localities at the Azores in
which the H. gutta is to be met with are, as at the Canaries, at
any rate damp ones.
AZOREAN CATALOGUE.
S.M.
Mig.
Terc.
Grac.
Jorge
Pico.
Fay.
Flor.
Corv.
LIMACIDJE.
Arion, Fet
ater, Linn. . M., D.
fuscatus, Fer.
Jfr
#
subfuscus, Drap. M., D.
*
ft
#
#
*
ft
ft
ft
*
Limax, Linn.
gagates, Drap. M. } D.
maximus, Linn. M., D.
*
#
*
ft
*
*
*
M
*
flavus, Linn.
*
agrestis, Linn. M., D.
*
*
ft
*
*
*
*
*
ft
Viquesnelia, Desli.
atlantica, Morel. , ,
#
TESTACELLIDJE.
Testacella, Cuv.
Maugei, Fer. . . .
*
#
ft
VITRINIDJE.
Vitrina, Drop.
brumalis, Morel. .
#
mollis, Morel. . .
#
brevispira, Morel. 3 .
ft
AZOREAN GROUP.
56
AZOREAN CATALOGUE (continued).
S.M.
Mig.
Terc
Grac
Jorge
Pico
Fay
Flor
Corv.
finitima, Morel. .
angulosa, Morel.
laxata, Morel. . .
pelagica, Morel. . . *
HELICID.E.
Hyalina, Gray.
(EadioUs, Woll.)
#
tt
* miguelina, Pfeiff. .
(Lucilla, Lowe)
* cellaria, Miill. . M., D.
(Crystalhts, Lowe)
#
*
*
*
*
*
*
ff
*
(Conulus, Fitz.)
(Helicella, Beck)
Patula, Held.
(Patulce normales)
(Acanthinula, Beck)
monas, Morel,
pusilla, Lowe
aculeata, Miill. . ,
Helix, Linn.
(Vallonia, Risso)
pulchella Miill D
*
#
#
*
(Leptaxis, Lowe)
* vetusta, M. et D. .
erubescens, Lowe
azorica, Alb.
caldeirarum, M. et D.
niphas, Pfeiff.
terceirana, M. et D.
Drouetiana, Morel. ,
(Pomatia, Beck)
*
*
*
ff
(Macularia, Alb.)
lactea, Miill. . ,
(Euparypha, Hartm.)
*
(XeropUla, Held)
apicina, Lam.
* obruta, Morel. . . .
(Spirorbula, Lowe)
paupercula, Lowe -
(Hispidella, Lowe)
horripila M et D M D
*
*
*
(Caracollina, Beck)
barbula (Charp.) Rossm. D.
lenticula, Fer. . "V -
(Lsmniscia, Lowe)
vespertina, Morel. . .
#
;
*
*
V
#
*
#
*
ff
#
56
TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
AZOREAN CATALOGUE (continued').
S,M.
Mig.
Terc.
Grac.
Jorge
Pico
Fay.
Fior.
Corv.
Bulhnus, Scop.
ventricosus, Drap. M., D.
solitarius, Poir. .
if
*
* Santa- Marianus, M. et D.
if
* Hartungi, M. et D, .
a
vulgaris, M. et D.
*
if
delibutus, M. et D.
#
if
Forbesianus, M. et D.
n
g
if
*
* variatus, W. et B. ,
*
pruninus, Gould .
*
*
If
Stenogyra, Shuttl.
decollata, Linn. .
*
*
Pupa, Drap,
(Truncatellina, Lowe)
p
microspora, Lowe
*
if
*
(Gastrodon, Lowe)
umbilicata, Drap. . D.
*
*
*
#
n
*
if
*
if
(Liostyla, Lowe)
fuscidula, Morel. M., D.
fasciolata, Morel. M., D.
if
I
*
J
*
*
*
*
ft
tessellata, Morel. " .
*
(Craticula, Lowe)
rugulosa, Morel. . .
*
vermiculosa, Morel. . .
#
(Staurodon, Lowe)
pygmsea, Drap. , .
If
Balea, Pridx.
perversa, Linn. . . D.
*
*
*
if
If
*
*
*
If
Acliatina, Lam,
(Cocklicojw,, Fer.)
lubrica, Mull. . , D.
Pedipes, Adans,
afra, Gmel, ....
*
Auricula, Lam.
sequalis, Lowe
8. Vulcani, Morel. . .
*
n
gracilis, Lowe
^
bicolor, Morel.
*
CYCLOPHOKIDJE.
Craspedopoma, Pfeiff.
hespericum, M. et D. .
*
*
*
*
HELICINIDJE.
Hydrocsena, Parreyss.
gutta, Shuttl.
*
*
#
MADEIEAN GROUP. 57
II. MADEIEAN GROUP.
OF all the Atlantic Islands, those which constitute the Ma-
deiran Group have been by far the most carefully examined ; and
I think also that it is not too much to affirm that their species
are the most isolated, as regards structure, and peculiar. The
observations of the Kev. E. T. Lowe were extended, at intervals,
over a period of at least forty years ; and they have been well
supplemented by those of Mr. Leacock, Senhor J. M. Moniz,
the Eev. E. B. Watson, the late Mr. Bewicke, the Barao do
Castello de Paiva, Senhor N. Marcial, and others ; added to
which, the occasional visits to the archipelago of distinguished
European naturalists, such as Dr. Albers, Professor 0. Heer,
M. Hartung, and Sir Charles Lyell, have combined to increase
our knowledge of the fauna, and to throw additional light on
many an obscure problem with which it is connected. My own
researches were commenced in 1 847 ; and during the thirty years
which have since elapsed the Natural History of Madeira, under
one or another of its departments, and in connection with that
of the more southern clusters, has been well-nigh constantly be-
fore me.
In reviewing the Pulmonata of this archipelago (which num-
ber, in all, according to my computation, 176 species), the most
salient fact which meets us at the outset consists in the marvel-
lous segregation of its several members within areas of the most
limited extent. Thus, to take the Terrestrial species only, if we
remove the European and North-African ones (represented by
the Limaces and Testacellce, the Hyalina cellaria and crys-
talling the Patula rotundata and pygmcea, the Helix pul-
chella, aspersa, pisana, caperata, armillata, lenticula, and
lapicida, the Bulimus ventricosus, the Stenogyra decollata,
the Pupa umbilicata^ the Balea perversa, the Achatina acicula,
and lubrica, and the Lovea follicidus), which in all probability
have become accidentally naturalized, and which are no more
characteristic of the Madeiras than they are of the Canaries and
the Azores ; out of the 138 which remain there are absolutely
only 7 which have found their way beyond the limits of the
58 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Group. 1 And it is highly probable that three of even these
seven (namely the Patula pusilla, the Helix erubescens, and the
H. paupercula) may have been transported from their original
centres along with ballast. So that we arrive at the conclusion,
that the archipelago, as represented by its extra-European Pul-
moniferous Grastropods, is almost wholly independent of those
to the north and south of it.
And now, to advance a step further, if we cast an eye down
the Madeiran list as given at the close of this section, we shall
perceive that, out of the 138 Terrestrial species (eatfm-Euro-
pean) to which I have just called attention, 61 are peculiar to
Madeira proper, 44 to Porto Santo, and 10 to the Desertas, 23
only remaining promiscuous (i. e. more or less permeating the
entire cluster) ; and of these 23 2 merely five 3 have been ob-
served as yet on all the islands. From which we infer, that
even within the archipelago itself no great number of its Pul-
monata have wandered far from their particular islands, the
areas of an overwhelming majority of them remaining most
wonderfully circumscribed.
In making the above remarks I consider it necessary to point
out, that the forms on which I have relied are for the most part
so distinct from each other that they could scarcely fail to be
looked upon, by any careful and experienced naturalist, as other-
wise than ' species ' (technically so called). Into the abstract
questions of derivation and common ancestry I do not now
enter, because all such problems (however ' philosophical ') are
at the best only speculative, and I hold that no accurate mono-
graph has anything whatever to do with mere speculation. The
truth of this becomes at once obvious from the fact, that if a
plausible hypothesis were allowed to be made the basis of a
treatise like the present one, and the species were to be reduced
in consequence to half the number, it would be open to any
future naturalist to demand a still further reduction (according
to the views which he happened to entertain on the qucestio
1 These 7 are the minute Patula placida andpusilla (the former of which
occurs likewise at the Canaries, and the latter in the Azores, Canaries, Cape
Verdes, and St. Helena), the Helix erubescens and paupercula (the former of
which is equally Azorean, and the latter Azorean and Canarian), the Pupa
microspora and fanalensis (the first of which is found both at the Azores and
Canaries, and the second at the Canaries), and the Lovea tornatellina (an
example of which was lately detected by Mr. Watson in Grand Canary).
2 The 23 which have found their way into more than a single island are
the following : Vitrina marcida, Patula bifrons and pusilla, Helix erubescens,
B&wdichiana, punctulata, vulgata, paupercula, spirorbis, leptosticta, arcta,
actinophora, compacta, abjecta, sphferula, and polymorpha, Pupa millegrana,
Clausilia deltostoma, Achatina eulima, Lovea gracilis, tornatellina, and mitri-
formis, and Craspedopoma lucidum.
1 Helix erubescens, pavpercula, and polymorpha, Clausilia deltostoma, and
Lovea mitriformis.
MADE1RAN GROUP. 59
vexata of * origin '), a process which might, and probably would,
be again and again repeated until there were no ' species ' at all
left (as such) either to enumerate or to monograph ! Of course,
within reasonable limits, every monographer is at liberty, in the
first instance, to use his own judgment as to what forms are spe-
cific ones and what varietal ; indeed he must of necessity do
so ; but where there is an abundance of material before Trim,
and he possesses a personal knowledge of the principal habitats
concerned, he is not likely to make many very serious blunders
as regards the value of the characters upon which he has to ad-
judicate ; for where the forms in question cannot be connected
by intermediate links (either recent or fossil) and are at once
readily separable from their congeners, although he has a per-
fect right to speculate on their origin in any way (and to any
extent) he pleases, he certainly would not be justified in impos-
ing his guesses upon others, or in citing the organisms as other-
wise than specifically distinct. In recording what we see, facts
and fancies must be kept apart ; for if they are permitted to be
mixed up unnecessarily in descriptive Natural History, it does
not require much foresight to perceive that the result at last
will become so shifting and untrustworthy that, sooner or later,
they will be mutually destructive of each other. 1
After what has been said, it will readily be admitted that
* varieties ' likewise (properly so called) i. e. forms which may
be connected with their parent types, but which nevertheless
have a sufficient permanence about them to be recognisable as
modifications, or races, within their respective areas, no less
than species, must have a significant place in a catalogue like
the present one. And to return to the subject of segregation, if
we take into account the varieties also, we shall find that the
same tendency is shadowed forth, and in a manner even more
conspicuous still. Thus, for instance, the eminently plastic Helix
polymorpha, Lowe, of which I have registered no less than
thirteen easily separable (but more or less overlapping) states,
may be well-nigh said to possess a slightly different phasis not
only for each of the larger islands (on which there are several of
them), but for every minute rock, particularly those around
Porto Santo, which has hitherto been landed upon and explored :
a fact which bears witness to the same principle of localisation,
only in this instance exemplified by ' varieties,' instead of by the
1 Acting upon this principle, I shall reserve until the closing section of
the present volume any mere speculations which I may venture to offer on
what will have previously been recorded, and which must be taken for what
they are worth, for they may, or may not, commend themselves to the minds
of others. All that we have to do now is to look to our facts, and to use every
endeavour to make them strictly accurate.
60 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
more pronounced forms to which the name f species ' must prac-
tically be given.
Marvellous however as is the segregation of the various
forms in the Madeiran Group which are truly indigenous, only
about seven actual species (apart from the littoral, subsaline
ones, which in their modes of life are practically marine) having
apparently been either transmitted to or received from the
neighbouring archipelagos, and only about five having been ob-
served as yet on all the islands of the cluster, I would by no
means wish to insinuate that a certain unmistakeable relationship
is not plainly indicated between some of the members of certain
well-marked types which permeate more or less of the entire
6 province' Thus, for instance, the Helicideous section Leptaxis,
which is so characteristic of the Madeiras, may be said, although
totally absent from the Canaries, to be the dominant one both
in the Azores and Cape Verdes ; the section Discula, which is so
abundant and universal at the Madeiras, but which is non-exis-
tent at the Azores, puts in an appearance (even though, in com-
parison, feebly) at the Canaries ; the Vitrinas and Pupce are
largely developed, and under somewhat analogous modifications,
in the three northern Groups ; the Bulimi, although totally un-
represented (except under a couple of exponents which have
manifestly been introduced) at the Madeiras, are expressed to a
monstrous extent both at the Azores and the Canaries ; the ge-
nus Lovea (allied to Achatina, and lately enunciated by Mr.
Watson) reigns supreme in the Madeiran and Canarian archi-
pelagos, but is wanting at the Azores and Cape Verdes ; the
Cyclostomideous Craspedopoma, which attains its maximum in
Madeira, extends into both the Azorean and Canarian Groups ;
and the minute Hydoccena gutta crops up at the Azores and
Canaries, but is absent from Madeira. From which it will be
seen, without adducing further instances, that many of the most
distinctive types range over more or less of these immediate
archipelagos, being sometimes absent from one of them and
sometimes from another, but combining as a whole to give a
certain amount of unity to what we may be permitted to call
this ' Atlantic region.'
In the preceding remarks I have endeavoured to show that
in the actual species of which its fauna is composed the Madei-
ran Group is almost wholly independent of the others which are
to the north and south of it, but at the same time that a consi-
able proportion of characteristic types which permeate to a
greater or less extent the whole of the archipelagos impart
nevertheless a certain individuality to the entire province which
cannot well be ignored. This general connection of the clusters,
MADEIRAN GROUP. 61
however (manifest though it be), is immeasurably overbalanced
by a consideration of how radically the respective faunas do in
reality differ from each other in the vast majority of their ab-
solute details. Thus, to take the Madeiras, which more parti-
cularly concern us in this section, the most distinctive forms are
peculiar to the Group, not only as regards the species but even
as regards the very types. Look, for example, at the section
Coronaria, of the genus Helix, and Hystricella, both of
which stand isolated, and apart, as pre-eminently Madeiran ; or
the little assemblages to which Mr. Lowe applied the names of
Placentula, Actinella, Rimula, and Caseolus. Or, to instance
the larger modifications, there is the Tectula department, as
well as Helicomela, Katostoma, and Cryptaxis, all of which
are restricted to the archipelago. And, apart from the true
Helices, facts are not wanting which would likewise tend to sepa-
rate, as it were, the Madeiras, at any rate to a considerable ex-
tent, from the other islands. Thus, the genus Clausilia is not
only well expressed there but literally universal ; yet it is with-
out so much as a member at the Azores, Canaries, and Cape
Verdes ; and the true Cyclostomas, which are so greatly deve-
loped at the Canaries, have in the Madeiras no single represen-
tative. This latter circumstance however is quite in harmony
with the Helicideous section Hemicycla, which is altogether
unknown at Madeira, but which numbers 37 exponents (indeed
probably more) in the neighbouring Canarian Group.
As I have already mentioned in the prefatory remarks to this
volume, there are certain spots, and even small districts, scat-
tered here and there throughout these several Atlantic archipe-
lagos, which may be defined as essentially subfossiliferous ones.
They are either calcareous (partaking sometimes of the nature
of sand-dunes), under which circumstances the specimens are for
the most part more completely subfossilized, or else muddy,
as though composed of earth and refuse which had been washed,
at some remote period, into their present positions, by the
action of sudden and violent floods ; in which latter case the
shells, although generally more brittle and broken up, are less
altered, being totally unthickened, and presenting at times
faint traces of even colour. The nature, and probable age, of
these sedimentary beds I do not propose to discuss, for they
scarcely enter into my exact subject, and moreover they involve
considerations of great geological difficulty such as even Sir
Charles Lyell was not able satisfactorily to grapple with when he
examined those of Madeira and Porto Santo, now many years
ago, with considerable care ; but since it is pretty evident, I
think, that some of them must have been deposited previous to
62 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
the breaking-up of the intermediate land, it is tolerably cer-
tain that an enormous period must have elapsed since the shells
which are now either deeply imbedded or are else scattered
loosely over the surface were in a living condition. Yet in no
single instance have they been transformed into 'fossils' (as
usually understood by that term), being strictly, and merely, sub-
fossilised.
Whatever be the history of these singular beds, 1 it is quite
clear that they have a direct bearing on the geological struc-
ture, and former configuration, of the islands ; and therefore in
tabulating their contents we must do so with the utmost cau-
1 It has always appeared to me that the drift sand of which the Canical
beds, and so many of those in Porto Santo, are mainly composed is strictly of
a marine nature, in fact similar to that of the present beaches, with which
some of them are in almost immediate proximity ; for the broken-up frag-
ments of sea shells, well distinguished by their solidity and sculpture, abound
in it everywhere, and the spines of Echini are also far from uncommon.
Moreover, although I have not myself observed it, a microscopic Polystomian
was mentioned by Mr. Lowe (Prim,., Append. XV., note) as being not more
rare, in the Canical deposits, than it is in the sand which forms the neigh-
bouring beach. Heer therefore was decidedly in error when he asserted that
no Polystomians had been observed in its composition, and that the sand
contained exclusively the triturated remains of Terrestrial Mollusks. No
doubt the latter occur to a prodigious extent, and may perhaps add largely,
when ground down and afterwards decomposed by the action of the elements,
to the calcareous matter which binds together considerable portions of the
surface and has enabled the infiltrations which have followed the course of
various roots and branches to assume definite and often the most grotesque
shapes, standing out, when the loose surrounding drift has been gradually
blown away from them, like (what might almost be regarded, at first sight,
as) the fossil remains of a former copse or wood. But that these trunk- and
root-like concretions (formed of varying proportions of earth and sand sol-
dered together, as it were, by a calcareous cement) have been slowly accu-
mulated around the different parts of shrubby plants (which perhaps were
washed down, along with the shells, by overwhelming torrents, from a higher
altitude) is rendered all the more probable from the fact that when broken
open they will generally be found to be longitudinally hollow in the centre,
as though the stems and roots which were originally enclosed had perished,
leaving only the clumsy masses which had been solidified, more or less per-
fectly, around them. But, be this as it may, the sandy portion itself seems
to me to be entirely marine, blown up, in a great measure, from the beach,
towards which this particular conchyliferous district uniformly slopes.
Nevertheless, on the other hand, the deep layers of somewhat indurated but
friable earth with which the calcareous incrustations are here and there
commingled, and which more or less teem with land-shells (whether whole
or fragmentary, and seldom much thickened or solidified), a large proportion
of which are characteristic of the sylvan regions of a lofty elevation, now totally
disconnected with this low tongue of land on which the Canical beds are placed,
point unmistakeably to the action of sudden and violent floods, which must
have carried them down, accompanied frequently by the remains of birds, to
well-nigh the level of the shore, and that too at a period when the configura-
tion of the adjoining country was very different from what we now observe it to
be. So that two counter processes would appear to have been concerned in
the elaboration of these singular deposits, namely, the washing down of
material from the mountain habitats above, and the gradual drifting up of
the marine sand from the beaches beneath.
MADEIRAN GROUP.
63
tion, lest a too hasty analysis lead to conclusions which are un-
reliable, and we fail to gain a genuine estimate of the fauna of
that distant epoch. Moreover we must at all times be quite
certain that the shells upon which we may have occasion to
pronounce are truly subfossilised, and not merely bleached and
decorticated ; a consideration which makes me look with suspi-
cion upon many of the species which are said to have been found
in a subfossil condition in the other archipelagos, where the
deposits have not been pointed out with the same precision as
they have in the Madeiran Group. And so fatal indeed do I
consider this element of uncertainty in dealing with the ques-
tions arising out of the subfossil fauna that it is only from the
Madeiran catalogue that I shall attempt to draw any conclu-
sions at all upon the subject, for at any rate in the Madeiras the
beds have been both properly defined and systematically investi-
gated, and in no instances have their contents been mixed up
with material from other and doubtful sources. In fact so great
has been the desire to avoid all evidence which is untrustworthy,
that there are (as already intimated; but three regions in this
archipelago from which the subfossil forms have hitherto been
acknowledged as absolutely and undeniably genuine, namely
( 1 ) the island of Porto Santo, where the deposits in question
(chiefly calcareous) are numerous, and widely scattered at low
and intermediate altitudes ; (2) near Canical, in the east of Ma-
deira proper, where they slope down to well-nigh the level of
the sea, but nevertheless contain species many of which are of a
mountain character and sylvan habits ; and (3) the extreme sum-
mit of the Southern Deserta (or Bugio), where, although small
in extent, they are deep and strictly m,uddy+ t
The following then is the list of the subfossilized species
which have been observed up to the present date, so far as I am
able to ascertain, in these three localities of the Madeiran
archipelago 1 :
Pto.Sto.
Mad.
S. Des.
n
Hyalina crystallina, Mull. . . . .
*
n
placida, Shuttl
g
Helix Lowei, Fer. . ..,...
portosanctana, Sow
*
*
1 Those species to which an asterisk (*) has been added, and the names of
which are printed in italics, have not hitherto been met with in a recent
state ; and they must therefore be looked upon, until evidence to the contrary
has been adduced, as extinct.
64
TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Pto.Sto.
Mad.
S. Des.
Helix undata, Lowe
*
*
*
*
*
*
if
#
#
#
*
n
*
*
#
N
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
#
*
*
#
#
y
K
K
*
*
#
#
n
tf
H
tt
*
*
*
#
^
*
*
#
* chrysomela, Pfeiff.
furva, Lowe
erubescens, Lowe
* BmvdicJiiana, Fer.
punctulata, Sow
vulgata, Lowe
6. saxipotens, Woll
nitidiuscula, Sow
squalida, Lowe . "">..' -X' -
* Latinea, Paiva . ., . . .
obtecta, Lowe ...
fictilis, Lowe . ; . . .
obserata, Lowe
)8. * bipartite, Woll. . - .'.*
actinophora, Lowe
j8. * descendens, Woll.
rotula, Lowe
consors, Lowe
compacta, Lowe
7. portosanctana, Lowe . .
commixta, Lowe
)3. * pusilla, Lowe *
sphaerula, Lowe
bicarinata, Sow.
/3. aucta, Woll *' .
* vcrmetiformiS) Lowe . .
oxytropis, Lowe
a. [normalis] . . .
/8. * subcarinulata, Woll
tetrica (Paiva), Lowe
MADEIRAN GROUP.
65
Helix polymorpha, Lowe
ft. salebrosa, Lowe * *
7. poromphala, Lowe *
0. pulvinata, Lowe . . .
1. papilio, Lowe *
K. discina, Lowe *
/*. attrita, Lowe
testudinalis, Lowe . . . . . . *
Bulwerii, Wood *
tectiformis, Sow.
a. [normalis] *
ft. * Imdwici, Alb. v " ? .' ; . : V' ! .- *
* delpltinula, Lowe
a. [w0r7W#/is] ....... *
ft. planispira, Paiva ..... #
coronata, Desh. *
* coromila, Lowe
tiarella, W. et B '
calva, Lowe ....... *
Pupa * linewris, Lowe . V . .
cassida, Lowe
laurinea, Lowe *
* Wollastoni, Paiva . . .... *
millegrana, Lowe . . ',' .,
corneocostata, Woll. .',i. ,.
calathiscus, Lowe
abbreviate, Lowe . . . ...
gibba, Lowe *
lamellosa, Lowe ...... *
saxicola, Lowe
Clausilia crispa, Lowe
ft. decolorata, Woll *
deltostoma, Lowe
a. raricosta, Lowe *
ft. [normalis]
Achatina eulima, Lowe ....,.#
Lovea terebella, Lowe
a. subula, Lowe . . . .
oryza, Lowe .
triticea, Lowe . . . , . '
melampoides, Lowe . . . .
tornatellina, Lowe .....
mitriformis, Lowe ...... *
ovuliformis, Lowe . . , . .
* cylichna, Lowe . . . . .
Craspedopoma lucidum, Lowe . .. .
trochoideum, Lowe ...
Pto.Sto Mad. S. Des
From which we gather that, out of the 176 members of the
Pulmonata which have been recorded up to the present time in
the Madeiran Group, no less than 82 are met with in a sub-
fossilized state. And inasmuch as these 82 are made up almost
exclusively of the species which are manifestly indigenous
(those which there is every reason to suspect have been esta-
blished accidentally within a comparatively recent period being
66 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
well-nigh unrepresented in the conchyliferous deposits ! ), and
inasmuch as I have already mentioned that the truly aboriginal
ones may be estimated at about 138, it follows that so large a
proportion of the species which are strictly endemic have been
found subfossilized that there is strong presumptive evidence
for concluding that, sooner or later, the whole of them will be
detected in that condition. Indeed each year this is rendered
more and more probable, every fresh examination of the beds
bringing to light some additional quondam-analogue (which
had hitherto escaped notice) of the living forms ; whilst, on the
other hand, a critical research in new localities, and a still
closer one in those which were already known, is constantly
revealing the modern representative of some species which had
long been supposed to have passed wholly away. 2 So that we
may fearlessly assert that continued and well-directed observa-
tions are tending rapidly to equalize what were conceived to be
(so far as the aboriginal species are concerned) the 'recent'
and ' extinct ' faunas, and to show them, more and more, to be,
in point of fact, conterminous.
It is quite clear however that many of the species which
were once excessively abundant, although they have not yet
completely ceased to exist, are at the present time of the
utmost rarity, just lingering on, as it were, before they die
out. This is eminently the case with the Helix Lowei, Fer.,
and the coronata, Desh., to which I have lately called atten-
tion, and which, although now extremely scarce, and confined
each of them, to a single spot of the most limited extent, are
nevertheless universal in the subfossiliferous beds of Porto
Santo, the latter of them absolutely swarming. And on this
1 I say 'well-nigh,' because there are two or three exceptions to this
statement which will perhaps require to be explained, such, for instance,
as the European Hyalina crystalling Miill., and the Patula pygmcea, Drap.,
both of which are said to have been found by Mr. Watson in the beds near
Canical. Even instances, however, like these would seem merely to imply
that the species in question, although possessing (like the Helix lapicida,
Linn., subfossilized in Porto Santo) a wide European range, had nevertheless
succeeded in colonizing this Atlantic region during the remote epoch when
the calcareous deposits were in process of formation.
2 In corroboration of this latter circumstance, I need only allude to the
discovery by Senhor J. M. Moniz, on the Ilheo de Cima, off Porto Santo, of
the gigantic HeUx Lowei, Fer., which for half-a-century had been assumed to
be totally extinct ; or to that, by myself, on the extreme eastern peak of
Porto Santo, buried deep in the soil beneath slabs of basalt, of the singular
little H. coronata, Desh., which is so abundant in all the subfossiliferous
deposits of that island ; or to that, by Mr. Lowe and myself, of the H. tiarella,
W. et B., in the north of Madeira proper, a species which swarms in the
beds near Canical, but which up to that date (namely the summer of 1855)
had been looked upon as belonging exclusively (despite its enunciation by
Webb in 1833, from examples which may or may not have been subfossilized)
to a former epoch.
MADEIRA^ GROUP. 67
account, perhaps, it might be more natural to conclude that at
any rate some few of the forms have really passed a.way, even
whilst the tendency of every renewed observation is to lessen
the number of those which were supposed to be extinct. In-
deed one of the most anomalous of all the land-shells which
have yet been brought to light the Helix delphinula of
Madeira proper, which teems in the calcareous drift near
Canipal has up to the present moment altogether eluded
detection in a recent state, and we might almost therefore be
justified (considering its comparatively large size) in assuming
it to belong exclusively to a passed epoch had not the discovery
by Mr. Lowe of a form scarcely less conspicuous (the somewhat-
cognate H. delphinuloides), so recently as in 1860, rendered it
at least possible that even the H. delphinula may still survive
in some elevated, remote, sylvan ravine, and may yet reward
the researches of future naturalists. But if this should ever be
the case, we may confidently anticipate that it will be found, as
it were, only just to linger on, in some area of the most reduced
dimensions and perhaps well-nigh inaccessible. And the same
remarks may hold good for a few other species, such as the
H. Bowdichiana, Fer., which abounds in the conchyliferous
deposits both of Madeira and Porto Santo ; for, although it is
within the range of possibility that it may represent nothing
more than a gigantic quondam-ph&sis of Sowerby's H. punctu-
lata (which is common in Porto Santo and on one of the
Desertas), nevertheless since the latter has not hitherto been
observed at all in Madeira proper, the extreme abundance of
the H. Bowdichiana in the Canial beds places the species in
much the same category as the H. delphinula, which is
equally plentiful at Canipal, but which (in like manner) is un-
known to the recent fauna of the central island (and indeed, in
this particular instance, to the fauna of the whole group).
There is also a minute Achatina (or, more probably, a Lovea,
as lately defined by Mr. Watson) to which attention might be
drawn, as having escaped discovery in a living condition, and
the characters of which are sufficiently peculiar to render it an
important member of the general catalogue, namely the
A. cylichna of Madeira proper ; and amongst the other Helices,
as yet exclusively subfossilized, which we may hope will be
made, sooner or later, to augment the recent fauna, I might
single out the little Helix arcinella, Lowe, so common at
Canical, and the curious H. coronula, Lowe, from the southern
Deserta, or Bugio.
If we add to these five species (namely the Helix Bowdich-
iana, arcinella, delphinula, and coronula, and the Lovea
cylichna) the following seven Helix chrysomela, Pfeiff.,
F 2
68 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Latinea, Paiva, lapicida, Linn., echinoderma, Woll., vermeti-
formis, Lowe, and the Pupa linearis, Lowe, and Wollastoni,
Paiva, which, in like manner are found only subfossilized,
the resulting 12 embody all the forms, regarded by me as truly
specific ones, which (so far as our present information would
imply) are presumably extinct ; but as the seven, last men-
tioned, are, with the exception of the Helix lapicida and the
Pupa linearis, more doubtfully separated from their imme-
diate allies than is the case with the preceding five, I do not
consider it worth while to direct any further attention to them
than what has already been done in their respective places in
the systematic list. Suffice it just to recal that the Helix
chrysomela, Pfeiff., is most closely related to the erubescens,
the H. Latinea, Paiva, to the depauperata, the H. echino-
derma, Woll., to the echinulata, the H. vermetiformis, Lowe,
to the tumcula, and the Pupa Wollastoni, Paiva, to the
P. sphinctostoma ; whilst the Pupa linearis, Lowe, is re-
garded by Mr. Watson (vide 'Journ. de Conch.' 223; 1876),
though I cannot quite agree with him in this conclusion, as
absolutely identical with the European _P. minutissima of
Ferussac.
In the general Madeiran catalogue, which is given at the
close of this section, I have (as in the case of the lists pertain-
ing to the other archipelagos) appended an asterisk (*) to such
species as have been found also subfossilized ; and in those
instances in which the species have occurred only in a sub-
fossilized condition (under which circumstances they must be
looked upon, until proved to the contrary, as extinct) the
names have been printed likewise in italics.
Sectio I. INOPERCULATA.
Fam 1. LIMACID.E.
Grenus 1. ARION, Ferussac.
Arion ater.
Limax ater, Linn., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1081 (1767)
Arion empiricomm, var. 1, Fer., Tabl. Syst. 17 (1821)
a. et /3., Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans.
iv. 39 (1831)
ater, Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 162 (1854)
empiricomm, Alb., Mai. Mad. 11 (1854)
MADEIRAN GROUP. 69
Arion rufus, Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 137 (1860)
ater, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 2 (1867)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 221 (1876)
Habitat Maderam ; prsecipue in editioribus, rarissima.
This European Arion (which is recorded also at the Azores)
is decidedly somewhat scarce in Madeira, and is found prin-
cipally at rather high elevations. I have taken it however
pretty plentifully at the Pico do Infante (nearly 3000 feet
above the sea), and it was met with by Mr. Lowe in the chest-
nut woods at the Mount, as well as at Camacha, and on the
side (ascending from the Curral) of the Pico Grande. It is a
decided Arion, its respiratory orifice being very anterior in
position, the mucous gland at its extremity large and distinct,
its body totally uncarinated, and its shield even and arenaceo-
granulate (instead of being uneven and wrinkled, as in the
Limaces).
The colour of this slug (which varies from about 1 to 3
inches in length), is usually dusky-brown with an ochre tinge
(i.e. somewhat of a dark olivaceous-drab), the sides however
being gradually a little paler; and it is, therefore, anything
but that (at all events when in its normal state, for it is now
and then blacker) which is implied by its specific title ; and the
edge of its pedal disk (or foot) is of a clear ochreous-yellow
(sometimes approaching to orange), with the transverse lines
dusky, distant, and pretty regular, though occasionally obscure.
This edge (the colouring matter of which would seem to be
somewhat moveable) appears at times white, with a narrow
orange line immediately within it.
Genus 2. LIMAX, Linne.
Limax gagates.
Limax gagates, Drap., Hist. Nat. 122. pi. 9. f. 1, 2 (1805)
antiquorum, var. a., Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans.
iv. 39 (1831)
gagates, Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 162 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 12. t. 1. f. 3-5 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 139 (1860)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 3 (1867)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 221 (1876)
Habitat Maderam, et Portum Sanctum ; in ilia vulgaris,
sed in hoc rarior. In graminosis intermediis prsecipue degit.
The L. gagates, which is widely spread throughout Europe,
and which occurs also in the Azorean Group and even at
St. Helena (where it has probably been introduced along with
70 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
shrubs and plants), is extremely common in Madeira proper.
I have taken it around Funchal, at the Pico do Infante, and
elsewhere ; and Mr. Lowe appears to have met with it towards
the Alegria, at the Mount, in the Cayados ravine, &c ; and he
likewise obtained it in Porto Santo, during our visit to that
island in April of 1855. The Porto-Santan examples were
found on the summit of the Pico do Castello, and were similar
to those of the ordinary Madeiran cinereous-brown state, the
keel being very strong and sharp up to the hinder edge of the
shield, which last had the usual depression in the middle with
the sides raised or tumid.
This slug, which is easily distinguished from its allies, is of
a rusty ochreous- or brownish-black ( frequently cinereous-brown,
and often of a deep uniform black), but brighter on the shield,
and a trifle so at the sides and keel. At the top of the neck
there are two longitudinal grooves, with a raised line between ;
the lateral portion of the shield (the colouring matter of
which appears however to be somewhat moveable) is generally
of a dusky brown ; and the body is coarsely grooved (or
striated) longitudinally, the stria3 being more or less branched
and confluent. Ets usual length is from about three-quarters of
an inch to an inch.
Limax maximus,
Limax maximus, Linn., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1081 (1767)
cinereus, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 5 (1774)
antiquorum, var. s., Per., Tabl. Syst. 20 (1821)
cinereus, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 162 (1854)
antiquorum, Alb., Mai. Mad. 12. t. 1. f. 2 (1854)
maximus, 'Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 138 (1860)
cinereus, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 4 (1867)
maximus, Watson, Journ. de Conch. 221 (1876)
Habitat Maderam ; hinc inde, prsesertim in cultis.
This is a very large but inconstant slug, varying from about
1^ bo 4 inches in length, and one which is common throughout
Europe, and which has become established in the Azorean
archipelago. At Madeira it is not very abundant, but found
occasionally around Funchal and elsewhere, particularly in
gardens and cultivated grounds ascending to nearly 2000 feet
above the sea. It is generally of a palish cinereous-brown with
a warm (but very faint) lilac tinge ; its shield (which is
sprinkled all over with distinct and well-defined black spots)
being a little paler. The shield however (which is subconcen-
trically striate, or finely wrinkled, and rounded behind, though
often when the animal is contracted and quiescent slightly
MADEIRAN GROUP. 71
apiculate) is occasionally marbled (rather than spotted) with
larger black blotches. The body, which is much roughened by
longitudinal sutci, has four or five (occasionally ill-defined, and
often subconfluent) interrupted stripes of black, which are
broken anteriorly into still more isolated spots or patches ; and
the keel extends scarcely more than a quarter of the length
from the tip of the tail to the hinder edge of the shield.
Limax flavus.
Limax flavus, Linn., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1081 (1767)
variegatus, Drap., Hist. Nat. 127 (1805)
., Fer., Tabl. Syst. 21 (1821)
Lowe, Cambr. PhU. S. Trans, iv. 39
(1831)
flavus, Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 162 (1854)
variegatus, Alb., Mai. Mad. 12. t. 1. f. 1 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des A for. 138 (1860)
flavus, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 4 (1867)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 221 (1876)
Habitat Maderam ; late sed parce ditfusa.
Likewise a European Limax, and one which occurs also in
the Azores. In Madeira it is widely distributed, and is found
occasionally around Funchal (where I have taken it at the Val),
at the Praia Bay, in the Curral das Freiras, &c. ; and it has
been met with by Mr. Watson in the north of the island. Its
average length is from about an inch to an inch and a half ; and
its colour above is a pale dirty- or brownish-yellow (slightly
brighter on the shield), but coarsely reticulated, or mottled,
except at the sides and at the edge of the foot (which are
immaculate), with dusky cinereous-brown. The keel, as in
the L. maximus, is short, reaching scarcely a third of the
distance from the tip of the tail to the posterior margin of the
shield (which last is transversely, or subconcentrically wrinkled,
and appears often, when the slug is contracted, to be somewhat
mucronato-rotundate behind or apiculate.
Limax agrestis.
Limax agrestis, Linn., Syst. Nat. (ed. 12) 1082 (1767)
Drap., Hist. Nat. 126. pi. 9. f. 9 (1805)
f. et 7., Fer., Tabl. Syst. 21, 22 (1821)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 39 (1831)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 162 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 139 (1860)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 5 (1867)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 221 (1876)
72 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Habitat Maderam ; in graminosis editioribus prgecipue abun-
dans, sed ubique sat vulgaris.
The European L. agrestis is tolerably common in most parts
of Madeira proper, abounding more especially in grassy moun-
tain pastures of a rather high altitude. I have taken it at the
Pico do Infante ; and whilst encamped with Mr. Lowe near the
Pico d'Arribentao, during April of 1855, it was in great profu-
sion at a place (in the direction of the Eibeira d'Escalas) called
the ' cova d' Antonio Caldeira,' about 2600 feet above the sea,
exhibiting two tolerably distinct states, which Mr. Lowe defined
as the * a. major, palUdo-cinereaJ and the ' jB. minor, ochraceo-
fusca; ' the first of these (which was the rarer, and nearly an
inch in length) being larger and of a creamy pale ash-grey,
mottled and punctate with darker markings (agreeing exactly
with the common English L. agrestis) ; whilst the second
(which was excessively abundant, and about half an inch long),
was slender, of a warm pale bistre-brown, with the head, neck,
tentacles, and fore-half of the shield lighter and brighter, the
hinder half of the latter and the tail being gradually of a
darkish tint.
The L. agrestis, which is extremely mucose and has its
shield subconcentrically striated (like the lines at the end of
one's fingers) may be instantly recognised from the L. gagates
by, inter alia, its ecarinate body, which is rounded, or almost
flattened, towards the hinder edge of the shield, the only trace
of a keel (and that merely in the ' status a,' as above enun-
ciated, for the 'status ft' is quite uncarinated) being at the
extreme tip. 1
Fam.2. TESTACELLID^l.
Genus 3. TESTACELLA, Cuvier.
Testacella Maugei.
Testacella Maugei, Fer., Tabl Syst. 26 (1821)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. Soc. Trans, iv. 40
(1831)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 163 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 143 (1860)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 6 (1867)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 11 (1872)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 221 (1876)
1 Mr. Lowe, in reference to the fact that Dr. Albers did not appear to have
met with the present Limax while at Madeira, made a note about it to this
effect : * Most distinct in all its stages from every state, or variety, of the
L. gagates. Although not less common than the latter, from September to
May or June, Dr. Albers, searching little for himself, might well not meet
with it. It is only strange that he should have supposed that it could be a
mere form of the L. gayate*.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 73
Habitat Maderam ; in hortis cultisque circa Funchal,
passim.
This European Testacella, which occurs likewise in the
Azorean and Canarian groups, is found occasionally in gardens
and other cultivated spots around Funchal, though seldom in any
abundance. I have taken it at the Val ; and it is reported by
the Baron Paiva from S. Gronpalo and Camara de Lobos. Mr.
Lowe also met with it, on several occasions, in Dr. Kenton's
garden at the Val Quinta, as well as near S. Martinho.
The animal of the T. Maugei, which gradually tapers
anteriorly and possesses no shield, and which carries the shell
on its posterior extremity (where it conceals the respiratory
aperture), is of a livid black (sometimes with a faint picescent
tinge), and the edge of its pedal disk (as seen from above) is
gradually of a pale salmon colour, the darker hue of the rest
of the surface passing into it (not abruptly, but) by means of a
number of minute darkish specks. The surface is much
roughened (somewhat after the manner of very coarse sealskin),
and marked with a number of irregular grooves or reticulations
(arranged rather like lattice-work) and with three longitudinal
ones (occasionally distinct, but often rendered obsolete by the
movements of the creature) running down the dorsal region. It has
the power of emitting an extraordinary pile of froth, or mucus,
from its subapical orifice beneath the shell, which takes usually
a globular form, and appears much like a cluster of very minute
soap-bubbles.
The shell (which is somewhat Ancyliform, or limpet-like) of
this Testacella is externally of a pale dingy olivaceous-yellow,
or yellowish-brown, thick in substance, opake, generally a good
deal eroded and decorticated, and coarsely but irregularly striate
with a few deeply-impressed lines of growth; but inside its
enormous aperture (which is nearly oblong, with the sides
almost parallel, and with a slight emargination or sinus at the
upper angle of the outer lip) it is shining, whitish, and pear-like,
sometimes reflecting an indistinct opaline lustre.
Testacella haliotidea.
Testacella haliotidea, Drap., Tabl. des Moll. 99 (1801)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 40
(1831)
W. et B., Ann. des Sc. Nat. 28 syn.
(1833)
d'Orb., in W. et B. Hist. 49 (1839)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 163
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 5 (1867)
74 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Testacella haliotidea, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 1 1
(1872)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 221 (1876)
Habitat Maderam ; in horto mox supra Funchal olim par-
cissime capta.
I am a little doubtful whether the T. haliotidea of central
and southern Europe can be truly regarded as having established
itself at Madeira. It appears formerly to have occurred, though
very sparingly, near Funchal ; but I have no evidence that it
is still to be met with. Indeed the only three examples, so far
as I am aware, which have ever been observed in the island
were in Mr. Lowe's garden at the Levada de Sta. Luzia, now
many years ago, namely during February of 1830, 'crawling
about a small tank, after a long continuance of rain.'
I have not myself had an opportunity of inspecting the
animal of the T. haliotidea ; but, commenting on the speci-
mens to which I have just called attention, as having been
found near Funchal in 1830, I possess an old note, made by Mr.
Lowe, to the effect that it is ' of a uniform pale clear buff-
yellow, except the edge of the foot which is tinged with pink or
flesh-colour. The disk of the foot beneath and the posterior
extremity behind the shell are of the same pink, or salmon-
coloured, hue. Two faint grooved lines, and a still fainter one
between them (making three in all), run down the middle of
the back which is also marked out from the sides by two
stronger grooved lateral ones, ascending upwards towards the
shell (much as in the T. Maugei) ; but this dorsal compartment
is not portioned out by coarse oblique grooves so as to become
uneven and tumid, or reticulated. The whole creature is more
slender than that of T. Maugei ; and the shell is of a uniform
horn-colour, the margin appearing, when the shell is in situ,
a little pinkish.'
Although Albers has figured and described, in his ' Malaco-
graphia Maderensis,' both of the Testacellas which are here
enumerated, I have nevertheless refrained from citing his
monograph, because it appears to me that he has inadvertently
mixed up the characters of the two species, or at any rate has
interchanged their shells.
Fam. 3. VITRINIDJE.
Genus 4. VITRINA, Draparnaud.
Vitrina ruivensis.
Vitrina Lamarckii, Lowe [nee Per. ; 1822], (pars), Cambr.
Phil. S. Trans, iv. 40. t. 5. f. 1. b.
(1831)
MADEIRAN GROUP. 75
Vitrina ruivensis (Couthouy), Gould, Proc. Bost. Soc. N.H.
ii. 180 (1848)
Pfeif.,Mon. Hel. ii. 507 (1848)
Behnii, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 112 (1852)
Teneriffse, Id. [nee Q. et 0. ; 1827], Proc. Zool. Soc.
Lond. 163 (1854)
ruivensis, Alb., Mai. Mad. 15. t. 2. f. 4-6 (1854)
Teneriffse, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 9 (1867)
ruivensis, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. vii. 20 (1876;
Habitat Mad^ram ; in humidis editioribus, prsecipue sylva-
ticis, baud infrequens. In stratu conchylifero ad Canical semi-
fossilis parce reperitur.
The Haliotis-sh&ped outline (the nucleus being lateral,
rather than subcentral), enormous aperture, and comparatively
depressed form of this large Vitrina, added to its fewer volu-
tions (there being only two of them, or at the utmost 2J), its
flattened apex and its consequently indistinct suture, will suffice
to separate it from the other species with which we are here
concerned. It is not quite so highly polished, usually, as the
V. nitida (i.e. the V. Lamarckii, Lowe, nee Fer) ; and there
are more appreciable indications beneath a high magnifying
power of a few minute, broken-up spiral lines, or (as it were.)
scratches. The obsolete transverse plicse, also, or folds, are, for
the most part, more curved and radiating.
Although less common than the V. nitida, the present
Vitrina is tolerably abundant at a high elevation in Madeira
proper, where it occurs in the damp sylvan regions, principally
under stones and logs of decaying wood ; and it is found spar-
ingly, in a subfossil state, at Canigal.
As regards its synonymy, this Vitrina is a little complicated.
Mr. Lowe originally cited it as a mere phasis of the ' V La-
marckii ' as understood by him (i.e. of the nitida, Gould), but
he afterwards published it (in 1852) as the V. Behnii in honour
of the Professor at Kiel, who had pointed out to him what he
conceived to be its true differential characters. But in the
meanwhile it had been (in 1848) described by Gould under
Couthouy's manuscript name ' ruivensis, 1 which seems to me
(as it did, apparently, to Dr. Albers) to be the oldest title for
the species on which we can absolutely depend. True it is
that Mr. Lowe, in his last enumeration of the Madeiran Mol-
lusca, identified it with the Canarian V. Teneriffce of Quoy and
Gaimard (which bears the date 1827): but then the V. Tene-
riffce proves to be identical with the genuine, and previously
described, V. Lamarckii (which is expressly registered by
Ferussac as having come from Teneriffe), as is manifest from
the diagnosis of it which is quoted by Pfeiffer, and as indeed
76 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
has recently been acknowledged by Mousson. Moreover it is
evident that Mr. Lowe was mistaken in the opinion which he
had adopted both of the F. Teneriffce and of the V. Lamarckii
(which, as just stated, are one and the same species) ; for he
assumed the former to be identical with the Madeiran V. rui-
vensis (which is also his V. Behnii\ and the latter with the
other (and more common) Madeiran Vitrina which was de-
scribed by Gould (in 1846) under the name of nitida. So that
I come to the conclusion, that the title ruivensis is the oldest
reliable one for our present species.
Vitrina marcida.
Vitrina marcida, Gould, Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H. ii. 181
(1848)
Pfeiff., Mon. Eel. ii. 507 (1848)
media, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 164 (1854)
marcida, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 9 (1867)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. vii. 21 (1876)
Habitat Portum Sanctum vulgaris, sed in Madeira rarior ;
locos humidos editiores praecipue colens.
I am exceedingly doubtful whether this is anything more
than a smaller state of the V. nitida (i.e. of the V. Lamarckii,
Lowe, nee Fer.), with which in its outline, and in the relative
proportions of its aperture, it agrees almost exactly. But,
apart from its (on the average) distinctly reduced size, it is
further characterized by being almost always of an appreciably
paler tint, in its spire being more depressed (though not quite
so flattened as in the V. ruivensis), indeed in its general con-
tour being a trifle less inflated or convex, and in its lower lip
being more broadly and conspicuously membraneous. It has
usually, too, half a volution less than the F. nitida ; and there
are for the most part more evident indications of a few abbre-
viated radiating plicae just below the suture (and towards the
aperture) of the basal whorl.
The F. marcida is extremely common on the mountains of
Porto Santo, where it occurs about damp rocks, and under
stones in moist grassy places, at a rather high elevation. I am
not quite sure that I have myself met with it in Madeira pro-
per ; nevertheless it is recorded by Mr. Lowe from the Eibeiro
Frio, and it appears to have been found in other sylvan spots
of an intermediate altitude.
Vitrina nitida.
Helicolimax Lamarckii, Lowe [nee Fer. ; 1822], (pars),
Zool. Journ. iv. 338-344 (182U)
MADEIRAN GROUP. 77
Vitrina Lamarckii, Lowe, (pars), Cambr. Phil. Soc. Trans.
iv. 40. t. 5. f. 1. a. (1831 }
nitida, Gould, Proc. Post. Soc. N. H. ii. 180 (1848)
Lamarckii, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 164
(1854)
nitida, Alb., Mai. Mad. 15. t. 2. f. 1 -3 (18*4)
Lamarcki, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 8 (1867)
nitida, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. vii. 21 (1876)
Habitat Maderam ; in sylvaticis intermediis vulgaris.
This is the universal Vitrina of Madeira proper, where it is
more or less abundant throughout most parts of the sylvan dis-
tricts at intermediate and lofty altitudes, occurring, like the
preceding two, beneath damp stones and refuse, on the mossy
trunks of trees, and under logs of decaying wood. But I am
not aware that it has been observed for certain elsewhere in the
Group ; for although it is true that Mr. Lowe recorded it origi-
nally as existing in Porto Santo likewise, he had not at that
time distinguished more than a single Vitrina as inhabiting
the archipelago, and it was not until 1854 that he separated as
specifically distinct (under the name of media) the previously
described V. marcida, of Grould, which is not only common in
Porto Santo, but which may almost be denned as principally
Porto-Santan ; and as for the Baron Paiva's assertion that it is
to be found on the mountains of that island, as well as on the
adjacent rock known as the Ilheo da Fonte d'Areia, it must be
taken for what it is worth, seeing that, by his own admission,
he could not himself discriminate the two species in question. 1
So that I think we must still require evidence of a more posi-
tive nature before it will be safe to cite the V. nitida as occur-
ring beyond the limits of Madeira proper.
The present Vitrina is, on the average, a trifle smaller, and
just appreciably more brilliant and highly coloured, than the
ruivensis ; and it is also less depressed (or more ventricose and
Heliciform), and, instead of there being only two, there are
about 3J or even 4 volutions. The spire too is less flattened,
the nucleus (which is generally paler, and subcentral instead of
lateral) being somewhat convex, and the suture is consequently
deeper and more conspicuous. The aperture is both less enor-
mous and rounder (causing the left-hand portion of the ultimate
whorl, when viewed from beneath, to be relatively wider and
more visible) ; and the surface appears to be almost free (even
under a high magnifying power) from any traces of the minute
1 That this was the case, it appears evident from his remark under the
V. marvida : ' Species mihi dubia, nee a corigeneribus sat distincta.'
78 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
spiral broken-up lines, or scratches, which are more or less dis-
tinguishable in that species. 1
The V. nitida would seem to represent in Madeira the V.
Lamarckii of the Canarian archipelago ; for my own belief is that
the former does not occur at the Canaries at all, its analogue
in that Group being the true Lamarckii of Ferussac, which Mr.
Lowe unfortunately mistook for this common Madeiran species.
Indeed the V. Lamarckii proper (which is also the V. Teneriffce
of Quoy and Gaimard) appears in some respects to be interme-
diate between the V. nitida and the ruivensis, having the
more numerous volutions and subcentral nucleus of the former,
with the larger size, less ventricose contour, more flattened
apex, and the more outwardly-produced (or less rounded, and
more enlarged, elongate) aperture of the latter ; and it is per-
haps owing to this circumstance that Mr. Lowe fell into the
error of identifying it, although confessedly Canarian, under the
title of ' V. Teneriffce ' with the ruivensis, and under that of
c V. Lamarckii ' with the nitida.*
Fam. 4. HELICID^l.
Genus 5. HYALINA, Gray.
( Lucilla, Lowe.)
Hyalina cellaria.
Helix cellaria, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 28 (1774)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 47 (1831)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 177 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 17. t. 2. f. 15-17 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des A^or. 165 (1860)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 21 (1867)
Hyalina cellaria, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 17 (1872)
Helix cellaria, Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876).
Habitat Maderam, necnon etiam (sec. B. de Paiva) De-
1 The portion of the lip, in the V. nitida, which adjoins the columella is
sometimes membraneous (though not so conspicuously so as in the V. ruiven-
sis}, whilst at others it is so comparatively thickened as to be in every respect
similar to the remainder of the shell. And I think it is not unlikely that it
was from specimens in the latter condition (which are often smaller and a
trifle more globose) that Gould's diagnosis of his V. nitida (Exped. Shells,
26 ; 1846) was principally drawn out.
2 I may just notice in this place the Vitrina Bocagei of Paiva (Journ. de
Conch., Oct., 1866 ; and Mon. Moll. Mad. 10. t. 2. f. 6. 1867), which was
founded on a young example of the Helix Webbiana, Lowe, as has been
pointed out by the Rev. R. B. Watson. ' Vitrina Bocagei, Paiva,' says the
latter (Journ. de Couch. 219 ; 1876), ' est certainement le jeune age de V Helix
WebMana, apporte de Porto Santo, et mule accidentellement avec les especes
strictement maderiennes.'
MADEIEAN GROUP. 79
sertam Australem ; frequens sub lapidibus, prgecipue in cultis.
Forsan ex Europa introducta.
The common European H. cellaria (which occurs likewise
in the Azorean and Canarjan archipelagos, and even at St.
Helena) is tolerably abundant, chiefly at rather low elevations
and about cultivated grounds, in Madeira proper ; but I am not
aware that it has yet been observed in Porto Santo. Iff is
recorded, however, by the Baron Paiva, from the Southern
Deserta, a habitat, nevertheless, concerning which I cannot
but feel that we require further evidence. In all probability it
has established itself, accidentally, from more northern latitudes.
( Crystallus, Lowe.)
Hyalina crystallina.
Helix crystallina, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 23 (1774)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 47 (1831)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 178 (1854-)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 17. t. 2. f. 18-21 (1854)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 167 (1860)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 22 (1867)
Hyalina crystallina, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 17 (1872)
Helix crystallina, Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat Maderam, et Desertam Australem (ab hac a B. de
Paiva recepta) ; hinc inde in graminosis, sub lapidibus. Etiam
semifossilis in calcareis juxta Canical a Eevdo. E. B. Watson
semel lecta,
The European H. crystallina, Mull., which is found like-
wise in the Azorean and Canarian archipelagos (indeed I have
myself met with it in Fuerteventura, Teneriffe, Palma, and
Hierro, of the latter), is widely spread throughout Madeira
proper, though nowhere very abundant; and it has been re-
corded by the Baron Paiva from the Southern Deserta, or
Bugio. It occurs generally in grassy places, beneath stones ;
often also in gardens, and other cultivated grounds. I have
not, myself, observed it in a subfossil condition ; but the Rev.
R. B. Watson states (Journ. de Conch. 222; 1876) that he
obtained a single example of it in the calcareous deposits near
Canical.
( Vermetum, Woll.)
Hyalina scintilla.
Helix scintilla, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. 115 (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 177 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 18. t. 2. f. 22-25 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 23 (1867)
80 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Habitat Maderam; sub lapidibus detecta, supra urbem
Funchalensem. Rarissima.
This extremely minute Hyalina is even smaller than the
H. crystallina, the largest examples being scarcely a line in
diameter ; and it may at once be recognized from that species
by its very much wider and more open umbilicus, which is
spirally visible from beneath (almost as much so as in the
Patula rotundata and Guerineana\ and by its colour being
less white, fresh examples having always a more or less dis-
tinct greenish, or yellowish, tinge. It appears to be of the
greatest rarity, and was first detected by Mr. Lowe near
Funchal, namely, beneath stones, at the edge of the Levada
de Sta. Luzia; and it has likewise been met with by Mr.
Leacock and the Eev. R. B. Watson. The Baron Paiva cites it
as having been taken also in the north of the island, at Sta.
Anna.
The H. scintilla is indeed far more nearly akin, both in
colour and general features, to the (nevertheless comparatively
gigantic) H. festinans, Shuttl., from the island of Palma in the
Canarian archipelago. But, in addition to its very much
smaller size, its umbilicus is relatively more wide and open, its
spire is not quite so depressed, and its entire surface is a little
more polished and less sculptured, the H. festinans appearing,
beneath a high magnifying rjower, to be very minutely subalu-
taceous, and densely covered with extremely fine hair-like
transverse lines.
Genus 6. PATULA, Held.
( lulus, Woll.)
Patula deflorata.
Helix deflorata, Lowe, Proc. ZooL Soc. Loud. 179 (1854)
Pfeiff, Mon. Hel. iv. 131 (1859)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 27 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in montibus supra Funchal semel, nec-
non semel a meipso in Rib. de Sta. Luzia, hactenus lecta.
This very obscure species is still represented by a single
adult example (for the one which I myself met with in the
Ribiera de Sta. Luzia, in 1848, is immature), which was com-
municated to me by Mr. Leacock in 1853 as having been found
by the late M. Rousset near the Pico d'Arribentao, on the
mountains above Funchal ; and, judging from its discoidal
form, rather large umbilicus, and general aspect, I should be
inclined to regard it as a large Patula.
If therefore the sole type which is accessible may be con-
sidered to be normal for its kind, the P. defloroM is a little
MADEIRAN OHO UP. 81
smaller than the bifrons (it being about 5^- lines across the
widest part), but with somewhat the same primd facie aspect.
It is, however, thinner in substance, paler in hue, and still less
shining ; its umbilicus is a trifle larger, but at the same time
more suddenly (or less gradually) excavated ; its spire is ap-
preciably more depressed, although the volutions are rather
tumid; the latter are not quite so numerous, or so coarsely
sculptured with oblique costate lines ; and the basal whorl is
conspicuously (though not very greatly) deflexed at the aper-
ture. This character, last mentioned, is indeed rather im-
portant ; but I do not think it is sufficiently so to remove the
deflorata from that particular section of Patula which embraces
the gorgonarum, Bouvieri, and Bertholdiana, of the Cape
Verde archipelago, and the Canarian P. garachicoensis. 1
( Janulus, Lowe.)
Patnla bifrons.
Helix bifrons, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. Soc. Trans, iv. 46. t. 5.
f. 18(1831)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 144 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 178 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 44. t. 11. f. 13-16 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 24 (1867)
1 A species (which has been identified for me by Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys with
the common European H. hisjrida, Linn.) has been communicated by Mr.
Leacock, somewhat allied to the P. de/torata but very much smaller, several ex-
amples of which were taken many years ago in the garden of Mr. Hollway's
house above Camacha, on the mountains to the eastward of Funchal,and which
were ' imported from France along with some young apple trees.' Of course it
has no connection with the true fauna of Madeira ; nevertheless since there is
some reason for suspecting that it may have established itself in that par-
ticular district (for I am informed by Mr. Leacock that specimens of it were
found to have strayed immediately outside Mr. Hollway's grounds), it perhaps
ought not to be passed over altogether in silence. It is a trifle larger and
more depressed than the common European H. sericea, Drap., with an
appreciably larger and more exposed umbilicus, and apparently quite free
from hairs. And, as compared with the P. deflorata, in addition to its much
reduced stature (the examples measuring only from about 3^ to 4 lines across
their broadest part), it has its spire a little less flattened, its umbilicus re-
latively not quite so large, and its surface somewhat less coarsely costate-
striate ; its ultimate whorl, also, does not seem to be deflexed (as in that
species) at the aperture. It may be briefly characterized as follows :
Helix hispida, I/inn.
T. sat late umbilicata, rotundato-depressa, lenticularis, discoidea sed haud
carinata, tenuis, nitidiuscula, leviter et . inasqualiter striatula, calva, pallide
cornea sed hinc inde parcissime subalbido-marmorata ; spirti subdepressa ;
anfractibus 6, convexiusculis, lente crescentibus, ultimo antice haud deflexo ;
umbilico spirali, prof undo, sed haud valde lato ; apertura lunata, peristomate
tenui, acuto, marginibus non approximatis et lamina subnulla junclis. Diam.
maj. 3^-4. alt. 2. Helix hispida, Linn., Syst. Nat. 675 (1758)
Habitat Maderam (certe a Gallia introducta) ; in horta quadam supra
Camacha, circa 2,500' s. m., olim (teste D. Leacock) reperta.
82 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
Habitat Maderam (vulgatiss.), Desertam Grandem (rarior),
et Desertam australem (rariss.); hinc inde, in intermediis, sub
lapidibus. In statu semifossili in Madera propria ad Canical
abundat; necnon in summo etiam Desertse Australis semi-
fossilis exstat, sed ibidem rarior.
This is one of the most universal, and characteristic, of the
Land Mollusca of Madeira proper, and one which occurs like-
wise, though more rarely, on the Desertas : but in Porto Santo
it seems to be absolutely non-existent, there being no traces
of it in either a recent or a subfossil condition. In Madeira
proper however it is extremely abundant, principally at inter-
mediate but also at comparatively low elevations, frequently
swarming (as on the lofty sea-cliffs towards the Cabo Garajao,
or Brazen Head) amongst loose stones and rubbish, as well as
amongst the soil around the roots of shrubby plants. On the
Northern Deserta (or Ilheo Chao) it has not yet been observed,
though we may expect that it will sooner or later be found
there ; but on the Deserta Grande it is not very uncommon,
although by no means abundant ; whilst on the Southern De-
serta, where it was met with by Mr. Lowe, and from whence it
has been obtained subsequently by the Baron Paiva, it is ex-
tremely rare.
In a subfossil state the P. bifrons teems in the calcareous
and muddy deposits at Canipal ; and it likewise exists, though
much more sparingly, on the summit of the Southern Deserta.
The P. bifrons (which is rather variable in stature, adult
specimens ranging from about 5 to 8 lines across the broadest
part) may be known by its rather flattened, discoidal contour,
pale corneous-yellow hue (often with a faint greenish tinge),
and by the oblique and curved costse with which its very nume-
rous volutions are roughened. Its underside is shining and
free from ridges (it being merely sculptured with radiating
lines) ; its umbilicus is deep, but not large ; the region about
(or immediately before) its aperture is usually of a more de-
cided yellow; and its apical whorls are for the most part
whitish or decorticated.
Patula stephanophora.
Helix stephanophora, Desk., in Fer. Hist. 111. t. 90. f. 8.
calathus, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
stephanophora, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 142 (1853)
calathus, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 178 (1854)
stephanophora, Alb., Mai. Mad. 44. t. 11. f. 17-20
(1854)
calathus, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 25 (1867)
MADEIRAN GROUP. 83
Habitat Maderam ; prsecipue in intermediis sylvaticis, sed
quoque ad rapes umbrosas maritimas, hinc inde vulgaris. In
statu semifossili ad Canical sat copiose invenitur.
Although locally rather abundant, the P. stephanophora is
very much rarer than the bifrons ; and it is confined, appa-
rently, to Madeira proper, where it occurs also in a subfossil
state at Canipal. In most of the damp ravines of an inter-
mediate elevation (as, for instance, in the Eibeiro de Sta. Luzia,
and the Ribeiro Frio) it may be taken more or less commonly,
principally in the loose soil which has accumulated around the
roots of feros, and on the ledges of the rocks ; but it is likewise
to be met with on certain of the submaritime cliffs, such as
the Cabo Garajao, and others in that direction.
The P. stephanophora is one of the most beautiful, and
well-defined, of the Madeiran Land-Shells; and although its
affinities are manifestly with the bifrons (with which it almost
agrees in the size and proportions of its umbilicus, the cavity
of which however is rather more suddenly, or less gradually,
scooped out), it differs from that species in being smaller and
darker, in its under-parts being less shining, in its spire being
less depressed, and in its volutions (the outer ones of which are
relatively narrower or less developed) being elegantly sculptured
with very much more raised, and less oblique, curved trans-
verse costae.
( Patulce normales.)
Patula calathoides.
Helix calathoides (Paiva\ Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. xii. 338
(1863)
55 Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 26. t. 2. f. 4
(1867)
Habitat Desertam Grandem, et (semifossilis) Desertam
Australem ; ab insulis primus discernit cl. Baronus de Paiva.
This most interesting Patula was obtained in a subfossil
condition from the Southern Deserta (or ' Bugio '), by the
Baron Paiva, in the spring of 1 863 ; and since that period the
Baron has recorded its occurrence in a living state on the
summit of the Deserta Grande, from whence lie received it in
1867 ; though I may add that I have not myself inspected it
except from the former of those islands, and semifossilized.
The P. calathoides is extremely important locally, as be-
longing to the same geographical type as the P. Guerineana of
the sylvan districts of Madeira proper, and which differs from
that of the common European P. rotundata (otherwise closely
allied) in its still larger and more open umbilicus, its narrower
G 2
84 TEST-ACE A ATLANTIC A.
and more numerous volutions, and in the coarser, fewer, and
more elevated costae (or folds) of its upper surface.
Indeed the present Patula (so far as I am able to judge
from colourless and subfossilized examples) so nearly resembles
the Madeiran P. Guerineana that it might well-nigh be sup-
posed, at first sight, to represent but the quondam phasis of
that species. When accurately looked at, however, it will be
seen to possess a few differential characters of its own which
will suffice to stamp it as a perhaps truly distinct, though
proximate, member of the same local assemblage. Thus it is
not only a little less flattened both above and below (the spire
being just appreciably less depressed, and the under portion of
the basal whorl conspicuously broader, convexer, and more de-
veloped), but its umbilicus is not quite so wide at the com-
mencement, its keel is less pronounced (or somewhat more
obtuse), and the costae of its upper surface are not only still
more elevated and regular, but likewise appreciably less ob-
lique, being more at right angles to the suture. What its
colour may be, when in a recent condition, I have no means of
deciding.
Patula Guerineana.
Helix Gruerineana, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 115 (1852)
semiplicata, Pfeiff., Mai. Blatt. 63 (1852)
Id., Mon. Hel. iii. 114 (1853)
Guerineana, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 176 (1854)
semiplicata, Alb., Mai. Mad. 19. t. 2. f. 1 1-1 4 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 80 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in sylvaticis intermediis rarior, sub
foliis marcidis necnon in humidis latens.
This is one of the most elegant of the Madeiran Land-
Shells, its flattened, discoidal contour, added to its enormous
umbilicus, its highly polished (and obliquely, though very
obscurely, subfasciated ) under-region, and the beautifully varie-
gated hue of its coarsely costate volutions (which seem to be
striped with alternate, but unequal, transverse bands of a lively
reddish-brown and of a dirty whitish-yellow) giving it an
appearance which it is impossible to mistake. Until lately it
has been regarded as the Madeiran representative of the
common European P. rotundata, Mull. ; but, as already shown,
it belongs to a rather different type, characterised by its more
numerous, narrower, and strongly costate whorls, by its brightly
polished, nearly unsculptured inferior portion, and by its still
larger umbilicus. And, apart from these points, it is more de-
pressed, and (on the average) a trifle larger, than the P. rotun-
data, and its keel is sharper. Added to which, the latter
MADEIRAN GROUP. 86
species has itself been brought to light, within the last few
years, in no less than two distinct, and distant, parts of the
archipelago.
The P. Guerineana is decidedly a rare species, and one
which is confined to the damp sylvan districts of Madeira
proper at intermediate and lofty altitudes, where it is most
unmistakeably aboriginal, or indigenous. It occurs sparingly
in many of the deep wooded ravines, in the interior of the
island, beneath stones and decaying vegetable refuse, and was
first detected (so far as I am aware) in the Levada of the
Eibeiro Frio (into which it had fallen from the overhanging
bank above) by Miss J. C. Guerin after whom the species is
named.
Patula rotundata.
Helix rotundata, Mull., Hist Verm. ii. 29 (1774)
Patula rotundata, Held, in Isis, 916 (1837)
Helix rotundata, Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 105 (1848)
Hard., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 174 (1860)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 81 (1867)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat Maderam, et (sec. B. de Paiva) ins. parvam juxta
Portum Sanctum ' Ilheo da Fonte d'Areia ' dictam ; rarissima.
A single example of this common European Patula was ob-
tained by the Baron Paiva (as asserted in his Monograph),
during 1864, from the little uninhabited rock off the N.W.
coast of Porto Santo known as the Ilheo da Fonte d'Areia ; and
it would appear that he has since received a few others from the
same remote spot. I possess these specimens (which were trans-
mitted to Mr. Lowe), and also several more which were taken
by the Eev. E. B. Watson in 1866 at the Jardim da Serra
(about 2,000 feet above the sea) in Madeira proper ; so that I
think we have no option but to admit the species into our
catalogue. It would seem highly probable however that its
presence at the Jardim da Serra may be the result of an acci-
dental introduction from England during a comparatively recent
period, inasmuch as it is well known that the late Consul Mr.
Veitch was in the habit of receiving consignments of plants for
his garden at the Jardim ; but the existence of the shell on a
distant and well-nigh inaccessible rock is a fact, if truly to be
depended upon, which cannot be glossed over by any such
supposition, and one which would tend to place the P. rotun-
data amongst the autochthones of the archipelago. Perhaps
however its occurrence in even such a spot is, at any rate, not
more remarkable than that of the European Balea perversa on
the extreme summit of the Pico de Facho in Porto Santo, or
86 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
than the equally rare appearance, in the subfossil deposits of
that same island, of the common H. lapicida of more northern
latitudes. However in Madeira proper it is not only at the
Jardim that it has been met with, for Mr. Watson obtained a
single example on some wild and uncultivated rocks in the
Eibeira dos Soccorridos.
The P. rotundata may be known from the P. Guerineana
(which is so characteristic of, and unmistakably indigenous in,
the damp sylvan districts of Madeira proper) by being on the
average a trifle smaller, but at the same time less flattened and
less strongly keeled ; by its volutions being wider, convexer, and
less numerous, as well as regularly striated with sharp, hair-
like, oblique ridges (instead of broad and irregular plicae), and
very much more obscurely clouded with suffused bands ; by its
umbilicus being smaller ; and by the under-region of its basal
whorl being not only larger and more inflated, but likewise
almost opake and conspicuously sculptured with coarse ra-
diating costate lines.
( Pyramidula, Fitz.)
Patula pygmaea,
Helix pygmsea, Drap., Hist. Nat. 114. t. 8. f. 9, 10 (1805).
5 , Pfeiff-, Man. Hel. i. 97 (1848)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 78 (1867)
Watson, Journ. des Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat Maderam, rarissime ; in Ribeiro de Vasco Gil, prope
Funchal, a Revdo. R. B. Watson, A.D. 1866, reperta. Etiam semi-
fossilis prope Canipal a Dom. Watson occurrere dicitur.
This common little European Patula is one of the two or
three Madeiran land-shells which I have not myself had an op-
portunity of inspecting. Indeed its introduction into the cata-
logue is comparatively recent, a few examples having been
found by the Rev. R. B. Watson, in the Ribeira de Vasco Gil,
near Funchal, in 1866. Hitherto the P. pusilla, Lowe, has
been looked upon (though, as it has always seemed to me, very
erroneously) as the representative in Madeira of this minute
species of more northern latitudes; but now that the true
pygmcea has been brought to light, this can no longer be the
case, unless indeed the latter should owe its presence in the
island to recent accidental introduction from Europe, a sup-
position, however, which will hardly be tenable if the assertion
that it has been detected also in a subfossil state at Canipal
be correct.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 87
Patula placida.
Helix pusilla (pars), Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 46.
(1831)
placida, Shuttl., Bern. Mitth. 140 (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. Hi. 82 (1853)
pusilla, @. sericina, Lowe, Proc.Zool. Soc. Lond. 176
(1854)
Luseana, Paiva, Journ. de Conch, xiv. 342.pl. 11.
f. 9 (1866)
Id., Mon. Moll. Mad. 80. t. 2. f. 3 (1867).
Patula placida, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 25. pi. 2.
f. 9-12 (1872)
Habitat Maderam ; sub cortice arborum, necnon inter muscos
lichenesque ad truncos laurorum, in sylvaticis editioribus prae-
cipue gaudens. Semifossilis prope Canical a Revdo. R. B. Wat-
son, reperitur.
This minute Patula formed a portion of Mr. Lowe's H. pu-
silla (enunciated in 1831), and which in 1852 he separated
from the still smaller, browner, and more depressed examples
(the habits of which are different, and which have a tendency
to be sculptured with remote hair-like costse) as the 6 var. ft.
sericina? In the meanwhile however it had been published by
Shuttleworth, under the name placida, from the Canarian
archipelago.
I think there can be little doubt that the P. placida is
truly distinct from the smaller and less turbinate form which
constituted the type of the pusilla, Lowe ; and its mode of life,
too, is not the same, for, whilst the pusilla (which possesses
a very wide geographical range) occurs principally under stones,
and within the hollows and crevices of scoriae, in dry spots of a
comparatively low elevation, the placida, on the other hand, is
attached normally to the sylvan districts of a higher altitude,
where it congregates beneath the bark of trees, as well as
amongst moss and lichen on the damp trunks of the old laurels.
Under such circumstances it is universal throughout the wooded
portions of Madeira proper, but it has not yet been observed in
any of the other islands of the Group. In the Canarian archi-
pelago it is equally common as at Madeira ; and I have myself
met with it in the forest regions of TenerifTe, Palma, and
Hierro.
I may add that in Madeira the P. placida appears to be
found likewise in a subfossil condition, the Rev. R. B. Watson
having informed me that he obtained it sparingly (along with
the true P. pygmcea, Drap.) in the calcareous deposits near
88 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
The P. placida is, on the average, a trifle larger than the
pusilla, and it is also less depressed, or more turbinate, the
spire being comparatively elevated. It is usually too of a pale
olivaceous brown, there, being nearly always either a green or a
yellowish tinge ; and its surface, which has a somewhat sericeous
appearance, is very densely and regularly crowded with minute
hair-like lines, unmingled with any coarser ones, such as are
more or less conspicuous in the P. pusilla, and which are at
times even sublamelliform.
The P. placida is a little smaller than the common European
P. pygmcea, and with at least one volution less, its umbilicus
is relatively not so large, and its colour is altogether different,
the pygmcea being usually of a dark coffee-brown. The striae
also of the pygmcea, at any rate those on the underside, are
more oblique.
( Acanthinula, Beck.)
Patula pusilla,
Helix pusilla, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. 8. Trans, iv. 46. t. 5.
f. 17 (1831)
Pfeif., Mon. Hel. i. 101 (1848)
servilis, ShuttL, Bern. Mitth. 140 (1852)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. iii. 101 (1853)
pusilla, a. annulata, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 176
(1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 18. t. 2. f. 7-10 (1854)
servilis, Morel., Hist. Nat. desAcor. 173. t. 3. f. 6 (1860)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 79 (1867)
hypocrita, Dohrn., Mai. Bldtt. 1 (1869)
Patula servilis, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 25. pi. 2.
f. 13-16 (1872)
Habitat Maderam, et Desertam Grandem ; sub lapidibus,
necnon in fissuris scoriaB, praecipue in aridis inferioribus, latens.
As already mentioned, this extremely minute Patula is the
type of Mr. Lowe's Helix pusilla, the rather larger, less de-
pressed, and olivaceous P. placida, which was mixed up with it
by him, having been separated in only his later catalogue (under
the name 'var. /3. sericina') as at any rate a distinct form.
Mr. Lowe's original diagnosis (-in 1831) seems to have been
drawn out from the typical (or smaller) shell; whilst his
' Habitat in Maderse sylvis ' manifestly applies to the larger
one, afterwards treated by him as the ' var. (3. sericinaj but
previously published by Shuttleworth (in his Canarian diagno-
ses) under the name of H. placida. The pusilla proper, which
is smaller, browner, and more depressed than the placida (or
MADEIRAN GROUP. 89
pusilla, /3. sericina ' of Lowe), occurs, unlike the latter, in dry
and rocky spots of a comparatively low altitude, where it may
be met with more particularly beneath stones, on old walls, and
within the cavities of scoriae. In such situations it abounds
throughout Madeira proper, and was obtained by Mr. Lowe and
myself, not uncommonly, on the Deserta Grande.
The P. pusilla is manifestly, however, a species of a widely
acquired range, for it is found in the Azorean and Canarian
groups, and five examples of it are now before me which were
communicated by Dr. H. Dohrn (having been described by him
under the name ' H. hypocrita ' ) from S. Antao in the Cape Verde
archipelago. I may add that I have inspected these types of
the hypocrita with the greatest care, and that they are abso-
solutely undistinguishable (so far as I can perceive) from the
ordinary Madeiran and Desertan specimens of the pusilla. I
likewise met with the species, during 1875 and 1876, in the
intermediate districts of even St. Helena.
This minute Patula differs from the P. placida in being a
little smaller, browner, and more depressed (its spire being ap-
preciably less elevated), and in its volutions having a greater or
less tendency to be furnished with a few additional, remote,
more decidedly raised, hair-like lines, which are occasionally
so much developed as to be quite conspicuous, and even to ap-
pear (at first sight) almost lamelliform. These thread-like
lines, however, are more often so indistinct that they can be
observed only beneath a high magnifying power.
Genus 7. HELIX, Linne.
( Vallonia, Kisso.)
Helix pulchella.
Helix pulchella, Mull., Hist. Verm. ii. 30 (1774)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 45 (1831)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 176 (1854),
Alb., Mai. Mad. 45. t. 12. f. 1-4 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 77 (1867)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 75 (1872)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat Maderam, et (sec. B. de Paiva) etiam Desertam
Australem ; hinc inde sub lapidibus, prsecipue in cultis.
This widely spread little Helix, so common throughout
Europe, and which occurs also in the Azorean and Canarian
archipelagos, and which I met with at St. Helena, and which
was taken by Mr. Benson even at the Cape of Good Hope, is
tolerably abundant around Funchal (and in similar cultivated
90 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
districts) in Madeira. I have not myself observed it in any of
the other islands of the group, but it is recorded by the Baron
Paiva as existing sparingly on the Southern Deserta or Bugio ;
though I cannot but suspect that this latter habitat must be
regarded as still requiring corroboration.
( Campylcea, Beck.)
Helix Lowei.
Helix portosanctana, /3. gigantea, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S.
Trans, iv. 46. t. 5. f. 16 (1831)
Lowei, Per., Bull, de Zoolog. 89 (1835)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 233 (1835)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 169 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 82. t. 17. f. 11, 12 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in statu semifossili vulgaris.
Etiam recens cl. J. M. Moniz, sub lapide magno (quasi sepulta),
in ins. parva ' Ilheo de Cima ' dicta, semel detexit.
The H. Lowei (the larger examples of which measure up-
wards of two inches across the broadest part) stands pre-eminent
amongst the Madeiran Helices for its gigantic stature ; but it
has been a question, with various monographers, whether it
should be regarded as anything more, in reality, than the
quondam, highly-developed state of the present H. portosanc-
tana which in nearly all respects except size it closely re-
sembles. Without entering into this problem, which is perhaps
unsolvable, I will merely add that it has more often been looked
upon latterly as specifically distinct ; a supposition which is ren-
dered none the less probable from its having been lately ascer-
tained not to belong altogether to a fauna that has passed
away, a single living example, which was found by Senhor J.
M. Moniz beneath a large stone (and at a considerable depth
underground) on the little island known as the Ilheo de Cima,
proving to a demonstration that the species, in an unaltered
condition, still lingers on, and that too in company with its
modern analogue the H. portosanctana.
But considering how abundant the H. Lowei is in the sub-
fossiliferous beds of Porto Santo, there can be little doubt that
the species (which is now practically all but extinct) was once
dominant ; whilst the comparative rarity of the H. portosanc-
tana in a semifossilized condition would seem as if the former
had in some measure been supplanted by the latter (which at
present is so universal). Still, I do not think that we have suf-
ficient evidence for assuming that the one has been, by any
fancied process, altered into the other, for intermediate links do
MADEIRAN GROUP. 91
not occur (either subfossil or recent), and there would seem to
be a few characters, apart from the very great dissimilarity of
stature, which may serve to separate the two forms. Thus the
H. Lowei appears to be less evidently subpunctulated (or
minutely asperate), even beneath a high magnifying power ; and
the three large fasciae which are nearly always more or less trace-
able on the portosanctana^ and which are at times so broadly
developed as to be. subconfluent, are uniformly reduced in the
H. Lowei (when in a sufficiently perfect condition for the colour
to be preserved at all) to two narrow, thread-like lines, the
upper cloudy band, below the suture, being obsolete. And
there is likewise no appearance of the H. Lowei having been
(like the portosanctana) infinitesimally hispid; though this
perhaps may be merely owing to the surface having been
necessarily somewhat worn, or altered, in the process of
decortication.
The H. Lowei is locally abundant in many of the subfossili-
ferous deposits in Porto Santo, and it is also common in those
on the immediately adjoining Ilheo de Baixo ; but the single
example to which I have already alluded, as having been taken
by Senhor Moniz on the Ilheo de Cima, embodies the only
instance (so far as I am aware) in which the species has been
observed in a recent state.
Helix portosanctana.
Helix portosanctana, Sow., Zool. Journ. i. 57. t. 3. f. 5
(1824)
a., Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 46.
t. 5. f. 15 (1831)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 367 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 169
(1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 46. t. 12. f. 5-7
(1854)
., Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 20 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, insulasque parvas adjacentes;
sub lapidibus vulgaris. In statu semifossili minus frequens.
As already mentioned, the H. portosanctana (which is pecu-
liar to Porto Santo and the immediately adjacent islets) may be
regarded as the modern representative of the subfossil, and com-
paratively gigantic, H. Lowei ; yet, for reasons which have been
assigned, I do not think that we possess sufficient evidence for
considering the two to be but altered phases of a single species.
The fact that both of them were members of the ancient fauna
(the portosanctana being then scarce, and the Lowei abundant),
92 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
and that both are still living (the Lowei being all but extinct,
whilst the portosanctana is universal), in conjunction with the
circumstance that there are no traces of genuine intermediate
links (either fossil or recent), would seem to imply, at any rate
to my mind, that the two forms were aboriginally distinct, but
that they have been slowly changing places as regards ascen-
dency.
The H. portosanctana passes through . many degrees of
colour and outline, some examples being abruptly banded,
and others with the fasciae so greatly increased and suffused that
they appear at first sight to be well-nigh unicolorous ; whilst
many specimens have the spire comparatively elevated, and
others comparatively depressed. But there is one form (amongst
the numerous others, more or less slightly differing) which may
properly be noticed as more salient than the rest, but which does
not seem to have been sufficiently brought forward by Mr. Lowe.
I allude to the particular phasis which occurs more especially
(though intermingled with the ordinary type) on the Ilheo de
Cima, and which is (on the average) rather larger, flatter, and
thinner than is usually the case, with the umbilicus generally
wide and open, and with the surface for the most part darker
(the fasciae being broad and suffused), as well as (when viewed
beneath a high magnifying power) more thickly and decidedly
subpunctulate. This aspect of the shell, which I think perhaps
is the only one which it is worth while to single out as a posi-
tive ' variety,' we may be permitted to record as the ' var. /3.
cimensisS
When inspected under a powerful lens, the H. portosanc-
tana will generally be seen (in individuals which are fresh and
unrubbed) to be infinitesimally hispid, or pubescent.
( Cryptaxis, Lowe.)
Helix Vulcania.
Helix vulcania, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 147 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 168 (1854)
(pars), Alb., Mai. Mad. 48. 1. 1 3. f. 4-6 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 17 (1867)
Habitat Desertam Eorealem, et Desertam Grrandem ; sub
lapidibus vulgaris.
The H. portosanctana, the Vulcania (with its closely allied
H. leonina), and the undata may be regarded as strictly ' re-
presentative ' species, the first being peculiarly Porto-Santan,
the second Desertan, and the third Madeiran ; yet it is impos-
sible to treat them practically as, in any degree, insular modi-
MADEIRAN GROUP. 93
fi cations of each other. Indeed the portosanctana belongs to
a rather different type (characteristic of Beck's section Campy-
Icea), in which the umbilicus is open, and the tendency of the
surface is to be very minutely hispid or pilose ; whereas in
Cryptaxis, Lowe, which embraces the other two forms, the
umbilicus is closed up (at any rate in the adult shells), and ^the
surface, although more or less malleated or uneven, is glabrous :
and it will be gathered therefore from this circumstance, that
the exponents from Madeira proper and the Desertas are more
nearly akin inter se than they are to the one from Porto Santo.
The H. Vulcania has been found hitherto only on the
Northern and Central Desertas, 1 its place on the southern
island being supplied by the very intimately related (but more
largely developed) H. leonina which likewise makes its ap-
pearance towards the southern extremity of the Central Deserta
(or Deserta Grande). And indeed were it not for this last-
mentioned fact, I should certainly have been inclined to treat
the H. leonina as a mere enlarged and exaggerated phasis (or
insular modification) of the Vulcania; but since the two forms
co-exist on the central island, that conclusion would hardly be
tenable. Nevertheless I am by no means satisfied that the
H. leonina is more in reality than the (locally) more southern
aspect of the Vulcania^ for it must be admitted that we have a
very gradual and curious progression, as regards contour, from
the Northern Deserta (or Ilheo Chao) to the southern one (or
Bugio), the examples from the former of those islands being a
little flatter and less malleated than the ones (equally referable
to the Vulcania proper) from the Deserta Grande ; whilst the
characters of the leonina, which makes its first appearance
towards the southern end of the Deserta G-rande, and which
reigns supreme on the Bugio, are merely those of the H. Vul-
cania but (particularly on the southern island) exaggerated.
However since both the Vulcania and leonina exist on the
Deserta Grande, I think that we may practically refuse to
treat them as insular states of each other, and may so find it
more convenient to register them as distinct.
The H. Vulcania (and leonina) may be said, in a general
sense, to combine the fasciated surface of the portosanctana
with the closed-up umbilicus and more or less malleated sculp-
ture of the Madeiran H. undata. However, the lower band,
which is nearly always present in the portosanctana^ is in the
1 The Baron Paiva cites the Southern Deserta also for the H. Vulcania ;
but since his material was never obtained by himself, but was brought to
him by paid collectors (who were neither over-accurate nor over-scrupulous),
I cannot without further evidence place any reliance on that particular
habitat.
94 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Vulcania obsolete, causing the basal volution to be two-, in-
stead of three-fasciated ; and the upper band (just below the
suture) has a greater or less tendency to be broken-up or inter-
rupted, giving a somewhat dappled, or tessellated, appearance
to the anterior region of each whorl. The ground-colour of the
H. Vulcania is an olivaceous brown ; and the volutions are
obliquely striated with irregular, sub-undulating, more or less
confluent ribs, imparting a malleated character to the whole.
The examples of this shell from the Northern (or Flat)
Deserta may be looked upon as the most typical ones for, the
species, and they are (on the average) a little more depressed
(and perhaps & trifle smaller) than those from the Deserta
Grande, the basal whorl being somewhat less inflated and with
a more evident tendency to have an obsolete keel ; and their
surface is rather more closely, and not quite so coarsely striate,
or so conspicuously malleated. The very slightly altered aspect
of the H. Vulcania from the Deserta Grand e, or central island,
we may perhaps cite as the ' var. /3. desertce. 9
The H. Vulcania was first detected by Mr. Leacock, in
June, 1848 ; and it has subsequently been met with by Mr.
Lowe, myself, and others, in considerable profusion, on both of
the more northern Desertas.
Helix leonina,
Helix leonina, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Vulcania, var., Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 148 (1853)
leonina, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 168 (1854)
Vulcania, var. ft., Alb. 9 Mai. Mad. 48. t. 13. f. 1-3
(1854)
leonina, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 18 (1867)
Habitat Desertam Australem, vulgaris ; necnon etiam (var.
a. intermedia) Desertam Grrandem, sed ibidem rarior.
As already mentioned, this may perhaps represent but an
enlarged and local modification of the H. Vulcania ; neverthe-
less it certainly is not an insular one, inasmuch as it co-exists
with that species on the Deserta Grande ; and, whatever there-
fore be the true state of the case, I think that it will practically
be more convenient to cite it as distinct.
The H. leonina is larger and more highly coloured than the
Vulcania, its basal volution being more inflated, and with the
two bands (the anterior one of which has scarcely any tendency
to be broken-up or tessellated) more broadly developed ; its
surface is even still more coarsely malleated ; and its columella
is proportionately longer.
It is on the Southern Deserta (or Bugio) that the //. leonina
MADEIRAN GROUP. 95
is more particularly dominant, and where it may be said to
attain its maximum. In the central island it just makes its
appearance, on the abrupt eastern side (towards the south), in a
spot known as the Feijaa Grande ; where however the specimens,
which we may register as the ' var a. intermedia,' are (on the
average) a little smaller and darker than those from the Bugio.
Helix undata,
Helix undata, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 41. t. 5. f.
5 (1831)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 191 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 168 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 50. t. 13. f. 13-16 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 16 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; sub lapidibus necnon ad muros, prsecipue
in cultis inferioribus, congregans. In stratu conchy lifer o ad
Canical semifossilis occurrit.
This is one of the most universal, and characteristic, of the
Land-Shells of Madeira proper, to which island it would seem
to be peculiar, and where it often swarms, beneath stones and
about old walls, chiefly at rather low elevations and in cultivated
spots ; and it occurs likewise in a subfossil state, though in no
great profusion, at Canipal.
The H. undata is more nearly related to the H. Vulcania
and leonina, of the Desertas, than to any other species which
has hitherto been brought to light. Indeed with the ' var. a.
intermedia ' of the latter, from the Deserta Grande, it has a
good deal in common ; nevertheless it is considerably smaller
and less inflated (or globose), even still more undulate in its
sculpture, and also of a uniform and paler brown, there
being no traces whatsoever of fascia, or bands, on any of the
volutions.
( Katostoma, Lowe.)
Helix psammophora.
Helix psammophora, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 113 (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 166 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 83. t. 17. f. 15
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 16 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, hodie recens non inventa ; in
arena calcarea conchylifera semifossilis reperitur.
This Helix, which is peculiar to Porto Santo, has been
found hitherto only in a subfossil state, it being rather
96 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
common in many of the calcareous deposits, where I believe
that it was first met with by myself.
The H. psammophora belongs to the same type as the
phlebophora, from which however it differs in its somewhat
smaller size and more elevated spire, in its basal volution being
a little more deflexed at the aperture (which is just appreciably
rounder), and 'in its entire surface being (instead of coarsely
malleated and confidently costate-striate) densely crowded with
large granules, which are elegantly arranged (not exactly on
ridges, but) in oblique irregular rows.
In general size and contour the H. psammophora has more
in common with the ' var. 8. craticulata ' (which was detected
by myself on the Ilheo de Ferro) than with any other form of
the H. phlebophora ; nevertheless its totally different sculpture
(the 8. craticulata being quite free from granules, and even
more malleated than the ordinary type) will at once separate it.
Helix phlebophora.
Helix phlebophora, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 41. t.
5. f. 6 (1831)
nivosa, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 192 (1848)
phlebophora, a. chlorata, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc.
Lond. 166 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 49. t. 13. f. 7, 8
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 15 (1867)
var. 0. planata.
Helix phlebophora, /3. planata, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.
166 (1854)
(pars), Alb., Mai. Mad. 49. t. 13. f. 9,
10 (1854)
var. 7. nivosa [pallida, immaculata].
Helix nivosa, Sow., Zool. Journ. i. 56. t. 3. f. 3 (1824)
phlebophora, 7. decolorata, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc.
Lond. 166 (1854)
var. S. craticulata.
Helix craticulata, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 113 (1852)
nivosa, var. 0., Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 148 (1853)
phlebophora, 8. scrobiculata, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc.
Lond. 166 (1854)
var. 0., Alb., Mai. Mad. 49. t. 13. f. 1 1,
12 (1854)
var. a., Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 15
(1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, insulasque parvas adjacentes ;
MADEIRAN GROUP. 97
vulgatissima. Necnon in solo arenoso semifossilis occurrit.
Var. 8. craticuata ad insulam ' Ilheo de Ferro ' solum recens
pertinet ; sed in statu semifossili in Portu Sancto ipsissimo
late reperitur.
This is one of the most abundant and universal of the
Helices of Porto Santo, to which island, and the immediately
adjacent rocks, it would seem to be peculiar ; and it is tolerably
common in a subfossil state, particularly under the phasis
which I have cited as the ' 8. craticulata, Lowe, which in a
recent condition occurs now only on the Ilheo de Ferro.
The H. phlebophora may be known by its more or less
globose, strictly Helix-shaped, or subtrochiform, contour, and
by its variegated (or fasciated) surface, which is more or less
coarsely molleate and beset with oblique and very irregular sub-
confluent costate lines, a peculiarity of sculpture which im-
parts a wrinkled appearance to the whole.
The present species, however, passes through many degrees
of colour, outline, and sculpture, the four principal ones being
[1] the normal state (corresponding with the 'a. chlorataj
Lowe), in which the shell is comparatively globose, and the
corrugations of the surface are more developed than the costse ;
[2] a more depressed form (answering to Lowe's ' /3. planata '),
in which the spire is a little less raised, the surface, on the
average, a trifle paler and more variegated (the bands being
narrower, and more broken-up or interrupted), and in which
the oblique irregular costae are more sharply developed ; [3] a
yellowish-white, almost colourless or albino variety, free from
fasciae and markings but otherwise agreeing with the c a.
chlorata, Lowe, and which represents the H. nivosa of
Sowerby ; and [4] a smaller, darker, and a more beautifully
dappled phasis, with the corrugations very coarse and large but
with the ridges almost obsolete, and with the spire relatively a
little more elevated, peculiar apparently (at any rate in a recent
condition) to the small islet known as the Ilheo de Ferro
(where it was first detected by myself), and which was de-
scribed by Mr. Lowe in 1852 (under the name of H. craticulata)
as distinct, but which in 1854 he suppressed as a species, citing
it as the ' var. 8. scrobiculata ' of the H. phlebophora. 1
1 By a glance at the synonyms given above, it will be seen that in reality
Sowerby's name ' nivosa ' is the prior one for this Helix, by many years, it
having been published in 1824, whereas Mr. Lowe's * phUbojihora ' did not
make its appearance until 1831. If therefore it be insisted that priority out-
weighs every other consideration whatsoever (even, for instance, the employ-
ment of a title which conveys an absolutely false idea of the species to which
it has reference), the change in the nomenclature must of course be made.
Under ordinary circumstances I should myself have made it ; but since the
name pklebophora has almost universally been allowed for this Helix, on
98 TESTACEA ATLANT1CA.
( Tberus, Monf.)
Helix Wollastoni.
Helix Wollastoni, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon Hel. iii. 169 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 198 (1854)
Alb., Mai Mad. 22 [nee ? ff] (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 100 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in monte orientali ' Pico do
Concelho,' sub lapidibus vulgaris. Semifossilis ad, necnon
juxta, Zimbral d'Areia prsecipue invenitur.
Peculiar to Porto Santo, where it was first detected (in a
recent state) by myself, during April of 1849, on the slopes of
the Pico do Concelho, in the east of that island, having, how-
ever, been found in a subfossil condition by Mr. Lowe so far
back as in 1828. It swarms, beneath stones, on that particular
mountain, but I have never met with it elsewhere ; and even in a
subfossil state it is only at the Zimbral d'Areia (which abuts on
the base of the Pico do Concelho), and in its vicinity (as, for
instance, in the muddy deposits of a sea-cliff below the Pico
dos Macaricos) , that it has hitherto, so far as I am aware, been
brought to light. 1
The H. Wollastoni may be known by its acutely carinated
basal volution, and minutely granulose, obliquely plicate
surface, the plicae being more or less undulate, irregular,
and here and there confluent. In colour it is usually of an
olivaceous- or yellowish-brown, and with two very obscure
darker bands on each whorl, generally so obscure as to be
barely traceable, but often appreciably developed ; and the
under-part of the ultimate volution is either altogether con-
colorous, or else ornamented with a narrow darker fascia at a
little distance from the keel.
The present Helix belongs to the same type as the subfossil
Canarian H. digna, Mouss., from Gomera, and (more especially)
as the Sicilian H. scabriuscula, Desh. (Encycl. Meth. ii. 130),
with which latter indeed it has a great deal in common. It is,
however, smaller and rather less flattened than the scabriuscula
(its spire being more exserted), its oblique transverse rugce are
more elevated or developed, its keel (which is less compressed)
account of the unfortunately selected one which was previously imposed upon
it by Sowerby, I have thought it sufficient merely to call attention to the
fact, leaving the alteration in the hands of those who may regard it as
necessary.
1 In the Baron Paiva's Monograph an albino state of the H. Wollastoni is
mentioned as occurring on the Pico Branco ; but I feel it exceedingly pro-
bable that that habitat was inserted through a lapnuz calami, or by mistake.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 99
merges entirely into the suture at the commencement of the
penultimate whorl (instead of being minutely raised above it,
and so more or less faintly traceable up the spire), its umbilicus
is always completely closed over, its peristome has the two lips
more evidently connected by a corneous callosity, and the
portion towards the axis internally broader, and its surface is not
only more opake and granulated but totally different in hue,
being dark and often obscurely banded, instead of nearly
white.
I possess eight examples of the H. Wollastoni which are so
nearly intermediate between that species and the phlebophora (!)
that it is almost impossible to tell at first sight, to which of the
two they should be assigned. They are smaller and less granu-
lated than the ordinary type, and very much less distinctly
keeled ; and I may perhaps cite them as the ' var. a. subdubia.'
Helix forensis, n. sp.
T. omnino imperforata, subdiscoidea, utrinque convexius-
cula, mediocarinata, opaca, ubique densissime granulata plicisque
valde obliquis remotis subundulatis subirregularibus instructa,
supra subinsequaliter vel marmoratim rufo-brunnea nucleo
(Iseviore, prominente) subroseo, sed subtus in medio (i.e. intus
fasciam latam marginalem) pallidior aut magis flavescens ;
anfractibus 5J- planiusculis, ultimo antice valde descendente,
sutura distinctissima, impressa ; apertura valde obliqua, labris
conniventibus, lamina callosa, incrassata, albida (intus rosea)
junctis ; peristomate roseo, basi reflexiusculo, axin versus
incrassato et ibidem dilatato-plano. Diam. maj. 9 lin. ;
alt. 4i.
Helix Wollastoni, Alb., Mai. Mad. t. 4. f. 1-3 \nec diagn.]
(1854)
Habitat ins. parvam 'Ilheo de Fora' dictam, juxta Portum
Sanctum [nee Ilheo de Fora juxta Maderam\ nee etiam in
Portu Sancto ipsissimo] ; a DD. Leacock et Moniz olim com-
municata.
Obs. H. Wollastoni affinis, sed nisi fallor vere distincta.
DifFert testa minore, densius rugosiusque granulata (quare
omnino opaca), necnon obscurius colorata, sc. submarmoratim
rufo-brunnea (nucleo magis prominulo, Iseviore, roseo), nee
supra etiam obscure fasciata, subtus in medio solum pallidiore,
fascia exteriore usque ad carinam ipsam extendente ; apertura
paululum magis rotundata (aut subminus carinatim angulata),
labris callo crassiore junctis.
Several examples of this shell (which Albers appears to have
figured as the //. Wollastoni, Lowe, whilst drawing out his
H 2
100 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
diagnosis from the type of the latter) were communicated by
Mr. Leacock and Senhor J. M. Moniz, about 15 years ago, as
having been taken on the ' Ilheo de Fora,' a little islet off the
eastern coast of Porto Santo, opposite to the Pico do Concelho
(of the mainland) which is the sole locality (so far as I am
aware) for the H. Wollastoni ; and others have since been
received from the same spot by the Baron Paiva. They have
consequently been placed aside, for a considerable period and
without further examination, as representing in all probability
a smaller phasis, or variety, of the H. Wollastoni, which in
most of their features they nearly resemble ; and it must be
admitted that the situation of their habitat namely a little
islet exactly facing the particular mountain in Porto Santo
which seems alone to harbour the H. Wollastoni would tend
to favour the idea of an ' insular modification ' of that species.
Still, when closely inspected, the distinctive characters appear
to me to be too important and numerous to render it safe to
treat the present Helix as a mere phasis of the last one ; and
although it is not absolutely impossible that in reality it may
be so, I will only remark that there would be a primd facie
inconsistency about admitting it as such, while at the same time
allowing the specific claims of the H. Lyelliana, as distinct
from the Bulveriana, or those of the Lowei and Bowdichiana,
as distinct from the portosanctana and punctulata.
Judging from a long array of examples which are now
before me, the H. fcwensis differs from the H. Wollastoni in
being smaller, and more densely and roughly granulated, and
therefore more opake, in its spire being somewhat more raised,
the nucleus especially (which is more shining, lightly sculptured,
and rosy) being more prominent, in its aperture being a little
rounder (or less sharply angled at the keel), in its upper and
lower lips being joined across the body-volution by a more
thickened corneous process, and by its colour being considerably
darker, or of a more reddish marbled-brown. Indeed its colora-
tion is on a rather different pattern, the volutions not being
ever (even indistinctly) fasciated, but unequally suffused all
over with the obscurer tint; whilst the single band on the
underside is broad and completely lateral, extending to the
very edge of the keel, instead of being (when present at all)
narrow and removed to a certain distance from it.
( Mitra, Alters.)
Helix Webbiana.
Helix Webbiana, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 44. t. 5.
f. 10 (1831)
MADEIRAN GROUP;
'301
Helix Webbiana, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 219 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 197 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 53. t. 14. f. 13-15
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 98 (1867)
Vitrina Bocagei, Paiva [testa junior] 1. c. 10. t. 2. f. 6
(1876)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, et ins. parvam adjacent em ' Ilheo
de Cima ' ; sub lapidibus in graminosis montium degens. In
statu semifossili parcissime reperitur.
This most remarkable of the Helices of the Madeiran archi-
pelago appears to be confined to Porto Santo, and the little
adjacent island of the ' Ilheo de Cima ' (where it was taken
sparingly by Senhor J. M. Moniz) ; and, although not very
generally abundant, it is locally far from uncommon, beneath
stones, and usually at a rather high altitude. It is true tnat
the Baron Paiva cites it as occurring likewise on the Southern
Deserta ; but I can only say that no traces of it were observed
there either by Mr. Leacock, Mr. Lowe, or myself, and that
until further evidence therefore has been adduced I shall
refuse to regard it as in any way connected with that remote
and little-known rock, and more particularly so, since the
Baron's material was seldom, if ever, obtained by himself, but
was merely brought to him (at intervals) by paid collectors
sent out from Funchal. But on many of the higher mountain-
slopes of Porto Santo it has been met with by Mr. Lowe, Mr.
Leacock, myself, and others, in tolerable numbers, especially
on the ascent of the Pico Branco, the Pico do Concelho, aL.d
the Pico de Baixo. In a subfossil condition it is scarce, but
was taken by Mr. Lowe and myself at the Zimbral d'Areia, and
in several of the other calcareous deposits.
In the paucity of its whorls, its brownish-green hue, its
thin, shining, subpellucid substance, its total freedom from an
umbilicus, its enormous aperture, and in its upper and lower
lips being quite unconnected by a corneous lamina, the H.
Webbiana has a slight prima facie element in common with
the genus Vitrina ; ! and it is further conspicuous by its
acutely developed keel, and by the fact of its being more or
less studded with coarse and remote granules, which however
become gradually evanescent towards the inner portion of the
(very obliquely striated) volutions. Its peristome is a good deal
1 It is remarkable that the Vitri<na Bocagei of Paiva {Mon. Moll. Mad. 10.
t. 2. f. 6), recorded (evidently through an error) to have been taken in Madeira
proper, was established, as I am assured by the Kev. R. B. Watson, on an
immature example of the Helix Webbiana ! "(cf. t also, Journ. de Conch. 219 ;
1876.)
^-^ . ^ ^TJSSTACEA ATLANTICA.
reflexed, and the central part of its underside is of a paler and
more olivaceous tint than the rest of the shell.
The H. Webbiana has a greater affinity with the H.
cuticula, Shut tl., of the Canarian Group, than with anything
else with which I am acquainted ; and, although abundantly
distinct, there can be little doubt that the two species have
something in common. The H. cuticula, however, is a great
deal smaller, being in fact comparatively diminutive ; and,
although perhaps not quite so shining, it is very much thinner,
paler, greener, more pellucid, and more Vitrina-like ; its keel
too is not only more compressed, but also not completely merged
into the suture at the penultimate volution, it being traceable
up the spire (which is relatively a trifle more elevated) ; and its
peristome is not reflexed.
( Leptaxis, Lowe.)
Helix chrysomela.
Helix osnostoma, Lowe (olim), in litt.
chrysomela, Pfeiff., Mon HeL i. 281 [sedvid. p. 447]
(1848)
Lowe, Proc. ZooL Soc. Loud. 167 (1854)
fluctuosa, Alb., Mai. Mad. 82, t. 17. f. 13-14 (1854)
var. a. chrysomela, Paiva, Mon. Moll.
Mad. 19 (1867)
var. (3. fluctuosa.
Helix fluctuosa, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 167 (1854)
Paiva, Mon Moll. Mad. 19 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, hodie recens non inventa ; in solo
calcareo semi-fossilis copiose reperitur.
The H. chrysomela has been found hitherto only in a subfossil
state, and only in Porto Santo, where it is extremely common,
both in its smaller and its larger phasis. It is to the former of
these that the name chrysomela was applied (in 1848) by
Pfeiffer (who, however, by mistake cited the species as Brazi-
lian), the larger one having been subsequently enunciated by
Mr. Lowe, in 1852, under that of fluctuosa, as specifically dis-
tinct. And thus, on the principle of priority, Pfeiffer's title
takes the precedence, and the race which he described must be
treated as the type. And this being the case, it is perhaps
somewhat fortunate that they are both about equally abundant,
and that it matters but little, therefore, which of them be
looked upon as normal.
Owing to the necessarily bleached condition of semifossilized
specimens, it is well-nigh impossible to detect the law of colo-
MADE1RAN GROUP. 103
ration in this species ; but in some examples there are evident
traces of a narrow darker interrupted (or tessellated) fascia on
the hinder edge of each volution, which is particularly visible
above the keel of the basal one, and likewise a similar one (at
some distance from the keel) on the underside; and in the
sm aller (or typical) state of the shell the peristome and the lamel-
liform callosity which unites its upper and lower halves preserve
an abruptly-defined and conspicuous reddish-yellow hue. Indeed
this last-mentioned peculiarity is one of the main distinctive fea-
tures in Pfeiffer's diagnosis ; nevertheless occasional specimens of
even this smaller phasis have the peristome colourless, whilst
the exponents of the larger race (or fluctuosa, Lowe) have never
any indication of a brilliant hue about the aperture (which is uni-
formly white). But, apart from its diminished size and this
colouring of the peristome, the typical state differs from the
larger one (or fluctuosa, Lowe) in having its keel less acutely
developed, its whorls just perceptibly more tumid, and its entire
surface more uneven or malleate, though rather less evidently
sculptured with minute oblique striae. Nevertheless, in nearly
all their features, I think that the two aspects of the shell pass
imperceptibly into each other. Both of them also (particularly
however the larger one) have, as just mentioned, a slight ten-
dency to be freckled, or blotched, with a few opake milky
markings, in all probability occupying the positions of former
interrupted fasciae, or patches.
The affinities of the H. chrysomela are manifestly with the
H. erubescens, Lowe ; and indeed the larger state (which I would
register as the ' 0. fluctuosa ') has so much in common primd
facie with the Porto-Santan phasis of the latter (or 'a. porto-
sancti ') that I had at first imagined that the two might prove
perhaps to be but the subfossil and recent homologues of each
other ; nevertheless a closer inspection of them would seem to
imply that they pertain in reality to slightly different types,
the H. chrysomela being not only more keeled and less globose
(which is particularly observable in the state 6 @. fluctuosa ') but
having likewise its columella shorter, and its lower lip straighter
and more horizontal, as well as much more thickened internally,
the incrassated portion too extending throughout nearly its entire
length, instead of being gradually terminated at only a short
distance from the axis.
Helix membranacea.
Helix membranacea, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. iii. 38 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 165
(1854)
104 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
Helix membranacea, Alb., Mai. Mad. 47. t. 12. f. 8-10
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 11 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in sylvaticis intermediis umbrosis, nec-
non sub foliis arborum emortuis, degens, sed nunquam vulgaris.
In statu semifossili ad Canipal Rev. R. T. Lowe parcissime
collegit.
The H. membranacea, which is widely, though not very
abundantly, scattered over the wooded districts, particularly in
the damp shady ravines, of Madeira proper, may be known by its
extremely thin, flexible, pellucid, Farina-like substance, by the
paucity of its volutions (which vary from about 4 to 4-|) and the
largeness of its aperture, and by its pale yellowish- or even green-
ish-corneous hue, which has often an obsolete rosy additional
tinge, as though to affiliate the species with the closely-allied
H. erubescens. Its basal whorl is rather distinctly keeled, the
keel however becoming evanescent at the aperture (the margins
of which are simple and acute, with the upper one not at all
deflexed); its umbilicus is altogether absent ; and its entire sur-
face is malleated and lightly transverse-plicate, as well as
freckled all over with yellowish-white, subopaque, irregular
specks and broken-up, elongate, more or less confluent milJcy
markings which are usually condensed about the keel into
something approaching to a narrow but disjointed fascia.
The Baron Paiva records this Helix as occurring also on a
little uninhabited rock off the north of Porto Santo, known as
the ' Ilheo da Fonte d'Areia ; ' but the species is so eminently
characteristic of the damp sylvan districts, at a rather high alti-
tude, in Madeira proper that I cannot but suspect that some error
must have arisen concerning the former habitat (and more par-
ticularly so, since the Baron's material was not collected by him-
self). I think therefore that further evidence is required before
the H. membranacea can safely be cited as Porto-Santan, or
even indeed as eotfra-Madeiran.
Helix furva.
Helix furva, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 40. t, 5. f. 2.
(1831)
Pfwff; Mon. Hel. i. 29 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 165 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 48. t. 12. f. 17-19 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 12 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in excelsioribus (vel graminosis vel syl-
vaticis ) occm-rens. In statu semifossili ad Canipal rarissime
invenitur. -
MADEIRAN GROUP. 105
Readily known from all the varieties of the H. erubescens
(which in size, contour, and sculpture it much resembles) by its
uniformly rich, deep, brownish-yellow, or yellowish-brown, hue,
its rather stronger substance and more shining surface, and by
its volutions having a narrow, dark, interrupted, or disjointed,
tesselated fascia at their base (very conspicuous on the ultimate
one, where it is just above, and immediately adjoining, the in-
distinct keel), and generally faint traces of a very obsolete and
paler (but equally fragmentary) one, often altogether absent, on
their anterior edge (fringing the suture). The peristome, like-
wise, is a little less developed and reflexed than in the H. eru-
bescens ; the basal whorl descends somewhat more abruptly in
front ; the keel is, if anything, a trifle more expressed ; and the
surface is perhaps, on the average, less malleated but more per-
ceptibly striate.
The H. furva (which is found also in a subfossil condition,
though very rarely, at Canipal) is widely spread over the inter-
mediate and lofty regions of Madeira proper, to which island it
would seem to be peculiar. On the mountains above Funchal it
is at times comparatively abundant, particularly in the chestnut-
woods at the Mount, towards the Pico d'Arribentao, at the Pico
do Infante, and on the southern slopes of the Pico da Silva ;
and it was met with by Mr. Lowe and myself at the extreme
head of the Eibeira do Inferno (on the Paul de Serra), in the
north-west of the island.
Helix erubescens.
Helix erubescens, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 40. t. 5.
f. 3 (1831)
et simia, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 270 et 288
(1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 165 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 47. 1. 12. f. 11-16 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 13 (1867)
var. porto-sancti, Woll.
Helix fluctuosa, var. a., Paiva, I. c. [videObs. p. 14] (1867)
var. advenoides, Paiva.
Helix advena, Lowe [nee W. et B,~|, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.
165 [vid. Obs. 2] (1854)
erubescens, var. 7, advenoides, Paiva, I. c. 14 (1867)
var. hycena, Lowe.
Helix hyaena, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 200 (1853)
erubescens, var. ., Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1 65
(1854)
106 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
Helix erubescens, var. /3., Alb., Mai. Mad. 47. t. 12. f. 14-
16(1854)
var. a. major, Paiva, I. c. 14 (1867)
Habitat ins. omnes Maderenses (sc. Maderam, tres Desertas,
et Portum-Sanctum) ; in intermediis editioribusque degens.
In statu semifossili ad Canical Maderse, necnon in summo etiam
Desertse Austral is, reperitur.
This is one of the most widely diffused, and variable, of the
Maderan Helices, it having been met with by Mr. Lowe, Mr.
Leacock, myself, and others on the whole five islands of the
archipelago (namely Madeira proper, the three Desertas, and
Porto Santo) ; and it is reported even from San Miguel, in the
Azores. Until within a comparatively recent period it was sup-
posed to be non-existent in Porto Santo (where its place seemed,
at first sight, to be supplied by the larger state (or ' /3. flue-
tuosa ') of the more keeled, and rather differently constructed,
semifossilized H. chrysomela); but in May of 1855 it was found
by myself, and subsequently by Mr. Lowe, on the ledges of the
damp rocks on the northern side of the extreme summit of the
Pico de Facho, in that island, from whence it has since been
obtained by the Baron Paiva.
In a subfossil condition the H. erubescens is rather common
at Canical, in Madeira proper, and it was detected by Mr. Lowe
on also the extreme summit of the Southern Deserta (or Bugio) ;
but it has not been observed hitherto, so far as I am aware, in
any of the deposits (whether calcareous or muddy) in Porto
Santo.
The H. erubescens passes through an almost infinite number
of changes, both in outline and hue, as regards the latter,
scarcely two specimens being precisely alike. Sometimes the
volutions are elegantly banded, at others some of the fasciae are
obsolete and at others the latter are more or less broken-up into
tessellated fragments ; while many individuals are unicolorous,
being entirely devoid of markings. The ground-colour (apart
from the darker bands) varies chiefly from a pale pinkish-
brown and whitish-yellow, into a dusky yellowish-grey ; and
there is generally (though by no means always) a more conspi-
cuous rosy tinge about the peristome ; and the surface is more
or less wrinkled, or malleated, as well as marked with oblique
irregular striae, which however are often extremely indistinct.
But perhaps the principal aspects under which the H. eru-
bescens presents itself may be arranged, topographically, as
follows :
a. porto-sancti, Woll. Rather less globose than the type, be-
ing a trifle more flattened both above and below, witli the aperture
a little more straightened or horizontal, and the basal volution
MADEIRAN GROUP. 107
just appreciably keeled. The surface is less malleated than in
the other varieties, but the minute striao are somewhat more
regular and apparent. Although very variable in hue, this is
usually a highly decorated state, the ground-colour being often
of a comparatively clear yellow. Detected by myself and Mr.
Lowe on the northern side of the extreme summit of the Pico de
Facho, in Porto Santo.
/3. [normalis~\. This is the phasis which obtains throughout
the intermediate and lofty elevations of Madeira proper, and on
the Deserta Grande ; and it is rather less flattened (or more in-
flated) than the Porto-San tan one, with the aperture less
straightened, and the surface more appreciably malleated, but
somewhat less evidently striate. It is often extremely thin and
semi-transparent ; and its colour is so inconsistent that it may
be said to pass through almost every gradation (in that respect)
to which the species is liable. Even its contour is by no means
fixed, some examples having the spire more raised than others ;
and, on the whole, the specimens from the Great Deserta may
perhaps be said to be a trifle larger and more globose, as well as
more highly decorated, than those from Madeira proper.
y. advenoides, Paiva. A rather larger (on the average) but
less globose form, which is characteristic of the Northern De-
serta (or Ilheo Chao), but which likewise makes its appearance
in the extreme east of Madeira proper, namely on the Sao Lou-
renco promontory, which stretches out in the direction of that
small and flattened island. It was inadvertently regarded by Mr.
Lowe as identical with the H. advena, W. et B., a species
wrongly stated to be Canarian, but which however appears
equally to be not Madeiran (it being peculiar to the Cape Verde
Group). 1 The ' 7. advenoides ' is not merely a little larger
than the type, but relatively a trifle more depressed ; its surface
is a good deal roughened and malleated ; its substance is per-
haps rather more solid ; and its colour is of a more or less pale,
but dull, yellowish-brown, with the bands for the most part con-
siderably broken-up and interrupted, giving a slightly tessel-
lated appearance to the whole. There is seldom anything of a
rosy tinge about this variety, not even around the peristome
(which is nearly always white).
S. hyaena, Lowe. The largest of all the phases of the H.
erubescens, some of the examples attaining a comparatively
gigantic stature (being ten lines across the widest part, and six
1 The H. advena, W. et B., is a more shining and unmalleated shell, but
with the transverse striae nevertheless much more distinctly and regularly
developed ; its apex is a little more obtuse, its aperture is a trifle more rounded
(there being no tendency to a keel), and its upper lip is not so much deflexed.
Its plan of coloration too, which involves often a faint plumbeous (or leaden)
tinge, is different.
108 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
high). It is the state which the shell assumes par excellence on.
the Southern Deserta (or Bugio), where it swarms ; but which
also makes its appearance at a spot called the Feijaa Grande,
towards the southern end of the Deserta Grande. Apart from
its increased bulk, it is a coarsely malleated form, rather globose
in outline, and of a pale yellowish-brown with the bands often a
good deal interrupted, or broken-up. Although generally free
from a rosy tinge (except now and then, indistinctly, about the
peristome), it is on the average of a just appreciably warmer
tint than the (somewhat smaller and less globose) '7. adven-
oides.' This aspect of the shell, which however has clearly no
claim for anything more than varietal separation, was described
by Mr. Lowe, in 1852, under the name H. hycena, as specifi-
cally distinct.
( Pomatia, Beck.)
Helix aspersa.
Helix aspersa, Mutt., Verm. Hist. ii. 59 (1774)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel i. 241 (1848)
Morel., Hist. Nat. des Acor. 152 (1860)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 69 (1872)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat Maderam ; in hortis circa Funchal parcissime occu-
rens, nuper ex alienis introducta.
This common European Helix, which has established itself
in the Azorean Group and in the island of Palma at the Cana-
ries, and which has likewise been naturalized even at St. Helena,
occurs very sparingly in Madeira proper, namely in certain of
the gardens around Funchal, where it has been introduced,
within a comparatively few years, from more northern latitudes.
Although of course totally unconnected with the true Madeiran
fauna, it can scarcely be omitted from our catalogue, which
contains, of necessity, like most local lists, a -certain modicum
of species which were manifestly, and without doubt, originally,
but imported ones.
Helix subplicata.
Helix subplicata, Sow., Zool. Journ. i. 56. t. 3. f. 1 (1824)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 41. t. 5.
f. 4(1831)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 24 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 171 (1854)
Alb., Mai Mad. 52. 1. 14. f. 10-12 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 72 (1867)
Habitat ins. parvum ' Ilheo de Baixo,' juxta Portum
MADEIRAN GROUP. 109
Sanctum ; et recens et semifossilis. In Portii Sancto ipsissimo
semifossilis solum occurrit.
Although unmistakeably aboriginal, the H. subplicata be-
longs to the same subgeneric type as the common European H.
aspersa ; and next to the H. Lowei, Fer., it is the largest of
the Helices of the Madeiran archipelago. It is peculiar to Porto
Santo and the small adjacent islet known as the Ilheo de Baixo,
which latter indeed may be regarded as its present head-quar-
ters ; for although it is tolerably common in a subfossil condi-
tion in many of the calcareous deposits of the former (as, for
instance, at the Zimbral d'Areia, and on the Campo de Baixo),
it is only on the Ilheo de Baixo that it has hitherto been ob-
served in a recent (as well as subfossil) state, it having been
first detected there, alive, by myself and the late Kev. W. J.
Armitage, in the spring of 1848 (up to which date it had been
universally looked upon, though it was not so recorded by
PfeifFer, as extinct). J
The H. subplicata is perhaps, on the average, a trifle larger
than the common If. aspersa, Miill., with its spire more ele-
vated, its suture more impressed, and its whole contour more
globose ; but it is par excellence remarkable for its uniformly
pale olivaceous- or yellowish-brown surface, which is quite de-
void of markings or bands, and for the very coarse and rather
irregular oblique curved plicae with which it is roughened, the
nucleus alone (which is usually decorticated, and more or less
plumbeous) being comparatively free from sculpture. There is
no trace of an umbilicus, or perforation ; the shell is thin, and
opake (though brightly polished, and somewhat opaline, within
the large subcircular aperture ) ; there are more or less decided
indications of coarse granules on and between the ribs ; and the
basal whorl is broad and inflated, with the peristome acute and
but very slightly recurved.
( Helicomela, Lowe.)
Helix Bowdichiana.
Helix Bowdichiana, Fer., Hist. i. 225. t. 28 B. f. 5, 6
punctulata, 7, Pfeif., Mon. Hel. i. 194 (1848)
Vargasiana, Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 109 (1848)
Bowdichiana, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 172
(1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 83. t. 17. f. 16, 17
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 73 (1867)
1 Sowerby's original diagnosis of the species was consequently drawn-up
from a subfossilized, and almost colourless, example.
110 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Habitat Maderam, et Portum Sanctum, semifossilis \ in
calcareis copiossissime occurrens.
The present Helix is one of the most abundant of the sub-
fossil species, both at Canipal in Madeira and throughout the
calcareous deposits of Porto Santo ; and (as in the case of the
H. Lowei, when contrasted with the portosanctana) there has
always been a question as to whether it represents anything
more than the former aspect of the present H. punctulata,
Sow. The same observations which I had occasion to make
under the H. Lowei will apply here, for I believe that the
problem is simply unsolvable, and that it must be decided (so
far as that is possible) by each naturalist for himself, in accord-
ance with the exact views which he may happen to entertain of
the breadth, and character, of specific variation.
I am content, for my own part, to cite the H. Bowdichiana
as distinct from the punctulata, first, because it has been
generally so acknowledged in the more recent monographs ;
secondly, because we have no certain intermediate links of
stature to connect the two (otherwise very similar) forms ; and,
thirdly, because in at any rate Madeira proper, where it abso-
lutely swarms in a subfossil condition, the H. punctulata does
not appear even to occur ; for although it is of course possible
that the H. Bowdichiana may have ceased to exist without
initiating a more modern depauperated substitute, yet there
seems no reason why it should have done so if the contrary be
assumed to have been so eminently the case in Porto Santo that
the H. punctulata is now quite as abundant (in that island) as
the Bowdichiana ever could have been while the era of the
subfossil forms was at its height. Moreover in Porto Santo
the two shells, during that particular epoch, lived side-by-side,
although the smaller one (or punctulata), which has become
absolutely universal, was then manifestly rare, whilst the larger
one (or Bowdichiana), which was then everywhere dominant,
has passed entirely away. But if it be replied to all this that
the H. Bowdichiana might properly die out in both islands,
and yet leave a depauperated progeny in only one of them, I
may further remark that on the Southern Deserta the ' depau-
perated progeny ' (so-called) occurs without the faintest trace of
its ever having possessed a more highly developed progenitor,
the H. punctulata, being rather common on that remote rock
(both in a recent and a subfossil condition), without there being
any indications in the muddy deposits of its surface that the
Bowdichiana had at any time an existence there. So that,
from whatever point of view we look at it, the two forms in
question would seem to have been originally distinct.
Apart from its more thickened and nearly colourless, pallid
MADEIRAN GROUP. Ill
surface (both of which may be chiefly due to the long process of
semifossilization to which it has been exposed), and apart also
from its comparatively gigantic stature, the H. Bowdichiana is
a trifle more inflated and globose than the punctulata, as well
as more coarsely sculptured ; its basal volution descends some-
what more abruptly in front, causing the aperture to be less
regularly and uniformly rounded (or more subsinuate) below
the insertion of the right margin ; and the peristome is more
incrassated, especially the lower, or columellary, portion of it,
which is conspicuously broader than in the H. punctulata.
Helix punctulata,
Helix punctulata, Sow., Zool. Journ. i. 56. t. 3. f. 2 (1824)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 52. t. 6.
f. 6 (1831)
Pfeif., Mon. Hel. i. 194 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 172 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 50. t. 13. f. 17-19
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Holl. Mad. 73 (1867)
var. avellana, Lowe.
Helix punctulata, var. /:?., avellana, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc.
Loud. 172 (1854)
var. a. avellana, Paiva, 1. c. 74 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum (insulasque parvas adjacentes), et
Desertam Australem ; in illis vulgatissima. Semifossilis, et in
Portu Sancto et in Deserta Australi, parce reperitur.
I have already pointed out in what the H. punctulata,
Sow., differs from its nearly-allied but comparatively gigantic
analogue, the (extinct) H. Bowdichiana, Fer. In point of
mere colour the two forms, as we now view them, are of course
totally unlike; but that is simply without significance (as
regards the qucestio vexata of their specific identity, or other-
wise), the process of subfossilization to which the Bowdichiana
has been so long exposed having bleached it into a more or less
chalky or calcareous white.
The H. punctulata varies a good deal in its markings, and
(like so many of the Helices) it has now and then a pure,
whitish-yellow, unmaculated, albino state ; but, in a general
sense, it may be said to be of a deep, warm, reddish-brown hue,
with the central portion beneath more or less pale, and with a
narrow (often indistinct) medial band, which is lost sight of in
the suture of the penultimate volution (just above the aperture),
of the same paler tint; under which circumstances the shell
may be described as unifasciate. Occasionally however the
112 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
anterior portion also of the large basal whorl (immediately
below the suture) is diluted in colouring, being almost as pallid
as the umbilical region ; in which case the ultimate whorl may
be defined as bifasciate, two dark bands being shaped-out,
instead of a single central pale one. Apart from mere orna-
mentation, the H. punctulata is (like the Bowdichiana) glo-
bose and compact in contour, with its small chink-shaped
perforation very nearly closed over, and with its surface (which
is covered with irregular oblique lines, or slight plicae) studded
with asperated punctures, out of each of which, except in old
and worn examples, a minute bristle will be seen (when viewed
beneath a high magnifying power) to proceed.
As already mentioned, the H. punctulata is a most abun-
dant shell in Porto Santo (and the immediately adjacent islets),
where it is generally distributed, occurring beneath stones,
and often coating itself with a hard layer of the dry dusty soil ;
but in Madeira proper (where the closely-allied H. Bowdich-
iana swarms in the subfossiliferous deposits at Canipal) it does
not appear to occur, nor indeed are there any traces of its
having ever occurred there. On the Southern Deserta however
(where there are no indications of the extinct H. Bowdichiana)
it is far from uncommon ; and that it is not a recent intro-
duction on that remote rock (brought about by some accidental
means, as might perhaps be supposed, from Porto Santo) is
proved to a demonstration by the twofold fact that it is found
there in a subfossil condition (as well as recent), and that it
also assumes a slight local modification (unimportant in itself
except topographically) which is just sufficient to enable us to
recognize it as an insular race.
The examples referred to, from the Southern Deserta (or
Bugio), are on the average a little smaller than the Porto-
Santan ones, with their spire relatively a trifle more exserted or
raised, and with their surface, if anything, somewhat more
setose or hispid ; their substance, too, is very thin. This
slight insular phasis was defined by Mr. Lowe as the 'var. a.
avellana.'
( EuparypJia, Hartm.)
Helix pisana.
Helix pisana, Mull., Verm. Hist. ii. 60 (1774)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S, Trans, iv. 52 (1831)
., W. et B., Ann. des Sc. Nat. 28. 6 (1833)
d'Orb., in W. et B. Hist. 58 (1839)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 171 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 21. t. 3. f. 1-18 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 70 (1867)
MADEIEAN GROUP, 113
Helix pisana, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 28 (1872)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat Maderam, et Portum Sanctum ; in arenis calcareis
juxta mare hinc inde abundans. Etiam in strata semifossilifero
prope Canical parcissime occurrere a Barone de Paiva dicitur ;
sed, nisi fallor, vix vere semifossilis (tantum antiqua emortua
decorticata) reperitur.
The common European H. pisana, Miill., which occurs
both in the Azorean and Canarian archipelagos (abounding also
in the latter, as well as at the Salvages, under two or three
additional aberrant phases), swarms in the sandy calcareous
district near Canifal in Madeira proper, as well as on the low
calcareous plains of Porto Santo; but it has not yet been
observed in the other islands of the Group. It is recorded by
the Baron Paiva to be found likewise (though rarely) in a sub-
fossil condition, both in Madeira and Porto Santo ; but, so far
as I am aware, it . has never yet occurred in a truly subfossil
state, and I strongly suspect that the Baron's specimens were
only bleached and decorticated ones, such as have often been
obtained by Mr. Lowe and myself, in both islands, and which
had all the prima facie appearance of being semifossilized,
though a closer inspection invariably proved them to be but
faded and worn examples densely filled-up with drifted sand.
The H. pisana goes through, in the Madeiran Group, the
usual amount of changes, both in colour and outline ; but on
the whole it is normal in its character, and has shaped out no
decided 'varieties' (properly so called), such as the geminata,
Mouss., and Grosseti, Tarnier, which manifest themselves at the
Canaries.
( XeropUla, Held.)
Helix caperata,
Helix caperata, Mont., Test. Brit. 430. pi. 11. f. 11 (1803)
striata, Drop., Hist. Nat des Moll. 106. pi. 6. f. 18,
19 (1805)
? lauta, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans. 53. t. 6. f . 9
(1831)
caperata, Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 167 (1848)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, rariss. ; inter Helices varias in
Portu Sancto certissime collectas, duo specimina (vix adulta,
sed sine dubio cum H. caperata, Mont., congruentia), unum sc.
nuper sed alterum in 1863, detexi.
Two undoubted examples of this common Helix of more
northern latitudes have been detected by myself ( one of them
quite recently, and the other in 1863) amongst some miscel-
114 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
laneous, but unquestionably veritable, Porto-Santan shells
which were obtained by the Baron Paiva ; and I have no hesi-
tation, therefore, in admitting the species into the Madeiran
catalogue.
Important however as is the addition of the H. caperata to
the fauna of the Atlantic islands, it suggests a far more inte-
resting enquiry as to whether the unique H. lauta, Lowe,
which has baffled all subsequent observations for nearly fifty
years (and which Mr. Lowe, in his last enumeration of the
Madeiran Land-Mollusca, in 1854, struck out of the list as
having been introduced on insufficient evidence), may not prove
to be, after all, but a largely developed phasis of this variable
European Helix. The original type, which is now before me,
and which was given to Mr. Lowe by the late Gr. B. Sowerby as
having been found in Porto Santo by Mr. Bulwer, differs in
scarcely any respect (so far as I can perceive) from these
two examples (likewise Porto-Santan) of the H. caperata,
except that it is a little larger and rather more globose, the
ultimate volution being rounder, or more inflated and obtuse
(having no tendency whatever to be keeled), and therefore
more broadly developed. This peculiarity of its basal whorl
seems to me to be the only feature which could by any possi-
bility be laid hold of to separate the H. lauta ; for the shell is
not at all larger than occasional specimens of the caperata
from more northern localities [indeed it is not so large as the
more coarsely and less evenly striated race, with a slightly
wider umbilicus, which is abundant around Mogador, on the
opposite coast of Morocco, and which was enunciated by Mr.
Lowe as the 'caperata, var. /3. mogadorensis '], whilst its
sculpture is absolutely identical with that of the latter, and its
umbilicus (though certainly a trifle more cov^red-in) is but
very slightly ' smaller,' its ' pallid hue ' being probably the
mere result of Mr. Bulwer's unique example having been found
dead, bleached, and decolor ated (not ' decorticated ') on the dry
calcareous plains of Porto Santo.
Whether however this somewhat greater tumidity of the
ultimate volution, and the just appreciably diminished umbi-
licus, of the H. lauta are of sufficient importance to separate it
from the H. caperata, may still perhaps be open for considera-
tion ; though rny own belief is, that the species can scarcely be
regarded as having been founded upon more, in reality, than a
mere accidentally globose individual of the latter, a suppo-
sition which is rendered all the more probable, now that the
caperata in its normal condition has unexpectedly been brought
to light in the very island in which Mr. Bulwer was said to
have obtained the actual type on which the //. lauta was esta-
MADEIRAN GROUP. 115
blished. Perhaps future researches in Porto Santo, or on the
immediately adjacent islets, will reveal some local modification
of the caperata, in which this slightly increased bulk of the
basal whorl may constitute more or less a distinctive feature. 1
Helix arinillata.
Helix 'striata, Drap. ?' Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv.
53 (1831)
Lowei, Pot. et Mich, [nee Fer., 1835], Gal. des
Moll. 91 (1838)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 149 (1848)
armillata, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. 113 (1852)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. iii. 116 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 170 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 20. t. 2. f. 32-35 (1854)
eumseus, Lowe, Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. ; Zool. 198
(1860)
armillata, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 68 (1867)
Morelet, Journ. de Conch. 236 (1873)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat Maderam ; in aridis apricis inferioribus juxta Fun-
chal, hinc inde vulgaris.
I am extremely doubtful whether the present rather in-
significant little Helix is more in reality than a small and
perhaps slightly modified phasis of the common H. caperata,
Mont. ( = striata, Drap.), which is so widely spread throughout
the maritime regions of central and southern Europe ; and so
indeed it was at first registered, although in doubt, by Mr.
Lowe. Subsequently however he described it under the name
'armillata''; adding 6 H. striatce, Drap., affinis.'
I cannot however feel satisfied (and Mr. Watson, judging
from his remarks, would appear to be of the same opinion)
that it merits separation from the depauperated state of that
species, which is extremely common about Lisbon and Cintra,
and which in fact is generally to be met with wherever the
1 With regard to Mr. Lowe's after-rejection of the II. lauta from the Ma-
deiran list, I would refer to his observations at p. viii of the Appendix to the
reprint (in 1851, by Mr. Van Voorst) of his original papers ' Primitiae et
Novitise Faunas et Florae Maderse et Portus Sancti,' which were contained in
the fourth volume of the ' Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical
Society.' I cannot but think however that he was mistaken in supposing
that the H. lauta is more akin to the virgata, Mont., than it is to the caperata ;
and I also fail to perceive that its umbilicus is very decidedly ( smaller ' than
that of the latter, though it is certainly a little smaller, as well as just
appreciably more closed-over by the lamellated portion of the peristome
which adjoins the columella.
i 2
116 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
more typical (or larger) one occurs. Still, I will not attempt
to do more than record my belief thus far; but will only men-
tion that the H. armillata (as understood by Mr. Lowe) seems
to differ from the caperata proper, merely, in its smaller size
and altogether somewhat more depressed form, and in its umbi-
licus being relatively a trifle larger. Beyond these points
(which appear almost equally to characterize the ordinary
smaller phasis, as universally understood, of the H. caperata), I
can detect nothing even tending towards a specific difference.
The H. armillata is locally common in certain dry and
sunny spots, generally of a low altitude, around Funchal. It
was first discovered by Mr. Lowe, on Jan. 21, 1830, in a
garden near the Mount road (and it has lately been found by
Mr. J. Y. Johnson in almost the same spot) ; and it was after-
wards met with by Mr. Leacock (during September 1847) both
to the east and to the west of the town. Since which time,
however, it has been obtained in much greater numbers by
Mr. Leacock, the Baron Paiva, Mr. Watson, myself, and others
on and around the Pico da Cruz, as well as near the Gor-
gulho and elsewhere.
The H. armillata occurs likewise at the Azores, and it has
been recorded lately by Morelet from the Cape Verde archi-
pelago, where it is stated to have been found, by MM. Bouvier
and de Cessac, in S. Vicente. And since I myself possess it
from Mogador, on the coast of Morocco, it would appear to
have a tolerably wide geographical range. 1
( Plebeoula, Lowe.)
Helix vulgata.
Helix nitidiuscula, Lowe [nee Sow., 1824], Cambr. Phil.
S. Trans, iv. 52. t. 6. f. 6 (1831)
Pfeiff. [nee Sow.'], Mon. Hel. i. 196
(1848)
vulgata, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
canicalensis, Id., ibid. (1852)
vulgata, var. a. trifasciata, et var. /3. canicalensis, Id.,
Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 173 (1854)
1 The H. ewmceus, Lowe (Proc. Linn. Soc. Land., Sect. Zool., 198 ; 1860),
described from examples taken at Mogador (and which seem to differ in no
respect from others which have been met with subsequently by Mr. T. Black-
more at Tangier), appears to me to be absolutely conspecific with the armil-
lata, the few characters alluded to in the diagnosis which are supposed to
be differential being (with the exception perhaps of the appreciably stronger
costae of the Morocco shell) scarcely more than imaginary. The If. Irus,
however, of Lowe, is totally distinct, approaching closely, except in sculpture,
to the H. apicina, Lam.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 117
Helix nitidiuscula (pars), Alb., Mai. Mad. 51. t. 14. f. 1-3
(1854)
vulgata, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 74 (1867)
var. ft. deserticola, Woll.
Helix vulgata, a. major, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 75
(1867)
var. ft. giramica, Lowe.
Helix nitidiuscula, ft. major, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 197
(1848)
giramica, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
vulgata, var. 7. giramica, Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.
173 (1854)
nitidiuscula, var. ft., Alb., Mai. Mad. 51. t, 14. f. 7-9
(1854)
var. 8. pulchra, Paiva.
Helix vulgata, 8. pulchra, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 75
(1867)
var. s. saxipotens, Woll.
Helix vulgata, 8. pulchra (pars), Paiva, 1. c. 75 (1867)
Habitat Maderam et tres Desertas [a Portu Sancto solo
absens] ; a litore maris usque ad 3000' s.m. ascendens, vulgatis-
sima. In statu semifossili prope Canipal abundat, ubi H. cani-
calensem, Lowe, sequat ; necnon in summo Desertae Australis
(sub varietate minuta ' s. saxipotens, 9 mihi, occurens) re-
peritur.
This is perhaps the most abundant, and variable, of all the
Madeiran Helices, the H. polymorpha only excepted ; and it
appears to occur on every island of the Group except Porto
Santo and the adjacent rocks, where its place is taken by the
allied (but extremely distinct) H. nitidiuscula, Sow. In Ma-
deira proper and on the three Desertas it absolutely swarms,
assuming many aspects, however (in size, clothing, and colour),
according to the exact district in which it is found. In a sub-
fossil condition it exists in profusion both at Cani9al and on the
summit of the Southern Deserta, in the -former of which
localities it represents the H. canicalensis, Lowe (which seems
to me to have absolutely nothing to distinguish it, beyond its
thickened calcareous substance and bleached colourless surface,
from the usual type), whilst in the latter (where it is small and
depauperated, with a much reduced umbilicus) it answers to my
' var. s. saxipotens."*
In a general sense the H. vulgata may be described as a
rather highly coloured, fasciated species, less strictly opake
than the Porto-Santan H. nitidiuscula, and more or less evi-
dently clothed (when the specimens are fresh and unrubbed)
with short, remote, and excessively minute hairs, each of
118 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
which arises out of a small granule or asperated point; for,
although (like so many of the Helices) it has an occasional yel-
lowish-white albino state perfectly devoid of markings, its usual
aspect is a more or less banded one. When the fasciae are
three in number, rather narrow, and well defined, the shell may
be said to be in its normal condition ; and under this aspect it
is generally to be met with throughout the greater portion of
Madeira proper and on the two southern Desertas.
On the northern (or flat) Deserta, however, the H. vulgata
assumes a comparatively gigantic phasis ; the bands are broader
and more conspicuous (the third, or subsutural, one now-and-
then disappearing, or becoming merged into the second), and
the surface is more coarsely setose, the setae (however small,
and fragile in their nature) being thick and remarkably visible.
This corresponds with my ' var. /5. deserticola ; ' and it is sin-
gular that it should have been confounded by Mr. Lowe (and
subsequently by Dr. Albers) with the ' var. 7. giramicaj of Ma-
deira proper, which has next to be considered. In reality it is
(on the average) a still larger shell than even the ' 7. giramica ;'
and it is also somewhat less depressed, less shining, much more
setose, and with the umbilicus less open, and its bands are
usually three in number, being but seldom only two as in that
particular form.
The two previous states may be described as trifasciated
ones ; but there are three others, worth placing upon record,
which are bifasoiated. In the first of these (the ' 7. giramica '
of the present catalogue) the shell is large and rather depressed
(though perhaps not quite so large, on the average, as the 6 (B.
deserticola' from the Ilheo Chao), its surface is more shining
and bald, there being hardly any vestiges of minute bristles, its
umbilicus is appreciably wider, or more open, and its upper (or
subsutural) band is lost in the central one, the lower one also
being greatly increased in width. This conspicuously and
broadly bifasciated state is found for the most part about the
Cabo GKram, in the south-west of Madeira proper ; and it was
described, in 1852, as a distinct species, by Mr. Lowe, as the
H. giramica.
The next state which merits notice is a smaller and (on the
average) more beautifully ornamented one than any of the pre-
ceding three, and I have generally met with it in the north of
Madeira proper, as, for instance, near Sao Vicente, Seissal,
Ribeira da Janella, and Porto Moniz ; and it seems to corre-
spond with the ' var. pulchra ' of the Baron Paiva's Monograph
(mentioned as occurring around Sta. Anna), though he appears
to have confused or mixed it up with the very minute subfossil
aspect of the shell, with a reduced umbilicus, from the southern
MADEIRAN GROUP. 119
Deserta, the 6 s . saxipotens ' of this list. The present variety
(or ' S. pulchra,' Paiva) is smaller than any of the foregoing ones,
but not so small as the subfossil form from the Southern Deserta ;
and it is generally highly decorated, the ground-colour being
often of a comparatively clear yellowish tinge, with the two
darker bands broadly and abruptly defined. But, owing to the
incrustation of dirt with which it is the habit of the species,
more or less, to encase itself (and which perhaps is more appa-
rent in this particular variety than in the others), the brightness
of its ornamentation is not usually very apparent until the
shells have been well cleaned.
Lastly, in the muddy deposits on the top of the Southern
Deserta there is a very dwarfed subfossil form of the H. vulgata,
smaller than even the ' 8. pulchraj which I would cite as the
' var. s. saxipotens.' In addition to its comparatively diminu-
tive bulk (adult examples measuring from about 4 to 5 lines
across the broadest part), its umbilicus is relatively much more
reduced than in the other phases of the shell ; and, so far as I
can judge from white and practically colourless specimens, its
two bands are (or, rather, were) narrowed and line-like. Whe-
ther this still exists in a living condition I am unable to say ;
but as the Baron Paiva alludes to a small state of the H. vul-
gata as recent on the Bugio (though treating it as identical
with the 4 S. pulchra ' from the north of Madeira), it is not
unlikely that it may yet linger on.
Helix nitidiuscula.
Helix nitidiuscula, Sow., Zool. Journ. i. 57. t. 3. f. 4
(1824)
lurida, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 52. t. 6.
f. 5 (1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 197 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 174 (1854)
nitidiuscula, var. 7., Alb., Mai. Mad. 52. 1. 14. f. 4-6
(1854)
? Hartungi, Alb., I.e. 42. t. 10. f. 26-28 (1854)
lurida, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 75 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in calcareis et graminosis sub
lapidibus degens. In statu semifossili copiose reperitur.
This has generally been regarded as the Porto-Santan repre-
sentative of the common H. vulgata of Madeira proper and the
Desertas, and perhaps in reality it may be; nevertheless its
characters (not only of size and contour, but also of colour
and sculpture) are so unmistakeable and well-marked, that
I scarcely see how a mere supposition can be made use of
120 . TESTACEA ATLAXTICA.
to invalidate its specific claims, for, after all, it is not more
surprising that the H. vulgata, which is so abundant in the
other islands of the Group, should be absent from Porto Santo
than that the H. punctulata, which occurs in the Porto Santo
and the Desertas, should be wanting in Madeira. No doubt the
H. nitidiuscula belongs to the same geographical type as the
vulgata ; but it also makes an evident approach towards the
H. depauperata of the next section (Irus, Lowe), and, to me
at least, it seems altogether as rigidly defined, from a specific
point of view, as any Helix throughout the entire fauna.
As compared with the very variable H. vulgata, the niti-
diuscula may be described as being considerably smaller and
rather more lenticular or depressed (its greatest diameter being
from 4 to 5 lines, instead of from about 5 to 7-J, and the spire
being more obtuse, or less pointed, at the apex), and with its
surface not only appreciably more opake and free from the minute
setae which are generally more or less traceable in its ally, but
likewise very differently sculptured, the entire shell, except
beneath, being closely beset with extremely diminutive, elon-
gated granules, which are just sufficiently removed from each
other to shape-out interspaces which have somewhat the appear-
ance of reticulations. 1 And there is also a peculiarity about the
aperture which will never fail to distinguish the H. nitidiuscula
from every state, or variety, of the vulgata, namely the more
vertical prolongation of the axis into the colurnellary portion
of the peristome, giving a less rounded (or narrower and more
subquadrangular, or externally flattened) appearance to the
whole.
Although merging into each other by imperceptible grada-
tions, the H. nitidiuscula has in colour two extreme opposite
phases, one of them white and bleached (though at times with
a faint flesh -coloured tinge), and quite destitute of markings,
having much the appearance at first sight of being subfossilized ;
and the other (which must be regarded as the normal one) of a
more or less dirty lurid yellow, but clouded on its upper side
with two (rarely three) extremely obscure brownish bands. This
1 This was well defined by Mr. Lowe as ' confertim reticulato-granulata ; '
yet Dr. Albers (whose eyesight must clearly have been at fault) professed
himself unable to see it 1 ' cl. auctor,' says he, ' testam minutissime reticu-
lato-granulatam significat ; sub lente fortiori, tanien, nil nisi rudimenta
setularum, seque ac in forma typica, observavi.' No wonder, after this, that
he should treat the If. nitidiuscula as only a ' var. 7 ' of the vulgata ; and
more particularly so, since he gives us no reason to suppose that he had even
so much as observed the absolutely invariable character of the more vertical
direction of the columellary portion of the lower lip. With two such features
as these having escaped his notice, I am the more inclined to suspect that his
H. Hartungi (in the diagnosis of which no mention is made of anything but
striae on the surface) may be only the paler phasis of the //. nitidiuscula:
MADE1RAN GROUP. 121
latter phasis of the shell was the one described by Sowerby (in
1824) as his H. nitidiuscula, and by Mr. Lowe (in 1831) as
his H. lurida The former (or pallid) one I cannot help sus-
pecting may be the H. Hartungi of Albers ; though as I have
not been able to procure a type of the latter for examination, I
must necessarily speak with some amount of reserve.
In a subfossil condition the H. nitidiuscula is tolerably
common throughout many of the calcareous deposits of Porto
Santo. At the Zimbral d'Areia it was met with by Mr. Lowe
and myself (during May of 1855) in considerable profusion;
and I may add that the pallid variety of the shell was equally
abundant in a living state on the same actual spot. From their
general size and contour, semifossilized examples might some-
times be confounded prima facie with those of the H depau-
perata; but the peculiar conformation of their aperture
(resulting from the more vertical prolongation of the axis) will
always suffice, on a closer inspection, to separate them.
( Irus, Lowe.)
Helix laciniosa.
Helix laciniosa, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist, ix (1852)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. iii. 151 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 174 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 33. t, 8. f. 16-19 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 56 (1867)
Habitat Desertam Borealem. et Desertam Grandem ; in ilia
praecipue abundans.
It is on the northern (or flat) Deserta that this curious little
Helix attains its maximum ; for although it is found likewise
towards the northern end of the Deserta Grande, it exists there
very sparingly, and with all the appearance of having been acci-
dentally introduced from the smaller island. On the latter,
however, although separated from the Deserta Grande by so
narrow a channel, it absolutely swarms, occuring in clusters,
beneath the stones. It was first detected there, during June of
1848, by Mr. Leacock ; and it has subsequently been taken, on
several occasions, by Mr. Lowe, myself, and others. 1
The H. laciniosa (the greatest diameter of which is only
1 I take no notice of the Baron Paiva's additional habitat for this extremely
local little species, the Ilheo de Ferro, off the NW. coast of Porto Santo
because I feel satisfied that it must have been cited on evidence which is not
trustworthy. The loose and unsatisfactory manner in which the Baron's ma-
terial was brought to him, by mere paid collectors, and his own extreme
inaccuracy (which I have often had occasion to deplore) in mixing up his
specimens from different islands, would fully account for an occasional mis-
take as regards his localities.
122 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
from about 4 to 4J lines) displays much the same type of
colouring as the broadly bifasciated state of the H. vulgata ;
nevertheless its two bands are usually very wide, and frequently
subconfluent, so as to cause nearly the whole upper surface
(except a few detached, transverse, irregular, somewhat line-like
but broken-up, white fragments, across the fasciae) to be dark
brown, the umbilical area alone showing a ground-hue of a
dusky yellowish- white. The character of its aperture, however,
which is comparatively circular, the peristome being raised and
continuous across the body-volution, throws it into a different
section from that species ; the entire shell is a little less globose
(or more lenticular) than the H. vulgata, the whorls are rather
prominent and subangular, and the whole surface is not only
roughly sculptured with very coarse and irregular transverse
curved subfluent costse, but more or less clothed, when the spe-
cimens are fresh and unrubbed, with small fragile membrane-
ous laciniae.
Helix depauperata.
Helix depauperata, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 51.
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 166 (1848)
5, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 174
(1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 32. t. 8. f. 9-12
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 57 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, insulasque parvas adjacentas ; et
recens et semifossilis, vulgaris.
This is one of the most general, and widely spread, of the
Helices of Porto Santo, to which island (and the immediately
adjacent rocks) it is peculiar, occurring abundantly both in a
recent and subfossil condition ; and it may be regarded perhaps
as the Porto-San tan representative of the H. squalida of
Madeira.
The H. depauperata is a rather insignificant Helix, either
of a uniformly pale brown or of a dingy brownish-white, rather
rounded (but not globose) in outline, with a distinct umbilicus,
and with its surface (which is opake) very minutely and deli-
cately granulated, but at the same time much roughened with
coarse transverse folds, which are so exceedingly irregular and
subconfluent as to cause the shell to appear well-nigh submal-
leate. Its aperture is not quite so continuous as in the H. lad-
niosa, nevertheless its upper and lower portions are joined
across the body volution by a corneous lamina so conspicuous as
to make it appear almost circular.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 123
Helix squalida.
Helix squalida, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfeiff., Man. Hel. iii. 133 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 174 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 33. t. 8. f. 13-15 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 58 (1867)
Habitat Maderam; ad rupes excelsas umbrosas, interdum
etiam maritimas, ssope in terra quasi sepulta, rarissima. In
statu semifossili ad Canipal abundat.
The H. squalida, although abundant in a subfossil condition
at Canipal, is one of the rarest of the recent species of Madeira
proper, to which island it seems to be peculiar. Nevertheless
in distant places along the northern coast (as, for instance,
between Eibeira da Janella and Porto Moniz, and near Sao
Vicente and Seissal) it has been met with, both by Mr. Lowe
and myself, in tolerable numbers, though more often dead and
decorticated, than living. I have likewise found it in the Kibeira
de Sta. Luzia, above Funchal ; and the Baron Paiva records it
at the Curral das Romeiras.' l
We may regard the H. squalida as representing in Madeira
proper the Porto-Santan H. depauperata. It is, however, a
little smaller than the latter, and with its spire more depressed
at the apex ; its volutions (which are equally opake) increase
more gradually (the ultimate and penultimate ones being nar-
rower, or less enlarged), its umbilicus is relatively wider and
more spiral or open, its colour generally is of a darker coffee-
brown, and the granulations of its entire surface (although
beautifully expressed) are both very much more minute and
more densely packed together. 2 The mode of life, too, of the
H. squalida, is different from that of the depauperata ; and it
has a singular habit (like the H. obtecta in Porto Santo, and
the H. latens in Madeira) of coating itself with a thick mass of
earth, or hardened mud, which often makes it difficult to
detect amongst the loose dry rubble, and fine vegetable mould,
1 The Baron Paiva cites the If. squalida as occuring also, at any rate in a
subfossil state, in Porto Santo ; but I think that we must obtain better evi-
dence than this before we regard the species as eatfra-Madeiran, for its
Porto-Santan analogue is clearly the H. depauperata, and (as I have already
mentioned) the Baron's material was so 'hastily and inaccurately brought to-
gether that his habitat-islands were often (to my own certain knowledge)
sadly mixed-up and confused.
2 Although nothing could possibly be more constant, and elegant, than
this well-defined sculpture of the H. squalida, which is quite appreciable
under an ordinarily powerful lens, Dr. Albers appeared quite as unable to see
it as he was that of the //. tiitidiuscula, for he absolutely described the
Mirface as ' egranulata ! '
124 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
mixed up with which it is so frequently found, at, and about,
the bases of the perpendicular rocks.
Helix Latinea.
Helix depauperata, var. ., Alb., Mai. Mad. 33 (1854)
Latinea, Paiva, Journ. de Conch, xiv. 341. pi. 11.
f. 7 (1866)
Id., Mon. Moll. Mad. 58 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, semifossilis ; in arena calcarea
vulgaris.
At first sight this species, which seems to occur only in a
subfossil state in Porto Santo (where it is extremely abundant
in many of the calcareous deposits), might be looked upon as a
variety either of the H. depauperata or of the obtecta^ to both
of which it is very closely allied ; nevertheless, after a careful
consideration of its distinctive characters, I do not quite see
how it can be referred to either of them, though, on the whole,
I think that it has more in common with the latter than with
the former. 1
Although agreeing with the H. obtecta in its larger size,
ruder sculpture, more circular aperture, and elevated, continu-
ous peristome, the H. Latinea is nevertheless totally unkeeled,
and possesses a still wider and more spirally open umbilicus, and
that too in combination with the regular spire (though it is
not quite so much elevated) and somewhat more numerous
whorls of the depauperata-) thus wanting entirely the anoma-
lously depressed, subconcave apex, but nevertheless deep suture
and prominent volutions, which form so striking a feature in
the spire of the H. obtecta.
On the other hand, when compared with the depauperata
(of which Dr. Albers has cited it as a 6 var. /S.'), the H. Latinea
is considerably larger and more depressed, its umbilicus is very
much wider, more spiral, and more open, and its aperture is
more decidedly rounded, the peristome being both more raised
and more continuous. Its general surface, too, is a little more
coarsely sculptured, though perhaps not quite so uneven as
that of the H. obtecta.
1 This was also the opinion of Mr. Lowe, to whom in March of 1856 I
forwarded an example which had been communicated to me by Mr. Leacock.
That single specimen (which was all that he had to judge from) Mr. Lowe
was inclined to regard as ' a curious monstrosity of the H, obtecta, of which it
possesses the large umbilicus, the more constricted aperture, and the coarser
sculpture, combined mith'the regular spire of the H. depauperata.'' But could
he have seen the shell in sufficient numbers, I feel sure that he would have
come to the conclusion that it is no mere 'monstrosity,' but as true and con-
stant in its characters as any of these immediately-allied species.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 125
( Spirorbula, Lowe.)
Helix obtecta.
Helix obtecta, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 47. t. 5.
f. 20 (1831)
Pfeiff, Mon. Hel. i. 188 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 175 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 34. t. 8. f. 20-22 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 60 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; et recens et semifossilis, prse-
sertim in aridis apricis calcareis, vulgatissima.
The H. obtecta, Lowe, is peculiar to Porto Santo and the
immediately adjacent rocks, where it is one of the most
abundant and universal of the Helices, occurring more espe-
cially in the driest and most calcareous spots ; and it is almost
equally common in a subfossil condition. On the summit of
the Ilheo de Baixo it swarms ; and from its habit of coating
itself with a hard covering (strongly cemented together) either
of earth or of calcareous sand, it has often a very remarkable
and misshapen appearance.
The flattened spire and almost concave apex of the H. ob-
tecta, the whorls of which are nevertheless raised and tumid,
with the suture deeply impressed, added to its rough, uneven
(though minutely and obsoletely granulated), and opake surface,
its dingy-brown hue, its rounded aperture and elevated, con-
tinuous peristome, and its appreciably keeled or subangulated
basal volution (which is also obscurely eroded, or subconcave,
immediately above the keel), will sufficiently distinguish it.
Helix latens,
Helix latens, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist, ix (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 115 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 175 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 34. t. 8. f. 23-26 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 59 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; inter detritus radicesque plantarum ad
basin rupium in humidis editoribus sylvaticis praecipue degens,
rarior.
Although diametrically opposed to it in the extreme thin-
ness and fragility of its substance (which, as regards texture, is
almost membranaceous), the present Helix may nevertheless be
regarded as the Madeiran representative of the H. obtecta of
Porto Santo. And indeed in their general outline and some-
what Planorbis like contour (the nucleus of both being so
126 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
much depressed, or sunken, as to seem well-nigh concave] , no
less than in their few and rapidly-increasing volutions, and
their singular habit of coating themselves over with an envelope
of hardened mud, the two species have undoubtedly a vast deal
in common. And yet they are completely, and utterly, distinct.
Apart from the thinness and flexibility of its composition, the
H. latens differs from the excessively solid and robust H. ob-
tecta in being smaller and (when denuded of its muddy covering)
of a more or less olivaceous or greenish-brown tinge, in its um-
bilicus being relatively a little narrower and less spiral, and in
its having a volution less. 1
In its mode of life the H. latens may be described as the
exact opposite of the H. obtecta ; for while the latter occurs in
the driest, sunniest, and most calcareous spots which even the
barren and exposed island of Porto Santo can furnish, the
present species is confined to the damp sylvan districts of
Madeira proper at intermediate and lofty elevations, where it
is usually to be met with amongst loose rubble, and coarse
vegetable detritus, on the ledges, and at the base of, the per-
pendicular rocks which form so marked a feature throughout
the wooded ravines. I first detected it, about thirty years ago,
in the Ribeira de Sta. Luzia, above Funchal ; and it has since
been obtained by Mr. Leacock, Mr. Lowe, Mr. Watson, Senhor
Moniz, the Baron Paiva, myself, and others, in somewhat
similar spots, in various parts of the island.
Helix paupercula.
Helix paupercula, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 47. t. 5.
f. 19 (1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 189 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 175 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 35. t. 8. f. 27-30 (1854)
Mouss., Schw. Denksch. xv. 135 (1857)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 61 (1867)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 60 (1872)
Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat ins. omnes Maderenses [sc. Maderam, Portum
Sanctum, et tres Desertas] ; in aridis apricis inferioribus sub-
maritimis, hinc inde vulgatissima. Semifossilis in Poitu
1 Pfeiffer was certainly mistaken in describing the H. latens as pilose.
There is no trace of pilosity in any of the numerous specimens which I have
ever examined ; and indeed even if there had been, until the shells were
thoroughly cleaned (a most difficult operation with subjects so unusually
fragile and flexible), it would have been completely concealed from view. As
in most of these immediately allied forms, the surface is minutely and very
delicately (but perhaps somewhat unevenly) granulated.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 127
Sancto abundat, necnon minus copiose prope Canipal Maderae ;
atque in summo etiam Desertse Australis, semifossUis invenitur.
The singular little H. paupercula, which occurs also in the
Azorean and Canarian archipelagos, is locally abundant in the
Madeiran Group, though less general in Madeira proper than
elsewhere ; indeed in this latter island I am not aware that it
has been observed hitherto except on the Ponta de Sao Laurenpo
(where it was first detected by Mr. Lowe in 1827, and where it
has recently been found by Dr. Grrabham on the Ilheo de Fora)
and about Sta. Cruz and Canipo, though the Baron Paiva cites
it likewise from Porto Moniz. But in Porto Santo, as well as
on the immediately adjacent rocks, it swarms, ascending more-
over to a tolerable elevation ; and on the whole three Desertas
I have myself met with it, though it does not appear to be very
common on any of them.
In a general sense, however, the H. paupercula is emi-
nently a species which is found in low, rocky, and calcareous
places near the coast, where it often exists in company with
the H. pisana and lenticula, the Bulimus ventricosus, &c. ;
and it is easy, therefore, to understand how liable to accidental
transportation it might occasionally become, a consideration
which may perhaps account for its appearance in the equally
Portuguese islands of the Azores, which must have been long
subject to intercommunication with Madeira. At the Canaries
it has been observed only in Lauzarote, in the extreme east of
that archipelago, where it was first found by M. Hartung, and
afterwards by Mr. Lowe ; but it is not difficult to conceive how
some unsuspected method of dispersion may possibly have con-
veyed it even there, ordinary fishing-boats, and ballast, being
amongst the first means which suggest themselves. But, be
this as it may, in at all events the Madeiran Grroup the H.
paupercula appears manifestly to have been aboriginal. Mr.
Watson speaks of it as ' recently introduced ' at the Canaries,
but I am not aware that there is any positive evidence for that
conclusion.
In a subfossil condition the H. paupercula is rather plen-
tiful in Porto Santo, particularly at the Zimbral d'Areia and
(though less so) on the Campo de Baixo ; but in the Canical
deposits of Madeira proper it is decidedly scarce, and still rarer
in those on the summit of the Southern Deserta, where it was
nevertheless found by Mr. Lowe and myself, during June of
1855.
It is surprising to me that Mr. Watson (Journ. de Conch.
230; 1876) should have felt any doubt whatever concerning the
right of this curious little Helix to be regarded, when occurring
in the calcareous beds, as genuinely subfossilized ; for although
128 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
it is perfectly true that (like the H. pisana and lenticula) it
often exists in a living state on the selfsame ground where its
subfossil representatives are to be met with, and that therefore
occasional bleached examples might well be mistaken at first
sight for subfossilized ones, nevertheless out of all the shells
which I have myself ever obtained in a decidedly subfossil con-
dition there is certainly none which is less equivocal than the
H. paupercula. Although unquestionably scarce about Canical,
at the Zimbral d'Areia in Porto Santo I have gathered it in
absolute profusion, along with the numerous other species of
that prolific locality, and quite as much thickened and super-
ficially decomposed as any of them.
Like the H. obtecta and latens, this insignificant but solid
little Helix (which measures only about 2J lines across its
broadest part) has the habit of covering itself over with a
coating of hardly-cemented earth ; but when the outer envelope
has been removed it will be seen to be of either a reddish brown
or else of a pale cinereous-grey, with the surface opake and most
minutely and densely granulated all over, and with the trans-
verse lines of growth tolerably apparent. It is a flattened and
planorbiform shell, composed of about 4 whorls, the spire
being extremely depressed, indeed often a little concave (though
variable in that respect, for sometimes the nucleus is gradually
raised and prominent), and the base inflated and convex. Its
umbilicus is somewhat large, deep, and spiral ; and its aperture
(which is very suddenly, and a good deal, deflected) has a
powerful constriction immediately behind it (shaping-out an
annular, ridge-like projection), with the peristome thin, almost
circular, continuous, and raised.
( Placentula, Lowe.)
Helix compar.
Helix compar, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 48. t. 5.
f. 23 (1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 214 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 195 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 29. t. 7. f. 1-4 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 50 (1867)
Habitat Maderam; prsecipue in Pico do Eancho (juxta
promontorium Grirao), et circa Camara de Lobos, degens.
The closely allied Helices of this immediate type, although
by no means large, are more or less solid, flattened, and lenti-
cular (being slightly convex beneath), with a rather wide and
spiral umbilicus, and with a raised, circular, and continuous
peristome ; their surface is often strongly sculptured either with
MADEIRAN GROUP. 129
elevated ridges or with smaller and more densely packed costate
lines ; and they have usually a single narrow fascia (rarely
absent) both above and below the keel.
The H. compar is remarkable for the coarse and powerfully
raised, equidistant, whitish, oblique, transverse costse with
which it is furnished both on its upper and its under side, and
for its total freedom from all other sculpture, there being no
indication of intervening granules even towards the aperture.
It is intimately related to the H. maderensis, of which it has
occasionally been looked upon (perhaps without sufficient reason)
as an extreme development ; nevertheless, apart from the pecu-
liarities of its sculpture (which are so marked and conspicuous),
its basal volution is very decidedly less angulated or keeled, its
aperture is less suddenly deflected, its umbilicus is just appre-
ciably larger, and (although possessing the same single darker
band both above and below) its general colour is, on the average,
somewhat deeper and richer.
It is chiefly about the Cabo Grirao, the great south-western
promontory of Madeira proper, that the H. compar is found
(indeed I am not aware that it has been observed hitherto in
any other district), where it was first met with by Mr. Lowe,
during December of 1828, on the Pico do Rancho (a lower
offshoot, or semi-detached compartment, of the Cape Grirao) ;
and the Baron Paiva records its occurrence nearer to, and
around, the village of Camara de Lobos.
Helix taeniata.
Helix tseniata, W. et #., Ann. des Sc. Nat. 28. Syn. App.
224 (1833)
d'0r6., in W. et B. Hist. 63. t. 3. f. 18-20
(1839)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 189 (1848)
maderensis, major, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 195
(1854)
tseniata, Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 57 (1872)
Habitat Maderam ; in collibus maritimis, prsecipue occi-
dentalibus et prsecipue versus Paul do Mar, sub lapidibus con-
gregans. [Etiam in ins. Canariensibus a cl. Webb occurrere
dicitur ; sed procul dubio ex exemplaribus Maderensibus, in
sarcinis Roccellce tinctorice lectis, descripta.]
It is rather surprising that so accurate an observer as Mr.
Lowe should have failed to perceive anything about the present
Helix except its larger size, to distinguish it from the common
H. maderensis, for its characters seem to me to render it
quite as worthy of specific separation as those of the H. compar
130 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
do, from the latter. Not only is the H. tceniata very much
larger, on the average, and more depressed* than the made-
rensis (the most highly developed examples measuring about
4-J- lines, instead of only about 3, across the widest part), but it
possesses an extra whorl (namely 8, instead of 7), its umbilicus
is appreciably wider and more spiral, its keel is considerably
more acute, and continued almost to the actual peristome, and
its volutions are extremely flattened, the basal one, moreover,
being granulated to a much greater distance from the aperture.
The H. t&niata would seem to occur principally about the
cliffs, and rocky maritime hills, in the vicinity of Paul do Mar,
in the west of Madeira proper, where it was taken by Mr.
Lowe, on various occasions, in considerable abundance ; but it
does not appear to have been known, at any rate as a definite
form, either by Dr. Albers or the Baron Paiva, who merely
remark (the latter, evidently, having copied from the former),
in their observations under the H. maderensis ' Variat insuper
spira elatiore conoidea, et fere ["omnino," according to the
Baron] plana.'
Neither does it appear to have been generally understood
that the present Helix (whether regarded as distinct from the
H. maderensis, or not) is, without any doubt, the H. tceniata,
W. et B., most unwarrantably admitted by Webb into the
Canarian fauna, with which it has clearly nothing to do. It
was originally detected, by Terver, along with the H. tiarella
(an equally characteristic Madeiran form), in some bags of
dried Orchil, the origin of which was even confessedly obscure ;
yet, so great was the desire of Mr. Webb to augment his very
meagre list that he seems, singularly enough, to have had no
scruple in quietly assuming both of these species, and that too
without so much as a fragment of evidence, to have come from
the Canaries ! thus importing an element of uncertainty into
the local catalogue which perhaps, however convinced we may
be of its injustice, can never be altogether eradicated. 1
1 That Webb really knew next to nothing about the proper habitats of
these various Orchil-species of M. Terver's, some of which he seems to have
appropriated so ingeniously to augment his Canarian fauna, is evident from
an old letter of his, in my possession, which was written to Mr. Lowe, and
which bears the date 'Paris, Aug. 26, 1833.' Speaking of his ' Synopsis,' which
then had been just published, he says : ' At the end of our Synopsis you will
find an appendix containing some shells found in the Orchilla at Lyons, by a
most indefatigable collector Mr. Terver. Out of all he found,~tw0-r/mvfc tire
yours from Madeira and Porto Santo : but where the rest come from I know
not." 1 And yet a certain number of these very species are still cited in Mono-
graphs, on Webb's aiitlwrity, as ' Canarian ! '
Considering too that Mousson was equally satisfied concerning the un-
satisfactory nature of the evidence for the original admission of the //.
taniita and tiarella into the Canarian list, and considering also that he was
fully aware that the latter at any rate is a distinctively Madeiran species, and
MADEIRAN GROUP. 131
Helix maderensis.
Helix maderensi, Wood, Ind. Test. Supp. t. 8. f. 84 (1828)
Lowe, Camb. Phii. S. Trans, iv. 48. t. 5.
f. 22 (1831)
Pfaff., Mon. Hel. i. 213 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 195' (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 29. t. 7. f. 5-10 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 51 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in aridis apricis submaritimis, a litore
maris usque ad 2000' s.m. copiose ascendens.
The present Helix may be regarded as the central one, or
type, of the little group of forms of this immediate pattern,
combining much the same sculpture as the tceniata, with the
smaller size, less depressed spire, and less carinated outline of
the compar. It is, however, distinctly, more keeled than the
latter, and its sculpture (as already mentioned) is quite dif-
ferent, its upper surface being merely crowded with closely-
set costate lines (instead of remote and elevated ridges), some
of which are rather larger and paler than the rest, with the
addition of a few coarse granules scattered sparingly towards
the aperture. Its umbilicus is relatively a trifle narrower than
that of either the compar or the tceniata.
The mere variations of colour, in this and the two preceding
species, are scarcely important enough to deserve notice, the
single narrow band with which they are ornamented, both above
and below the keel, being occasionally (though not often) so
increased in width as to be comparatively conspicuous, whilst at
other times, on the contrary, it is nearly, or even altogether,
absent. Specimens in this latter condition, which are fre-
quently smaller and less developed than the average, would
seem to have been mistaken by Albers (as is evident both from
that even the former belongs to a distinctively Madeiran type, it is much to
be regretted that he should not have rejected them in toto from his late
volume as forms (to say the least) of uncertain habitat, and such as ought
never to have been introduced into the Catalogue at all. Speaking of the
H. tceniata, he says : Cette espece n'a pas ete recueillie dans les Canaries,
mais a ete trouvee par M. Terver dans un ballot d'Orseille d'origine inconnue.
Sa forme rappelle tellement les especes de Madere, qu'il est bien plus pro-
bable qu'elle appartienne reelement a ce second groupe d'iles, oili se recolte
egalement ce lichen.' And of the tiarella he adds : < Cette espece se trouve
rirante et subfossile dans Madere, et il n'est guere probable, vu la difference
des deux faunes, qu'elle se retrouve dans les Canaries. Son origine en effet
est tout aussi douteux que celui de la tceniata, puisque, comme elle, la tiarella
ne s'est trouvee dans de 1'Orseille de source inconnue.' And he then observes :
' La patrie bien etablie de 1'une de ces deux especes donne la clef pour celle de
Vaiitre ;' so that, on his orvn shewing, as he acknowledged one of them to be
undoubtedly Madeiran, the other must have been Madeiran likewise. There-
fore why did he not eliminate them immediately ? instead of perpetuating,
by not doing so, a geographical error.
K 2
132 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
his habitat and figures) for the H. spirorbis, Lowe, which
appears really a good species. He cites them, very properly, as
a ' var. ft. minor ' of the H. maderensis, adding ' Varietas /3.
[which, however, he wrongly identifies with the H. spirorbis~\
in locis apricis siccissimis reperitiuy clearly not being aware
that the only region in Madeira proper in which the H. spir-
orbis has hitherto been observed is towards Feijaa d'Ovelha and
Paul do Mar (a distant and little-known locality which Dr.
Albers certainly never visited).
The H. maderensis seems to be confined (like the very
much rarer and more local H. compar and tceniata) to Madeira
proper, where it is one of the most abundant of the Helices ;
nevertheless, although so common, it is extremely circumscribed
in its distribution, it being well-nigh confined to the hot sea-
cliffs, and submaritime hills, which form the lower, and outer,
zone of the island. It occurs from the level of the sea to an
altitude of about 2,000 feet, often swarming in dry and semi-
cultivated grounds.
Helix spirorbis.
Helix spirorbis, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist, ix (1852)
maderensis, var. /., Pfeiff. [sec. Albers], Mon. Hel.
iii. 164 (1853)
spirorbis, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 195 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 52 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, et (sec. Paiva) Desertam Australem ; in
collibus aridis apricis submaritimis, praecipue juxta Feijaa
d'Ovelha sub lapidibus congregans.
This is the smallest of the H. maderensis group, and a form
which, in its more granulate, less banded surface, and somewhat
thinner substance, makes a manifest approach to the leptosticta
type ; though its relatively much larger umbilicus, its coarser
granulations, and the fact of its fasciae (however obscure) being
at any rate both more conspicuous than in that well-nigh uni-
colorous species (the under one, when present, being moreover
differently placed) will immediately remove it from the latter.
The present Helix is more intimately related to the H.
maderensis than it is to anything else, nevertheless I think that
Mr. Lowe was perfectly justified in separating it therefrom,
its smaller size and more obtuse spire, added to its slightly less
solid and more transparent texture, its appreciably wider um-
bilicus, its more convex volutions and more deeply impressed
suture (the former of which are only 6 in number, instead of 7),
and its different colour and sculpture, giving it a character
essentially its own. As regards colour indeed, the ordinary
fascino of the H. maderensis type are in the H. spirorbis occa-
MALEIEAN GROUP. 133
sionally so obscure as to be barely traceable ; though the whole
of the upper portion of the shell is more often suffused with a
perceptibly browner tint, which is only relieved by a few irre-
gular transverse distant whiter line-like dashes which mark the
positions of some of the larger costae. Then, its sculpture is
peculiar, the closely-set costate lines being finer than in the
maderensis, the smaller ones however having a tendency to be
broken-up into elongate granules, which give the entire upper
surface a rather coarsely granulated appearance. The under-
side, on the contrary, apart from the usual scattered granula-
tions towards the aperture, is nearly free from sculpture, it
being a trifle more smooth and shining than is generally the
case in its ally.
The only district in which I am aware that the H. spirorbis
has hitherto been observed is near Feijaa d'Ovelha and Paul do
Mar, in the west of Madeira proper, where it was obtained in
great profusion by Mr. Lowe, during April 1860, congregating
in clusters beneath large slabs of stone on the dry submaritime
hills, or cliffs, in the direction of the coast, though at an
elevation of, perhaps, 1,200 feet above the sea. The Baron
Paiva records its existence on the Southern Deserta also (or
Bugio), and I am inclined to think that this habitat may be
trusted ; though the species was not met with in that island
either by Mr. Leacock, Mr. Lowe, or myself. But, if true, the
fact is topographically important, implying, as it does, that,
of the four allied Helices of the H. maderensis type, the H.
spirorbis is the only one which has yet been detected beyond
the limits of Madeira proper. 1
Helix leptosticta.
Helix leptostica, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 49. t. 5.
f. 24 (1831)
Pfdff., Mon. Hel iii. 155 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 195 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 30. t. 7. f. 11-13 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad 52 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, et (sec. Paiva) Deserbam Australem ; in
collibus aridis maritimis orientalibus, prsesertim versus Cabo
Garajao, gaudens.
The H. leptosticta is about as large as, or a little larger
than, the H. maderensis ; but it differs from that species and
its immediate allies, essentially, in its less carinated (indeed
1 The exact spot, near Feijaa d'Ovelha, where Mr. Lowe met with the
77. sjrirorbis, is on the Lombo do Canario, below (or, rather, down) the Lom-
bada dos Marinheiros, beyond the Lombo Farrobo, towards the verge of the
sea-cliffs.
134 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
nearly uncarinated) form and smaller umbilicus, in its thinner
and more transparent substance, in its pale corneous, well-nigh
unicolorous, almost efasciate surface, and by its sculpture being
both finer and of a different kind, the oblique transverse lines
being comparatively indistinct, but the whole portion visible
from above densely crowded with minute granules. The under
region is likewise granulated, but much less evidently so ; and
it is also rather more shining. Its peristome, although con-
tinuous, is not quite so regularly rounded across the body-volu-
tion, nor is it so much raised ; and its basal whorl is not so
suddenly deflected in front.
As regards hue, this species is practically unicolorous, it
being of a light horny brown above, and rather paler beneath ;
nevertheless when carefully inspected, it will generally be seen
to have a narrow and most obscure obsolete band immediately
below the dorsal line (or the position of the keel). Indeed in
fresh and highly developed examples the faintest possible trace
of even an upper one is sometimes just distinguishable, but
so suffused and lost sight of as merely to infuscate that portion
of the surface with a rather more cloudy tint. At any rate the
species, despite its prima facie appearance, can hardly be de-
nned as perfectly ' efasciate.'
The H. leptosticta is eminently characteristic of the lofty
cliffs and dry maritime hills to the eastward of Funchal, in the
direction of the Cabo Garajao (or Brazen Head), where it is
rather abundant ; but I have not myself observed it in any
other district. It is recorded, however, by the Baron Paiva
from the Southern Deserta, a habitat which, although cer-
tainly requiring corroboration, is not altogether an improbable
one.
Helix micromphala.
Helix micromphala, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfoi/., Mon. Hel. iii. 151 (1854)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 195
(1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 30. t. 7. f. 14-16
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 53 (1867)
Habitat tres Desertas (sc. Borealem, Grandem, et Austra-
lem) ; vulgaris. Semifossilis in Deserta Australi reperitur.
This Helix is so closely allied to the H. leptosticta that,
had not the latter been recorded by the Baron Paiva from the
Bugio, it might almost have been looked upon as a highly-
developed Desertan modification of that species. It seems to
differ in being a little larger and less flattened, or more globose,
MADEIRAN GROUP. 135
in being altogether more solid and robust, and in its umbilicus
being relatively a trifle smaller. In addition too to its spire
being more exserted (or less obtuse), it possesses an extra whorl
(namely 7, instead of 6); the granulations of its upper portion
are slightly coarser and rougher ; its basal volution is more sud-
denly deflected in front ; and it is usually of a rather whiter tint
beneath, but of a somewhat deeper brown above, the region
towards the aperture, however, being gradually diluted in hue,
or subflavescent. Like the H. leptosticta, it will generally be
seen, when accurately inspected, to possess obscure traces of an
obsolete band immediately below the dorsal line (or the place
which, had it been carinated, would have been occupied by the
keel).
The H. micromphala is essentially a Desertan species, on
the whole three islands of which I have myself met with it. It
was first found by Mr. Leacock, in June 1848 ; and it has sub-
sequently been obtained by both Mr. Lowe and the Baron Paiva,
on various occasions. On the summit of the Southern Deserta
(or Bugio) it is not uncommon in a subfossil state.
Helix dealbata,
Helix dealbata, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 48. t. 5.
f. 21 (1831)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 166 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 196 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 31. t. 7. f. 25-28 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 54 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum (insulasque parvas adjacentes) ;
vulgaris.
The H. dealbata and fictilis are peculiar to Porto Santo
and the adjacent rocks ; and although, in a general sense, suffi-
ciently distinct inter se to be easily separated, intermediate
states (in outline, sculpture, and size) do nevertheless occur
which so far connect the two as to render it at times not quite
apparent to which of the forms they should be assigned. Still,
as they have been universally acknowledged hitherto, and are in
most instances at once recognisable, I will not do more than
record a passing doubt as to the possibility of their being in
reality but well-marked phases of a single type. 1
1 Even Mr. Lowe seems to have had the difficulty in the precise identifica-
tion of some of these occasional intermediate forms practically brought home
to him; for the 'var. /8. kevis ' of his original H. dealbata (in 1831) he subse-
quently treated (both in 1851 and 1852) as a var. .' of the fictilis. But two
years afterwards he referred it back again (vide 'Proc. Zool.' Soc. Lond.' 196;
1854) to the dealbata, with which, on further consideration, he appears to
have thought that it would, after all, be better associated.
136 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Both the H. dealbata and fictilis are solid, depressed, and
somewhat turbo-lenticular shells, with a small but distinct
umbilicus, and with their peristome continuous-, but neither
much raised nor much rounded across the body-volution. In
its normal state the dealbata is larger, less flattened, and more
solid than the fictilis, its sculpture is altogether rougher (the
transverse costate lines being coarser and the granules more
numerous), and its surface has usually a whitened and bleached
appearance, with only a faint trace (sometimes indeed none at
all) of an infra-carinal band, but with the aperture within, and
the peristome, more or less obscurely ochreous. In certain
examples, however, which can hardly be treated as representing
a definite ' variety,' the colour is darker, being of a slightly
yellowish- or plumbeous-brown ; and in others the granulations
are both fewer in number and well-nigh obsolete.
From the H. micromphala the dealbata may be known by
being larger, paler, more solid, and more depressed, by its sur-
face being more coarsely costate-striate but less roughly (and
less thickly) granulated, by its umbilicus being relatively a
trifle wider, by its basal volution being less suddenly deflected
in front, and by its aperture (which is more developed) being
ochreous internally.
The H. dealbata is most abundant in dry calcareous places
in Porto Santo ; and on the adjacent islet of the Ilheo de
Baixo it absolutely swarms ; but I am not aware that it has
been observed in a strictly subfossil state.
Helix fictilis.
Helix fictilis, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfeiff., Man. Hel. iii. 154 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 196 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 31. t. 7. f. 17-24 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 55 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum (insulasque parvas adjacentes) ;
hinc inde congregans. In statu semifossili invenitur, sed
multo rarius.
As already implied, the H. fictilis, which is abundant in
many districts of Porto Santo, and which occurs also (though
much more rarely) in a subfossil condition, is typically a
smaller and a flatter shell than the dealbata, its spire being
more depressed ; and it is also rather less solid and robust, not
quite so coarsely striated, and with only a few scattered
granules on each volution towards the suture ; and its ultimate
and penultimate whorls are more angulated, or less rounded
and inflated. The colour, too, is not quite the same, those
MADEIRAN GROUP. 187
examples which are not pale and bleached (and the pallid ones
are exceptional with the H. Jictilis) being of an irregular, or
clouded, plumbeous- and cinnamon-brown, gradually a little
diluted in hue towards the aperture, and whitish beneath, but
with an infra- and supra-carinal band tolerably conspicuous,
though often blended or confluent. The peristome, also, is less
decidedly ochreous than in the H. dealbata.
( Actinella, Lowe.)
Helix lentiginosa.
Helix lentiginosa, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 49. t. 5.
f. 25 (1831)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 164 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 180 (1854)
(pars), Alb., Mai. Mad. 38. t. 9. f. 17-20
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 32 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; sub foliis Sempervivorum aridis emor-
tuis, ad rupes (prsesertim maritimas) crescentium, vulgaris.
The H. lentiginosa is a depressed, rounded, sublenticular
little species (about 2^ lines across its broadest part), thin and
fragile in substance, with a distinct and open umbilicus, and
densely sculptured with coarse transverse costate lines, as well
as sparingly clothed with squamiform hairs, or hair-like lacinise.
Its surface is nearly opake and of a pale corneous brown, but
more or less blotched or marbled with a few irregular whitish
transverse patches and streaks; and its peristome, although
slightly interrupted across the body-volution, is expanded and a
good deal developed.
I am not aware that the present Helix has occurred beyond
the limits of Madeira proper ; for although it is recorded by the
Baron Paiva from the Southern Deserta, yet there is so much
doubt attaching to many of his various habitats (through the
fact of his material having simply been brought to him, at
intervals, by mere paid collectors sent out from Funchal, and
often inadvertently mixed up afterwards, even by himself, with
specimens from other localities) that I cannot but regard the
present one as somewhat/ dubious, or at any rate as requiring
further confirmation. But in Madeira proper the H. lentiginosa
is decidedly a common little species, and one which occurs
principally amongst the dead and dried-up leaves of the rosette-
like plants of Sempervivum which stud the faces of the rocks
both at low and intermediate altitudes. Along the line of
abrupt sea-cliffs, in the north of the island, from Sao Vicente
to Sta. Anna, it is more or less abundant, as also westward to
138 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Seissal, the Eibeira da Janella, and Porto Moniz ; and it like-
wise is found in the Kibeira de Sta. Luzia, the Curral dos
Romeiros, and elsewhere, on the southern side, above Funchal.
The nearest Canarian ally of the H. lentiginosa is the
H. torrefacta (wrongly regarded, as I cannot but think, by
Mousson, as a Patula), which was detected by myself and Mr.
Lowe on dry and exposed rocks in the extreme north of Lan-
zarote. That species however is a little larger, and much more
conspicuously ornamented with irregular white transverse mark-
ings ; its ground-colour is of a deeper reddish-brown above, but-
paler beneath ; its umbilicus is rather larger ; the upper and
lower margins of its peristome are more widely interrupted
across the body-volution ; and its entire surface is both differ-
ently sculptured and differently clothed, the transverse costate
lines being finer, closer, and more regular (although minutely
undulated), and crossed, or decussated, by infinitesimal spiral
striae, whilst the coarse lacinise of the H. lentiginosa are re-
placed by excessively diminutive and short squamiform bristles.
Helix stellaris.
Helix stellaris, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 123 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 180 (1854)
lentiginosa, var. /3., Alb., Mai. Mad. 38. t. 9. f. 21,
22 (1854)
stellaris, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 34 (1867)
Habitat Maderam; in aridis apricis subinferioribus, haud
longe ab urbe Funchalensi sitis, hinc inde sub lapidibus.
The present insignificant little Helix is closely allied to the
H. lentiginosa, of which indeed it was treated by Dr. Albers as
a ' var. 0. minor."* Nevertheless I am satisfied that it is per-
fectly distinct ; and it is surprising to me how a conchologist
like Albers should have come to the conclusion, that there was
nothing on which to separate it from that species except its
smaller size. ' Prseter magnitudinem,' says he, 4 non diversa a
forma typica ' ; whereas, apart from its greatly reduced dimen-
sions, it is appreciably flatter and more carinated than the
H. lentiginosa (its spire being less exserted), its umbilicus is
relatively larger, it has only 4-J (instead of 5J) volutions, its
aperture is rather more oblique and oval, and its transverse
costate lines are much less coarse and less evident, whilst, on
the contrary, its hair-like filaments, or lacinise, are proportion-
ately more developed, being enlarged about the region of the
keel (when the specimens are fresh and unrubbed) into ragged
whitish rays, giving the entire shell a somewhat star-like
MADEIRAN GROUP. 139
appearance. Its peristome, although narrowly interrupted, is
greatly expanded and recurved.
In its mode of life, too, the H. stellaris is altogether dif-
ferent from the lentiginosa ; for whilst the latter occurs almost
exclusively (as indeed I have already mentioned) under the
plants of Sevnpervivum which stud the faces of the rocks, both
along the abrupt sea-cliffs and in the ravines of an intermediate
elevation, the stellaris, on the other hand, resides beneath stones,
like the H. arcta, in dry and exposed places only slightly
removed above the level of the sea, where moreover it has the
curious habit of coating itself over with a covering of hardened
mud. Even Dr. Albers was not able to ignore in toto this
essential difference in their habitats, adding : ' Formse duae
non promiscue degunt ; major enim [i.e. the H. lentiginosa]
ab oppido Funchal versus orientem, ad promontorium Cabo
Garajao dictum, occurrit ; varietas pusilla autem [i.e. the
H. stellaris'] in cacumine tantum promontorii supra Praia
Formosa, ab oppido Funchal versus occidentem, collegitur
(1. c. p. 39). He might however have made the case very much
stronger.
The H. stellaris was first detected by myself, during April
1848, beneath stones, at the east end of the cliff, or basaltic
ledge, overlooking the Praia Bay, about three miles to the west-
ward of Funchal, a locality in which it was shortly afterwards
(namely on the 1st of May of the same year) taken by Mr.
Leacock. The Baron Paiva records it from other places within
the P^unchal district, such as the Pico da Cruz, the Feijaa dos
Asnos, the Kibeira de Sta. Luzia, and the Ribeira de Vasco Gil.
Helix arcta,
Helix arcta, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 42. t. 5. f. 7.
(183.)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 404 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 180 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 40. t. 10. f. 5-10 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 33 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, et ( sec. Paiva) Desertam Australem ; in
collibus aridis maritimis subinferioribus hinc inde copiose con-
gregans.
The H. arcta is one of the smallest of the Madeiran Helices
(the larger examples measuring only about a line and a half
across the broadest part) ; and it is one which is more par-
ticularly gregarious in dry submaritime places of a rather low
altitude. It abounds on the Cabo Grarajao (or Brazen Head),
as well as towards Canico and Sta. Cruz, and (in the west of
140 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
the island) at Feijaa d'Ovelha, and on sea-cliffs at the Ponta
de Pargo, in which last-mentioned locality it was first de-
tected by Mr. Lowe, during December of 1826.
In its more or less obliquely-mottled (or streaked) surface,
as well as in its rounded, depressed, sublenticular outline, the
H. arcta has much the prima facie appearance of the H. lenti-
ginosa ; nevertheless, both in its structure and mode of life, it
is essentially distinct from that species. Thus it is not only
smaller and natter, but altogether more thickened, solid, and
robust ; it has a volution less (namely 41, instead of 5) ; its
umbilicus, although open and conspicuous, is relatively a trifle
smaller and more punctiform ; and it is not only more coarsely
costate-striate, but nearly (if not indeed altogether) bald, or
free from every trace of minute hair-like lacinise. Its peristome
too is more continuous and incrassated, as well as more corneous,
whiter, and more recurved ; and (which is its most important
feature) it possesses a white, elongate, oblique callosity or tooth,
within the aperture on the ventral wall.
There is, however, a slightly smaller phasis of this shell (the
' var. (B. 'minor ' of Lowe) which is a little thinner in substance
and not quite so strongly costate, and in which the ventral tooth
is either almost or entirely obsolete. This was first met with
by myself, during January of 1849, on the ' Telegraph Hill' (or
Pico da Cruz), above the Eace Course, to the westward of Fun-
chal, particularly on the slope descending towards the Gror-
gulho; and the same form has been found subsequently at
Calheta.
The Baron Paiva records the occurrence of the H. arcta on
the Southern Deserta ; but whether this habitat may be trusted
I have no means of deciding. The Bugio, however, is not at all
an improbable locality for the species.
( Rimula, Lowe.)
Helix arcinella.
Helix fausta, /3. et 7., Lowe, Prim. ; Append, xiv. (1851)
arcinella, Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 181 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 35 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, semifossilis ; in stratu conchy lifero juxta
Canical, sat vulgaris.
This little Helix, which was regarded originally by Mr.
Lowe as merely a small state ( the ' var. y. minima ') of his H.
fausta, has been observed hitherto only in a subfossil condition
at Canial, where it is tolerably common. In general size and
proportions it has much the prima facie aspect of the smaller
examples of the //. arcta ; nevertheless it may be known readily
MADEIRAN GROUP. 141
from that species by being not only more globose both above
and below, with its umbilicus almost (or, more often, entirely)
closed up by the expanded lamina of the lower lip, but likewise
by its ventral plait being obsolete, and the aperture narrower
and very differently shaped, in fact somewhat semi-lunate, in-
stead of subcircular, with the peristome broadly interrupted
(instead of being sub-continuous) across the body-volution, and
the labra themselves nearly parallel.
I may observe that a single mutilated example which may
possibly belong to the H. arcinella was found by Mr. Lowe in
Porto Santo, namely at the Fonte d'Areia, in 1828; but as it
seems to me to differ a little from the Madeiran type, in being
somewhat more granulated below and with its ventral plait
more appreciably developed, I think it safer until further mate-
rial has been obtained not to record the H. arcinella as Porto-
Santan, seeing that it is not impossible that this broken
specimen may in reality prove to be the exponent of some closely
allied species, as yet un characterised.
Helix arridens.
Helix arridens, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 43. t 5.
f. 9 (1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 217 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 180 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 39. t. 9. f. 23-26 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 29 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in intermediis praecipue occurrens,
vulgaris.
The members of the section Rimula, which include the
present species, the preceding one, and the following three,- -
have their umbilicus either nearly or altogether closed over by
the outwardly expanded lamella of the lower lip ; and they are
all of them rather small in stature, and more or less clothed
(though it is impossible to assert this absolutely of the H. arci-
nella, which is known only in a subfossil and decorticated state)
with squamiform hairs, or hair-like lacinise.
The H. arridens is decidedly the commonest of this particu-
lar type, it being generally distributed over the intermediate
regions of Madeira proper, to which island it seems to be pecu-
liar. Like the H. lentiginosa it is often abundant under the
dried and brittle leaves of the Semperviva which stud the faces
of the rocks in the shady ravines ; but it is almost equally to be
found in other situations, as, for instance, about the roots of
plants, and amongst detritus, on the ledges of the rocks, and
beneath the dead and loosened bark of the old laurels. Under
142 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
such circumstances it may be met with in nearly all the ravines,
both in the north and south of the island; and, within what
may be called the Funchal district, it is frequently common in
the Eibeira de Sta. Luzia, as well as above the Mount, at the
Curral dos Romeiros, and x elsewhere.
Like its immediate allies, the H. arridens (which is about
2-i- lines across the broadest part) is rounded, but depressed and
sublenticular ; and it is also thin and subpellucid in substance,
of a pale yellowish horny-brown, and only obscurely streaked
(sometimes indeed not so at all) with irregular transverse mark-
ings, and with its surface opake, but clothed (when the speci-
mens are fresh and unrubbed) with pointed, but curved,
subtriangular, somewhat hook-shaped, hair-like laciniae. Its
basal volution is appreciably keeled ; and its aperture is much
flattened, or narrow and horizontal, the lower lip (the expanded
lamella of which more than half conceals the umbilical perfo-
ration) being produced in a comparatively straight, subhori-
zontal line, from the axis. The upper and lower lips are wide
apart at their insertion, but joined by a thin corneous plate
across the body-volution ; and the aperture is free from internal
teeth or callosities.
Helix capsella.
Helix capsella, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 181 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 30 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in apertis editioribus (ultra sylvaticis),
sub lapidibus, minus frequens.
This is one of the most obscure, and least satisfactorily de-
nned, of the Madeiran Helices ; and had it not been already
established by Mr. Lowe, I am not certain that I should have
ventured to treat it as more than a permanent variety of the
H. arridens. And yet it certainly will not altogether quadrate
with that species, either in configuration or habits ; and it is
about equally removed also from the H. fausta, with which in
general colouring and contour it has much in common. Indeed
it may perhaps be said to be about intermediate, in its features,
between the arridens and the fausta; though partaking rather
more, I think, of the characters of the former than of those
of the latter.
In mere size, as well as in its nearly closed-over umbilical
perforation, the H. capsella does not differ materially from the
arridens ; nevertheless it is a little less depressed than that species
(it being a trifle more convex both above and below), its keel is
not quite so pronounced, the upper and lower lips of its peri-
stome (the latter of which is not quite so straightly, and horizon-
tally, produced from the axis) are less evidently joined by a thin
MADEIRAN GROUP. 143
lamella, and its surface is darker and of a more reddish-brown
hue, as well as less densely studded with hair-like lacinise, but
with the costate lines somewhat coarser and more apparent.
From the H. fausta the capsella may be known by being a
trifle smaller and less globose (it being scarcely so convex as that
species, either above or below) by its keel being consequently less
decidedly rounded or obtuse, by its perforation not being wholly
closed-over by the reflexed margin of the peristome, and by its
aperture being a little less elongated and depressed, with the
lower lip free from any indication of an internal thickening or
corneous bi-sinuosity .
The H. capsella was detected by myself and the late Rev. W.
J. Armitage, during 1 848, beneath stones, in a little dried-up gul-
ley on the southern slopes (towards the summit) of the Pico da
Silva, about four miles from Funchal, up the Caminho do
Meio, at an elevation of perhaps 3,500 feet ; and I also met with
it, in 1849, on the hills above Machico. It is recorded by the
Baron Paiva, likewise, from the vicinity of Sta. Anna and S.
Jorge, in the north of the island.
Helix fausta.
T. imperforata, obtuse conoideo-discoidea, obsolete subcari-
nulata, subtus inflato-convexa, tenuiuscula, subopaca, plus minus
pubescens aut hispida, utrinque tenuiter et indistincte costulato-
striata, fusco-cornea sed parce et irregulariter substrigoso-mar-
morata ; anfr. 5-J 6 convexiusculis, ultimo antice subito deflexo
et constrictiusculo ; apertura depressa, angusta, lunata; peri-
stomate interrupto, albido, expanso, sed acuto, marginibus
lamina tenui junctis, basali versus insertionem late expanso ad-
presso, intus quasi in dentem abrupte desinente. Long, maj.
2^-3 ; alt. 2 lin.
Var. /9. robusta. Sensim major, ac paulo magis carinata,
quare subminus globosa.
Helix fausta, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 43. t. 5. f. 8
(1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 422 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 182 (1854)
Alb., Mai Mad. 39. t. 10. f. 1-4 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 31 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; ad rupes, vel submaritimas vel in casta-
netis sitas, versus insulae borealem. Rarissima. In statu semi-
fossili prope Cani^al invenitur.
The H. fausta and obserata differ from the capsella and
arridens, amongst other particulars, in having their umbilical
perforation entirely closed over, or sealed, by the expanded edge
of the lower lip ; and as they are species which might be some-
144 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
what apt to be confounded with each other, I have thought it
desirable to give an emended diagnosis of them both. The H.
fausta is more globose ( and, on the average, somewhat smaller)
than the obserata, as well as less keeled, its spire (although ob-
tuse) being more elevated ; its aperture is a trifle less narrowed
and horizontal, the columella being just perceptibly longer ; and
its surface is not only more hispid or pubescent (the H. obse-
rata being practically bald), but marked with very much finer
and more obsolete lines. It is also a little less solid in sub-
stance, and appreciably more opaque.
There is, however, a state of the shell, which I have enun-
ciated as the ' var. ft. robustaj which is distinctly larger and a
little more keeled, or less globose, thus making an approach
towards the ff. obserata ; nevertheless it is quite as thickly pu-
bescent as the typical one, and its sculpture is quite as fine.
In size, outline, and colouring, the H. fausta has much the
general appearance (at all events in its normal condition) of the
H. capsella. But it is a trifle larger than that species, and
more globose (being convexer both above and below), it pos-
sesses half a volution more, its perforation is altogether closed
over, instead of but partially so), its aperture is narrower and
more depressed, and there are more evident traces of a corneous
thickening, shaping out an obsolete tooth, within the lower
margin of the peristome.
The H. fausta occurs only in Madeira proper, where it is
one of the rarest of the Helices. It was first detected, during
October of 1829, by Mr. Lowe, who found a single example of it
under the dead leaves of a Sempervivum, on a dry rock, in the
chestnut-woods of the Boa Ventura (about two miles up the
ravine from the sea), on the western side of the Ribeira. For
twenty-six years this specimen remained unique ; but in the
summer of 1855 the species was again met with, though very
sparingly, by Mr. Lowe and myself, in the same spot in the Boa
Ventura in which he took his original type; and we also ob-
tained a few examples of it in the Ribeira de Sao Jorge, as well
as at the Passa d'Areia near Sao Vicente, and others (still fur-
ther to the westward) between the Ribeira da Janella and Porto
Moniz. The Baron Paiva records its occurrence, likewise, in
the Ribeira Funda, near Seissal.
In a subfossil condition, the H. fausta is tolerably common
near Canical.
Helix obserata.
T. imperforata, orbiculato-discoidea, lenticularis, distincte
carinata, subtus inflato-convexa, solidiuscula, subnitida, fere
(vel omnino) calva, utrinque grosse obtuse et subflexuose plica-
MADEIRAN GROUP. 145
tulo-striata (striis hinc inde con fluent ibus, ad basin radiantibus),
fusco-cornea sed parce et irregulariter sublentiginoso-marmorata ;
anfr. 5^6 ssepius depressiusculus, ultimo antice subito deflexo et
constrictiusculo ; apertura valde depressa, angusta, lunata, callo
ventrali obsolete (interdum nullo) coarctato, columella brevis-
sima ; peristomate interrupto, albido, expanse, sed acuto, margi-
nibus lamina tenui junctis, basali versus insertionem late expanso
adpresso,intusleviter sub-biplicato (rarlus subsimplici),plicis sinu
plus minus distincto separatis. Long* may* 3 ; alt. 2 lin.
Var. /3. bipartita. (semifossilis). Sensim minor, plica ex-
teriore dentiformi distinctiore, ab interiore (callum basalem ter-
minante) obsoletiore, sinu distincto separata.
Helix obserata, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist, ix (1852)
Pfdff; Mon. Hd. iii. 169(1 853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond* 182 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 40. t. 10. f, 11-1 4 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 36 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in intermediis, et borealibus et austra-
libus, parce occurrens* Juxta Canipal semifossilis, sed in statu
minore ( = ' var. /3 bipartita,' mihi), reperitur.
The H. obserata is the most decidedly keeled of these imme-
diate species, as well as (proportionately) a trifle more flattened
above but more convex beneath ; and it is comparatively free
(often altogether so) from short hairs or bristles, but its surface is
more coarsely and distinctly ribbed. As in the H. fausta, its
perforation is completely closed over or sealed ; and the lower
margin of its peristome, although sometimes nearly simple, is
often distinctly thickened within into a corneous bi-sinuosity
(rather than a medial tooth-like plica), a structure which is
more particularly evident in the subfossil specimens from near
Canical, where this incrassabed inner process takes the form of two
tolerably conspicuous, though unequal, gibbosities (sometimes
the inner one preponderating) but more frequently the outer),
separated from each other by an excavation or sinus. This
latter phasis of the shell is rather smaller than the ordinary
recent one, and corresponds with the ' /&' of Mr. Lowe ; and
we may perhaps, therefore, further characterise it (as above)
as the ' var. /8. bipartita.'
The present Helix is both local and rather scarce, though
occasionally far from uncommon at intermediate elevations in
Madeira proper, more particularly in the interior and towards
the south of the island. It has been taken by Mr. Leacock
in the Vasco Gril ravine, and towards the Great Curral ; though
the Baron Paiva reports it also from the vicinity of Sta.
Anna, in the north, from whence I have likewise examined a
146 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
specimen (in the collection of Mr. Leacock). considerably reduced
in stature, which was met with, in 1858, by Mr. Rice. By
Senhor J. M. Moniz it was also found in the north of the island,
namely in the Ribeira de Sao Jorge.
( Hispidella, Lowe.)
Helix Armitageana.
Helix Armitageana, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 122 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 179
(1854)
Alb., Mai Mad. 19. t. 2. f. 28-31
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 27 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; sub lapidibus in graminosis, regiones
valde excelsas colens. Usque ad 6,000' s.m. ascendit.
This is a species which seems to be peculiar to the highest
elevations of Madeira proper, where it is decidedly both rare
and local, having been detected by myself and the late Rev.
W. J. Armitage, in January 1849, near the Ice House Peak
and the Pico dos Arrieros, at an altitude of about 5,500 feet
above the sea ; though a single young and (but for these later
ones) indeterminable example had been taken by Mr. Lowe, so
far back as March of 1827, on the slopes of the Pico Ruivo.
The H. Armitageana (which measures about 3 lines across
its broadest part) is extremely thin and brittle in its substance,
and semi-transparent, and (like the H. pavida at the Cana-
ries) it often coats it self over with an outer envelope of dirt ; its
umbilicus, although not large, is distinct and cylindrical ; its
peristome, although acute, is rather expanded and developed ;
and its surface, which is asperated all over (when the specimens
are fresh and unrubbed) with elongate-triangular file-like squa-
miform filaments (rather than hairs), is of a greenish- or
olivaceo-corneous hue, and there are generally obscure indica-
tions (at any rate on the basal whorl) of two narrow indistinct
(sometimes obsolete) browner bands.
We may regard the H. Armitageana as the Madeiran repre-
sentative of the H. pavida, Mouss., of TenerifTe and Palma,
with which, in its general features and mode of life, it has a
good deal in common. The Canarian shell, however, although
equally fragile and (when freed from its covering of dirt) sub-
pellucid, is smaller and altogether more insignificant, its spire
is more depressed, its umbilicus is relatively larger, its peristome
is less developed, its surface is minutely frosted with very short
infinitesimal lacinise-like bristles, and (in lieu of the two indis-
MADEIRAN GROUP. 147
tinct darker bands observable in the H. Armitageana) there are
more or less evident traces along the dorsal region (or place of
the keel) of a broken-up fragmentary paler fascia, formed of
irregular-yellowish-white blotches.
( Gonostoma, Held.)
Helix actinophora.
Helix actinophora, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 45.
t. 5. f. 14(1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 140 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 180 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 43 t. 11. f. 5-8 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 28 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, Desertam Grrandem, et Desertam Aus-
tralem ; in intermediis editioribusque haud infrequens. Semi-
fossilis prope Cani9al Maderse, necnon in summo Desertae Aus-
tralis (in hac sub forma minore, ' var. /3. descendens* aequante),
reperitur.
The H. actinophora is not uncommon at intermediate and
rather lofty elevations in Madeira proper ; and I took a single
example of it on the summit (a little beyond the central point)
of the Deserta Grande, as well as an abundance of others in a
subfossil condition on the Southern Deserta, from which island
it has since been received by the Baron Paiva in a living state
also. The subfossil specimens from the Bugio are a trifle
smaller than the Madeiran ones from Canipal, which are them-
selves smaller than the ordinary recent type ; and they have their
keel very acute, their umbilicus relatively a little narrower, and
their basal volution more deflexed at the aperture ; and I have
cited them in the present catalogue as representing a ' var. /3.
descendens. 9
In Madeira the present Helix is to be met with both in the
moist shady ravines, and amongst loose rubble and coarse vege-
table detritus on the ledges of the abrupt submaritime cliffs. I
have taken it abundantly in the Ribeira de Sta. Luzia, above
Funchal, and also at the Ribeiro Frio ; and it occurs likewise
near S. Antonio da Serra, Sta. Anna, and elsewhere.
In the H. actinophora (the larger examples of which mea-
sure from about 4 to 4^ lines across their broadest part) the
shell, although nearly opake, is thin in substance and well-nigh
subpellucid, and of a pale yellowish horny-brown, often with a
faint olivaceous tinge, but uniformly free from streaks and
markings. In general contour it is lenticular or depressed,
the basal volution being acutely keeled, but tumid and convex
beneath ; its umbilicus, although not large, is open and conspi-
L 2
148 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
cuous ; and its whorls (which are only 5 or 5^ in number) are
flattened on the spire (the nucleus of which is, nevertheless, rather
prominent), and very densely crowded with sharply defined, but
minute, transverse lines, which on the ultimate and penultimate
volutions are minutely sub-undulated, a certain number of
them, moreover, being irregularly raised (along a portion of
their length) into short lamelliform ridges (much resembling
those of a file), which last are developed on the underside and
about the region of the keel into longer hook-shaped hairs or
filaments, and generally enlarged along the keel (when the
specimens are fresh and unrubbed) into ray-like processes. The
margins of its' peristome are wide apart at their insertion, but
connected by a very thin corneous plate; and its basal whorl
descends but very slightly, and for only a very short distance,
in front.
( Caracollindy Beck.)
Helix lenticula.
Helix lenticula, Far., Tabl. Syst. 37. 154 (1821)
subtilis, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 45. t. 5.
f. 13 (1831)
lenticula, d'Orb., in W. et B. Hist. 66. t. 2. f. 10-12
(1839)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 211 (1848)
Lowe,Proc. ZooL Soc. Lond. 196 (1854)
,, Alb., Mai. Mad. 43. t. 11. f. 9-12 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 96 (1867)
Dohrn., Mai. Bldtt. xvi. 3 (1869)
Mouss., Faun. Mai. des Can. 66 (1872)
., Watson, Journ. de Conch. 222 (1876)
Habitat Maderam, et Portum Sanctum ; in aridis apricis
inferioribus, prsecipue cultis, parce degens.
The common Mediterranean H. lenticula so easily recognized
by its flattened, strongly carinated form, its rather large and spiral
umbilicus, its bald, opake, finely striated surface, and its corneous-
brown hue occurs sparingly both in Madeira and Porto Santo
(in the latter of which it was first obtained by myself in 1849),
at low elevations and in more or less cultivated spots. In
Madeira proper it was originally detected, during May of 1827,
about the Piedade chapel (above the fossil-bed) on the Ponta de
Sao Lourenco, by Mr. Lowe, who likewise met with it, early
in the following year, at the Praia Bay. By myself and others
it has more often been taken around Funchal, where it is fre-
quently found about old walls, and beneath stones in dry places
amongst the Opuntia Tuna, or Prickly Pear. In the first
ravine (and on the adjoining cliffs) to the eastward of Funchal,
MADEIRAN GROUP. 149
on the Canipo road, and near the Lazaretto, it is sometimes
comparatively plentiful.
The H. lenticula is a species of a widely acquired range ;
and the nature of its habitat, within the cultivated districts, is
at once suggestive of a variety of methods by which it may
have been accidentally transported from one island, or country,
to another. It has established itself at the Azores, and I have
myself obtained it in the whole seven islands of the Canarian
archipelago ; and it was found by Dr. H. Dohrn in Sao Nicolao
of the Cape Verdes.
I am not aware that the H. lenticula has occurred hitherto,
at all events in the Madeiran * Group, in anything but a recent
state, the manifest indication, too, which it possesses, of its
having been originally naturalized, being against the hypothesis
that it was ever an associate of the various species of the sub-
fossil period ; and yet the Baron Paiva records it in a subfossil
condition from Porto Santo. I believe however it would be
found, on enquiry, that his specimens were merely bleached and
decorticated ones (such as I have often met with), filled up
with hardened sand, and drifted by the wind on to the calca-
reous beds in which the ordinary subfossil forms lie loose and
scattered over the surface, and not unfrequently intermingled
with others in a living state. And this is all the more probable,
through the Baron having likewise cited as subfossil, both from
the same island and Madeira, the H. pisana, Mull., which I
have every reason to believe does not exist truly semifossilized. 8
( Cheilotrema, Leach.)
Helix lapicida.
Helix lapicida, Linn., It. Oel. et Gotthl. 8 (1764)
Drap., Hist. Nat. 111. t. 7. f. 35-^37 (1805)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 370 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 197 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 97 (1872)
1 At the Canaries it is a little more questionable, I myself haying met
with it, as it seems to me truly sufossilized, in the sandy and well-nigh unin-
habited district of E,l Charco (beyond Maspalomas) in the extreme south of
Grand Canary. And Mousson cites a ' var. virilis, 1 from Fuerteventura, con-
cerning which he seems somewhat doubtful as to whether it belongs to the
present fauna or to one which has passed away ; though as he does not enter
it into his ultimate catalogue as subfossil, it would appear as if he had come
to the conclusion that the specimens (which were obtained by Fritsch) were
merely bleached and decorticated ones.
8 The Baron has, in point of fact, however unwittingly, settled this ques-
tion about the H. pisana, to at all events a certain extent, even himself ; for
after denning his so-called ' subf ossilized ' Portosantan phasis of the shell as
the ' a. alti&pira, semifossilis ' (thus implying it to be an exclusively subfossil
form), in the very next sentence he proceeds to describe the Animal ' !
150 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Habitat Portum Sanctum, semifossilis ; exemplare unico in
arenis calcareis, A.D. 1849, a meipso, aliisque duobus a Barone
de Paiva, repertis.
A single example of the common European H. lapicida was
taken by myself, during 1849, in a subfossil state, in Porto
Santo ; and two more have since been obtained by the Baron
Paiva from the Zimbral d'Areia in the same island ; so that we
have no option but to admit this northern form, no traces of
which have as yet been discovered in a recent condition, into
the extinct fauna of the archipelago. The examples before me
are genuinely subfossilized, and were found under precisely
similar circumstances as the various other species, and indeed
associated with them ; and we cannot doubt, therefore, that the
H. lapicida was at a remote period living in Porto Santo.
Singular however as is the presence of this familiar European
Helix in the subfossil deposits of so isolated a locality, I am not
at all sure that there is any greater anomaly about it than what
is indicated by the appearance (equally unintelligible) of the
well-known H. caper ata, Mont., in a recent state, or of the
Balea perversa in the fissures of the basaltic rocks on the ex-
treme summit of the Pico de Facho, the highest mountain of
Porto Santo (where it was detected by myself during the same
year), and which, although it has since been retaken in the
identical spot and on an adjacent peak, has riot been observed
elsewhere throughout the whole of these Atlantic Groups
except at the Azores, where it is all but universal. Nor indeed
is it more extraordinary than the existence (if true) of the com-
mon European Patula rotundata, Mull., on the uninhabited
and nearly inaccessible rock, off the north-western coast, known
as the Ilheo da Fonte d'Areia. Such facts as these are of un-
usual geographical interest, to be accounted for if we are able
to do so, but absolutely unaltered if they cannot be made to
quadrate with any particular theories of our own.
With evidence thus incontrovertible, I cannot but feel sur-
prised that Mr. Watson (Journ. de Conch. 229; 1876) should
think it necessary to call in question the right of the H. lapicida
to be quoted amongst the indigenous species of Porto Santo.
For, in the first place, he is scarcely accurate in asserting that
its sole claims rest upon a single individual which was found by
myself at the Zimbral d'Areia ; seeing that two more were ob-
tained subsequently, from the same locality, by the Baron Paiva,
and in a precisely similar state of subfossilization. These
specimens are now in my possession ; and I can see no more
reason for doubting the genuineness of the H. lapicida as
Porto-Santan than of any other Helix of which only three
examples might happen hitherto to have been met with. Con-
MADEIRAN GROUP. 151
sidering the number, and great extent, of the Porto-Santan
conchyliferous deposits, not a tenth part' of which have as yet
been thoroughly explored, there is absolutely no ground what-
ever for concluding that these few examples, which have as yet
been brought to light, occupy a position in any degree different
from those of the other species with which they are associated,
or that they require to be accounted for by methods of trans-
mission, during the remote past, concerning which we can form
no kind of idea that rises above the merest speculation. " Mais
d'ou est venue,' says Mr. Watson, ' et quand est venue cette
coquille ? Une coquille morte, abandonnee par un oiseau,
meme a une epoque prehistorique, ne suffit pas pour faire placer
1'espece au nombre des formes indigenes.' For my own part I
cannot but think that no apology is required for the occurrence
of these three examples of the H. lapicida in the subfossiliferous
beds of Porto Santo ; and indeed I shall be much suprised if
some future explorer in the island does not exhume the species
in far greater abundance.
I may just mention that the Porto-Santan examples of the
H. lapicida have been examined with the greatest possible care
by Mr. Lowe, Mr. Watson, and myself, with all the desire (if it
were possible) to detect some peculiarity about them sufficient
to justify their separation as a distinct species, and that they
correspond in every particular with the more northern type. 1
( Callina, Lowe.)
Helix rotula.
Helix rotula, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 53. t. 6.
f. 10 (1801)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 216 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 183 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 28. t. 6. f. 16-18 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 82 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in montibus vulgaris. In arena
calcarea Helicifera hinc inde semifossilis parce reperitur.
The H. rotula (which measures about 6 lines across its
broadest part) is one of the commonest of the Helices of Porto
Santo, to which island it is peculiar. It may be known by its
solid substance, its depresso-conoidal, acutely-keeled form, its
small and nearly closed-up perforation, its rather numerous and
flattened volutions, and by its entire surface being sculptured
1 Mr. Lowe, in reference to this point, says : Din et sedulo scrutanti, ad
amussim cum exemplaribus Britannicis recentibus exemplar vel optime con-
servation fossile hoc pretiosissimum, mihi comparand! causa benignissime
commissum, omnino congruere compertum est.' (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1854,
p. 107).
152 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
with transverse subconfluent lines, which are more or less inter-
rupted (or broken up) into elongated granules. Its colour is
reddish-brown above, and rather paler beneath, the umbilical
region and the portion of the basal whorl outside the aperture
being gradually more or less ochreous ; and there is a narrow
and generally obscure, medial fascia both above and below the
keel. The peristome is a good deal thickened internally, and
there is a more or less evident white callosity (sometimes obso-
lete) within the aperture on the ventral wall.
Like so many of the Helices, the H. rotula has occasionally a
well-nigh colourless, albino state ; and sometimes the volutions
are unnaturally extended or drawn-out, causing the keel (as it
were) to overhang the suture and to be conspicuous up the spire.
In a subfossil condition the H, rotula is decidedly rare,
nevertheless I have taken it in the calcareous deposits at the
ZimbraJ d'Areia,
( Caseolus, Lowe.)
Helix censors.
Helix consors, Lowe, Cambr. Phil, S, Trans, iv. 51. t. 6.
f. 3(1831)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 195 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 184 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 41. t. 10. f. 23-25 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 38 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in montibus vulgaris. Semi-
fossilis vulgat;ssima.
The H. consors is peculiar to Porto Santo, where it is one
of the commonest of the Helices, abounding, however, still
more in a subfossil than in a recent state. The subfossilized
specimens are, on the average, rather smaller than the recent
ones ; and they are consequently difficult at times, from their
colourless and decomposed condition, to distinguish from those
of the H. compacta, though in a general way they are pretty-
easily separated.
The whole of the members of this immediate type are solid
in substance ; and, although more or less strongly sculptured,
they are perfectly bald, having no tendency whatever to be
hispid or pilose ; and the H. consors, calculus, and compacta
are somewhat globose and compact in outline, altogether un-?
keeled, and with a very small and punctiform perforation,
which is a trifle further removed from the recurved margin of
the peristome in the last of those species than it is in the first
and second. The H. consors is, however, on the average, very
much the largest of the three (highly developed examples
MADEIRAN GROUP. 153
suring about 5 lines across the broadest part), and it is also
more inflated, particularly as regards the basal whorl (both
above and below), the upper and lower portions of its peristome
are more widely separated at their points of insertion, and its
ultimate volution is more suddenly deflected (so as to shape out
a more decided angle) in front.
Both in colour and sculpture, too, the H. consors differs
slightly from its immediate allies,- it being more dappled, or
variegated, above, with irregular transverse whitish fragmentary
markings on either a brownish or a yellowish-brown ground, as
well as more or less roughened with comparatively large and
elongated granules (formed by the partial breaking up of the
coarse costate lines), which however are liable at times to
become evanescent. Its minute umbilical perforation, also,
absolutely adjoins the thickened portion of the lower lip.
Helix calculus.
Helix calculus, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 184 (1854).
compacta, var. 0. Alb., Mai Mad, 41. t. 10. f. 19-22
(1854)
,, calculus, Paiva, Mon, Moll. Mad. 39 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, insulamque parvam adjacent em
' Ilheo de Cima' dictam ; hinc inde gregaria, sed minus fre-*
quens. Semifossilis rarissima.
Like the last one, the present species is peculiar to Porto
Santo, where however it is both somewhat scarce and exceed-
ingly local ; and I think that I have met with it more abun-f
dantly on the small adjacent rock known as the Ilheo de Cima
than anywhere else. It is, however, recorded by the Baron
Paiva from the Pico d'Anna Ferreira, and the Pico Branco. In
a subfossil condition it seems to be decidedly rare. 1
The H. calculus might well-nigh be looked upon as a large
and totally granulated phasis of the compacta ; nevertheless it
is in some respects intermediate between that species and the
consors, being considerably smaller than the latter, but a little
larger than the former. In its general aspect and its almost
unvariegated hue iu has certainly more in common with the
compacta than with the consors ; nevertheless it is both larger
and rather more inflated or globose than that species, its per-
foration is more after the exact pattern which obtains in the
1 The Baron Paiva cites the H. calculus in a subfossil condition from the
Southern Deserta ; but as I have no evidence for the accuracy of that habitat,
and so many of the Baron's localities (and identifications) are, to say the
least, doubtful, I must decline, until further and more reliable information
has been obtained, to regard the species as otherwise than exclusively Porto-i
San tan.
154 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
consors, its basal volution is less constricted at the aperture,
and the minute and sharply defined granules with which it is
everywhere beset (both above and below), and which constitute
its most peculiar feature, will still further tend to distinguish it.
Helix compacta,
Helix compacta, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Traits, iv. 50. t. 6.
f. 2 (1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 198 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 184 (1854)
(pars), Alb., Mai. Mad. 41. t. 10. f. 15-18
(1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 40 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, Portum Sanctum, et (sec. Paiva) Deser-
tam Australem ; in Portu Sancto vulgatissima, sed in Madera
promontorium ' Sao Lourenpo ' tantum colens. Semifossilis, et
in Madera et in Portu Sancto, abundat.
This is a little Helix which attains its maximum in Porto
Santo, in which island it is both general and abundant ; never-
theless it exists also on the Ponta de Sao Lourenco of Madeira
proper, the low rocky promontory which stretches out to the
eastward and which has many features in common not only
with Porto Santo but likewise with the Desertas, combining,
as it were, to a certain limited extent, the faunas of the three
compartments of the Group. The Baron Paiva cites, also, the
H. compacta from the Southern Deserta, which is not an
unlikely locality, though I have no means of testing its accuracy.
In a subfossil condition the H. compacta abounds throughout
the calcareous deposits of Porto Santo ; and it is likewise com-
mon at Canical, where some of the specimens (which represent
the ' var. /3. 'major 9 of Lowe) are of a slightly larger size and
possess more the characters (so far as one is able to judge from
examples which are both colourless and superficially decomposed;
of the H. consors.
Although variable in size and sculpture, the H. compacta
may be regarded normally as being a good deal roughened
above, both with costate lines and granules, but smoother and
comparatively unsculptured beneath, the lines being there
lighter and finer, and the granules obsolete. In the Madeiran
examples (i.e. from Point Sao Lourenpo) the striae and granules
are less coarse than in the ordinary Porto-Santan ones, and the
spire is just appreciably less depressed. These were considered
as typical by Mr. Lowe, by whom they were first detected,
about the Piedade and the fossil-bed, during April and May of
1827. The Porto-Santan ones however (which correspond with
MADEIRAN GROUP. 155
Mr. Lowe's 6 7. portosanctana') are a trifle more flattened, with
the granules larger, and the costate lines (or at any rate a por-
tion of them) stronger and more elevated. And there is, in
addition to these, a subfossil form (which appears to be now
extinct) in Porto Santo, in which the stature is very much
reduced, the surface is almost totally ungranulated (both above
and below), and the umbilicus is relatively a little more open.
This last-mentioned phasis is the ' 8. pusilla,' of Lowe.
Helix eommixta.
Helix eommixta, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 184 (1854)
abjecta, var. a., Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 42 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, prsecipue (nisi fallor) in ins.
parva adjacente ' Ilheo de Baixo ' dicta ; rarior. Semifossilis
copiose occurit, sed tan turn sub forma ' /3. pusilla J Lowe, qua3
forsan ad speciem distinctam melius pertinet.
At first sight this Helix might almost be mistaken for an
unusually depressed form of the H. abjecta, particularly the
' var. {3. candisata ' of that species ; nevertheless it will be seen
on examination to be totally distinct, being not only more
flattened or sublenticular, but with its umbilicus relatively
larger and more spiral, its sculpture altogether different, its
apex more obtuse, and its peristome more continuous, more
elevated, and more circular. Indeed its sculpture is exceedingly
peculiar, and unlike that of anything else with which we have here
to do, the surface (which is of a dirty or brownish white, prac-
tically well-nigh colourless, and remarkably opake) being nearly
free from transverse costate lines (though with a few distant,
irregular, obtuse, subconfluent transverse folds), but densely
crowded with most minute sand-like granules (very accurately
expressed by Mr. Lowe as c arenulato-granulosa '), which gives
it under a high magnifying power somewhat the appearance of
fine sealskin. The volutions of the H. eommixta are tumid, or
obtusely angular, and the basal one is rather wide and strongly
keeled, the keel being partially caused by a very slight
scooping-out, or obsolete erosion, both above and below.
The H. eommixta is essentially a Porto-Santan species, and
I am not aware that it has been observed hitherto (as above
typically defined) in anything but a recent state ; though even
the living examples have much the colourless, calcareous
appearance, at first sight, of being subfossilized. There is how-
ever a very minutely subfossilized form (coarsely and less
closely granulated both above and below, nearly unkeeled, and
greatly resembling in its more globose outline the most diminu-
tive phasis of the //. compacta) which Mr. Lowe regarded as a
156 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
6 var. /3. pusilla ' of this species ; though I am not at all satis-
fied that it would not be far more natural to treat it as distinct.
Still, as it appears to bear somewhat the same relation to the
normal H. commixta that the ' var. 8. pusilla ' of the H. com-
pacta does to that species, I am content to cite it as Mr. Lowe
has done, even whilst feeling extremely doubtful as to its real
specific identity with the commixta. In point of fact it would
be scarcely separable from the ' 8. pusilla ' of the H. compacta,
were it not that it is powerfully and conspicuously granulated
both above and below. Whether properly referred however to
the H. commixta or not, it is a form which is extremely abun-
dant in most of the calcareous deposits of Porto Santo.
So far as I can at present recollect (for I unfortunately
made no particular memorandum, at the time, of their exact
habitat), I believe that it was on the Ilheo de Baixo that my
specimens of the H. commixta were principally found. 1
Helix abjecta,
Helix abjecta, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 50. t. 6.
f. 1 (1831)
candisata, MenJce, in Pfeiff. Symb. iii. 70 (1846)
abjecta, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 188 (1848)
' Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond< 185 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 32. t. 8. f. 1-8 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 42 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, Portum Sanctum, Desertam Australem,
et (sec, Paiva) Desertam Grandem; in Portu Sancto solum
vulgatissima. Semifossilis in Portu Sancto copiosissime, sed in
Madera ad (sec. Paiva) Canipal rarissime, occurrit.
If the Baron Paiva's statement may be trusted, that he has
received it from the Deserta Grande, the H. abjecta (however
scarce beyond Porto Santo) will have been found in all the
islands of the Madeiran Group except the Northern Deserta (or
Ilheo Chao). Throughout Porto Santo, and on the immediately
adjacent rocks, it absolutely swarms ; but it is singular that
1 The Baron Paiva has wonderfully confused this by no means badly de-
nned Helix. In fact he evidently did not know it, practically ; though some
of his recorded characters were copied clearly from Mr. Lowe's diagnosis.
Thus he cites it as the depressed variety of the //. abjecta (which, as above
mentioned, it most decidedly is not} ; then he asserts it to be a subfossil form,
whereas the H. commixta is a living one and has not as yet been observed at
all (as typically denned) except in a recent state ; and he lastly adds that it
occurs likewise on the Southern Deserta, whereas the species from that island
is a scarcely altered phasis of the genuine H. abjecta ! In real truth, in its
general contour and rather widened (or, as it were, super-imposed} ultimate
volution, no less than in its more circular and raised peristome, the //. com-,
mixta makes a very manifest approach towards the Hystricella group.
MADEIRAN GRO UP. 157
nobody should have yet placed upon record its occurrence in
Madeira proper, though Mr. Lowe, at all events, was perfectly
well aware that it is far from uncommon near Porto Moniz on
the north-western coast of that island. This fact must conse-
quently have escaped his memory, when compiling (in 1852)
his last enumeration of the land-shells of the archipelago. On
the Southern Deserta I have myself met with it sparingly, and I
have seen a few other examples which had been obtained from
thence by the Baron Paiva, who, by the bye, has fallen into
the unaccountable error of citing it as existing in a subfossil
state only on that remote rock. 1
In a subfossil condition the H. abjecta is most abundant in
the calcareous deposits of Porto Santo ; and although I have
not myself met with it (subfossilized) except in that island, and
have no other evidence of its occurrence elsewhere, it is never-
theless recorded by the Baron Paiva to be found sparingly at
Canipal, which, considering its existence in a recent state on
the northern coast of Madeira proper, is far from unlikely.
The H. abjecta is an extremely thick and solid little shell,
globose-conical in outline, with an open and conspicuous
(though by no means large) perforation, and extremely rough
in sculpture, being coarsely granulated all over (though par-
ticularly above), and with strong, irregular, subconfluent,
transverse costate lines. Its peristome is white, expanded, con-
tinuous, and almost circular ; its colour is a brownish-white
(sometimes with a few paler radiating lines), passing into a
reddish brown ; and its volutions are tumid and' prominent,
though not exactly (at all events in the normal state) keeled.
There is, however, a phasis of the shell (corresponding with the
' /3. candisata ' of this catalogue) in which the form is rather
more flattened and the keel is a trifle more expressed ; but it
merges so gradually into the other that it can scarcely be looked
upon as a permanent ' variety ' (properly so called) ; and the
examples from the Southern Deserta (the ' 7. nesiotes ' of the
present list) are, on the average, a little smaller and less conical
than the ordinary Madeiran and Porto-Santan ones, somewhat
more evidently keeled, and not quite so roughly granulated.
Beyond these two forms (the second of which I should not have
1 I have no evidence that the If. abjecta has been observed in a subfossil
condition at all, hitherto, on the Southern Desert a, though it is extremely
probable that sooner or later it will be found there. For the Baron Paiva's
assertion that it is only subfossil on that island (' nee recens hodie inventa '),
whereas to my own knowledge he procured from thence a certain number of
living examples, added to the complete confusion of his ideas in regarding
the Porto-Santan H. commixta as conspecific with the South-Desertan H. ab-
jecta (the former of which he also misquotes as subfossilized !), renders his
evidence altogether contradictory and valueless.
158 TE8TACEA ATLANTICA.
noticed had it not been a local one, and neither of which are
very decidedly aberrant), I can see no advantage in creating
confusion by registering a number of varieties and ' subvarie-
ties ' (so-called) which are scarcely distinguishable from each
other, and which have been made to depend on the greater or
less elevation of the axis, and the greater or less development
of the granulations. I will just mention, however, that the
Madeiran examples (from Porto Moniz) have their spire just
appreciably more raised than even the most conical ones from
Porto Santo.
Helix sphaerula,
Helix subcallifera, Lowe, olim, in Hit.
sphaerula, Id., Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 185 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 82. t. 17. f. 8-10 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Mol. Mad. 43 (1867)
Habitat Maderam (semifossilis), eb Portum Sanctum (semi-
fossilis ac recens) ; rarissima.
Although the smaller and rather more globose phasis (which
is found only in a subfossil condition, and only in the Canipal
beds of Madeira proper) of this species has rather the prima
facie appearance of the H. compacta type, yet it will be seen on
inspection to be in reality very different, the larger one, which
occurs in a living state on the mountains of Porto Santo, so far
explaining the other (which is not only ' smaller ' but. from its
decomposed surface, practically more obscure) as to render it
evident that the H. sphcerula makes a most decided approach
in the direction of the H. cheiranthicola. This is particularly
observable, not only in its obtusely conical outline, elevated
spire, and rather flattened base, but likewise in the construction
of its aperture and peristome, and even (when the specimens
are not simply white, as is generally the case) in its law of
colouring, there being often faint traces of an obsolete fascia
encircling the umbilical area, which is never indicated in the
true and undoubted members of the section Caseolus.
Mr. Lowe having first enunciated this Helix from the
Cani9al form of it (which, as just mentioned, is smaller, rounder,
and exclusively subfossilized), we have no option but to treat
that particular state as the normal one. Nevertheless in speak-
ing of its characters we must needs do so from the Porto-San-
tan recent (larger) type, because the distinctive features of the
shell are alone readily appreciable in fresh and living examples.
It was during our visit to Porto Santo in May of 1855 that the
H. sphcerula was taken by Mr. Lowe and myself on the extreme
summit of the Pico Branco, adhering to the upper parts of
MADEIRAN GROUP. 159
various plants, especially the culms of Juncus maritimus ; and
although we found it in considerable profusion in that particular
spot, as well as along the commencement of the lofty precipitous
promontory immediately behind it, its area even there was
remarkably circumscribed, and I am not aware that it has sub-
sequently been met with in any other locality. The subfossilized
specimens of Porto Santo (which are extremely scarce, though
occurring at the Zimbral d'Areia) are a little smaller than these
living ones from the top of Pico Branco in the same island ; but
as they are nevertheless a trifle larger than the (equally subfos-
silized) Madeiran ones from Canical, we may perhaps adopt
Mr. Lowe's arrangement of them as, under the circumstances,
the most simple, namely ' a [normalis] fossilis, minor, sphaeru-
loidea, Maderce ; /3. fossilis, submajor, trochoidea, Portu
Sancto ; <y. recens, major, trochoidea, Portu SanctoS
Apart from its rounded-conical outline, elevated (though
apically obtuse) spire, and somewhat flattened base, to which I
have already called attention, the H. sphcerula may be further
known by its very minute umbilical perforation, which is par-
tially closed over by the prominently expanded lamina of the
lower lip at its insertion into the axis, by its tumid but unkeeled
volutions and deeply impressed suture, by its narrow and some-
what horizontal aperture, which has a more or less evident
transverse callosity within it on the ventral wall, by the upper
and lower divisions of its peristome being widely separated but
joined by a corneous plate ; and by its surface (the lines of which
are rather light, though extremely irregular and subconfluent)
being beset with large granules which are unequal and indis-
tinct (occasionally evanescent) on the upper side, but coarse and
arranged as in a file below. Judging from the recent examples
now before me, from Porto Santo, the H. sphcerula is usually
white and without markings, though often with a very faint
lilac or plumbeous tinge, the whole shell, which is thick and
solid, having a colourless, bleached, china-like appearance.
( Hystricella, Lowe.)
Helix echinoderma, n. sp.
T. trochiformis, subtus subplanulata perforata, undique
granulis magnis obtusis sat dense obsita ; spira elevata ; anfrac-
tibus convexis, subgibbosis, ultimo subtectiformi acute carinato
(carina simplici, solum antice gradatim obsolete subduplici) ;
umbilico punctiformi, aperto ; apertura subovali-rotundata, labris
continuis conjunctis, peristomate simplici, expanso, subrecurvo,
tenui, relevato. Long, axis 2^ tin. ; diam. 3^.
Obs.- //. echinulatce, Lowe, valde amnis, sed multo major
160 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
(sc. quasi maxima), et forsan ejus status antiquus, hodie
extinctus.
Habitat Portum Sanctum, sem^fossilis ; recens baud obser-
vata.
The above diagnosis has been compiled from a few subfossil
specimens which we obtained when in Porto Santo ; and with
the exception of their size being comparatively gigantic, they
appear to possess nearly all the characteristics of the H. echinu-
lata ; but since their stature is so monstrous as compared with
that of the latter (which is more constant than in almost any
Helix with I am acquainted), I cannot but suspect that they
must represent some large extinct species which stands in pre-
cisely the same relation to the echinulata as the subfossil H.
vermetiformis does to the bicarinata, or as the subfossil H.
Lowei and Bowdichiana do to the recent H. portosanctanci
and punctulata. At any rate, each of these forms occupies a
similar position with reference to its own particular analogue,
and as species they must either stand or fall together.
Helix echinulata,
Helix echinulata, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 57, t. 6.
f. 19 (1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. L 189 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 186 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 36. t. 9. f. 5-7 (1854)
bicarinata var., Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 45 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; sub lapidibus in montibus,
Vulgaris.
A roughened, or asperated, somewhat Trochiform little
Helix, which, together with the (prima facie almost similar)
H. bicarinata, is very abundant, beneath stones, on the moun-
tains of Porto Santo, and one which may readily be known,
apart from its small size and very coarsely tubercled (or well-
nigh sub-spinulose) surface, by its reddish-brown hue (which
however usually appears darker than it really is, on account of
the entire shell being more or less powdered with a rusty deposit
from the earth with which it is found in contact), by its sub-
conical upper- and flattened under-portions, and by its puncti-
form umbilicus and its circular aperture, the peristome of
which is continuous and appreciably elevated or raised. Its
volutions (which are convex, and seldom exactly banded) will be
seen, when cleaned, to have a few conspicuous darker clouds, or
suffused ill-defined dashes (rarely amounting to anything like a
band, and some of them longitudinally disposed) at irregular
intervals ; and the basal one is sharply keeled, with its compara-
MADEIRAN GROUP. 161
tively flattened under-region generally ornamented with one or
two (sometimes obsolete, and occasionally confluent) fasciae.
The H. echinulata, which is less abundant, on the whole,
than the bicarinata, is locally common on the mountains of
Porto Santo ; and, although not easy to separate at the time of
capture from its ally (an after-examination being absolutely
necessary for that purpose), I believe that it is more often on the
Pico Branco that we have met with it, than elsewhere.
The Baron Paiva records the H. echinulata in a subfossil
state ; but, although this is not by any means unlikely, I have no
evidence myself that it has yet been observed in any of the cal-
careous deposits ; though its comparatively gigantic analogue
(enunciated above as the H. echinoderma) is met with occa-
sionally, and it is not impossible therefore that that particular
form was regarded by the Baron as sufficiently identical with
the recent type.
Helix bicarinata.
Helix bicarinata, Sow., Zool. Journ. i. 58. t. 3. f. 7 (1825)
duplicata, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 58. t. 6.
f. 30(1831)
bicarinata, Pfei/., Mon. Hel. ii. 190 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 186 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 36. t. 9. f. 1-4 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 45 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; sub lapidibus vulgatissima. In
statu semifossili parce (sub forma ' var. /3. auctaj Woll.) re-
peritur.
So closely does the present little Helix resemble the H.
echinulata, that I am far from certain that it is more in reality
than a phasis of that species with a double keel ; and this is all
the more possible from the fact that a bi- and simply carinated
state are by no means uncommon in many Helices. Yet the
two forms are so readily separable (for I have never found a
single example, out of many hundreds I might almost say
thousands which I have inspected, which could be regarded as
strictly intermediate), that I prefer, inasmuch as they have
already been published under different names, to treat them as
distinct. The Baron Paiva, in his late Monograph, ias assumed
them to be conspecific, and it is quite open to any naturalist to
adopt that opinion if he pleases ; but since it is scarcely possible
that the qucestio vex-ata can ever be absolutely settled, I would
rather, for my own part, acknowledge them under the titles
which they have so long received, than run the risk of error in
a speculation which is perhaps unsolvable.
With these remarks I think it sufficient to add, that the H.
162 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
bicarinata is a more abundant species (or form) than the
echinulata, swarming beneath slabs of stone on most of the
mountain-slopes of Porto Santo, to which island it would seem
(like its immediate allies) to be confined. And so gregarious is
it in its mode of life, that I have frequently observed clusters of
it under a single block composed of absolutely hundreds of
closely-adhering individuals.
In a subfossil state, the H. bicarinata is decidedly rare ;
nevertheless I possess many specimens (collected by myself,
chiefly at the Zimbral d'Areia) which I have little doubt are
conspecific with it, though their slightly altered fades, from
the process of gradual decay to which they have been subjected,
renders their identification with the recent type at first sight
somewhat dubious. Thus, for instance, the keels of their
volutions appear more conspicuous (and the spaces between
them, in consequence, more eroded or scooped out) than is the
case in the living individuals, and the granulations of their
upper surface have in some instances been altogether worn
away. Still, there is no shell except the bicarinata to which
they can be referred ; and I feel satisfied that they represent
the quondam phases of that species, and that they thus far
therefore afford presumptive evidence that the H. vermeti-
formis (which they almost exactly resemble except as regards
their comparatively diminutive stature) cannot properly be
looked upon as a mere extinct state of the bicarinata.
There is however an appreciably larger form of this species
(cited in the present catalogue as the ' var. /3. aucta ') to which
the subfossil examples 'might perhaps be better referred, in
which the upper (or medial) keel is a trifle more horizontal and
prominent, and the shell is full 3 lines (instead of only about
2-|) across its broadest part which was found in Porto Santo
by Mr. Watson, and which I have received from him as the
6 recent state of the H. vermetiformis, Lowe.' I am inclined to
think, however, that it will be more safely regarded as a highly
developed race of the bicarinata 9 from which it differs in
scarcely any respect except in its slightly increased stature. It
is of course possible that even the subfossilized H. vermetiformis
may be in reality but a gigantic extinct phasis of the bicari-
nata ; but as it rests upon precisely similar evidence as that for
the retention of the H. echinoderma as separate from the
echinulata, or as the H. Bowdichiana and Lowei from the
punctulata and portosanctana (the 'pros' and 'cons' of which
have already been fully discussed), I have thought it desirable
to follow Mr. Lowe in treating it as specifically distinct ; and
this being the case, it will be sufficient to add that it (i. e. the
H. vermetiformis} recedes from the ' var. /3. aucta ' of the //.
MADE1RAN GROUP. 163
bicarinata in its very much larger size, and in its volutions
(the ultimate one of which is not quite so deflected at the
aperture) being 7 in number, instead of only 6 or 6^.
Helix vermetiformis.
Helix vermetiformis, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.186 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 47 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, in stratu conchylifero semifossilis
parce occurrens ; recens hodie non inventa.
The present Helix, which has been found hitherto only in a
subfossil state and only in Porto Santo (where it was first
detected by myself at the Zimbral d'Areia), belongs to the same
geographical type as these immediate forms, the H. bicarinata
being manifestly its nearest ally. Indeed it may be said to be
intermediate between that species and the ' a. pererosa ' of the
H. turricula, being very much larger than the former, with
its peristome even more developed (or raised above the body-
volution), and with its keel perhaps, if possible, still more
double throughout ; whilst from the latter (which occurs only on
the Ilheo de Cima) it recedes in its less elevated spire, its more
open umbilicus, and in its surface being very much more
coarsely and sparingly granulated. Of the two, however, it has
more in common, as it seems to me, with the H. bicarinata ;
and indeed, when closely inspected, its characters will be per-
ceived to differ so little except in degree from those of that
species that I cannot feel at all sure that the vermetiformis (as
now understood) represents more than some gigantic extinct
phasis of it. Nevertheless since I have no vestige of connecting
links between the two forms, and they would appear to stand in
precisely the same relation to each other as the subfossil H.
echinoderma does to the recent H. echinulata, or as the sub-
fossil H. Bowdichiana and Lowei do to their living analogues
the H. punctulata and portosanctana (which Mr. Lowe, and
all subsequent monographers, have held to be, in all probability,
distinct), I will not attempt to treat them as otherwise than
specifically separate.
The H. vermetiformis is not uncommon in the subfos-
siliferous beds of Porto Santo, at any rate in those towards the
south-eastern extremity of the island (in the direction of the
Ilheo de Cima). I have met with it both at the Zimbral
d'Areia, and in the muddy deposit of an exposed sea-cliff
(below the Pico dos Maparicos) to the eastward of the Villa.
Helix turricula,
Helix turricula, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 58. t. 6.
f. 21 (1831)
M 2
164 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Helix turricula, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel i. 190 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.'ISQ (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 37. t. 9. f. 11-13 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 47 (1867)
Habitat in insula parva ' Ilheo de Cima ' dicta, juxta Portum
Sanctum (nee alibi) ; sub lapidibus magnis congregans.
This is one of the most beautiful, and distinct, of all the
land-shells of the Madeiran archipelago ; and yet there is not a
single species which is more narrowly circumscribed (so far as
our united observations have hitherto shewn) as regards its area
of distribution, the little rocky islet known as the Ilheo de
Cima, at the south-eastern extremity of Porto Santo, being
apparently its only habitat. In that particular locality how-
ever it abounds, where it is to be met with (often in clusters)
beneath the large blocks of basalt which lie scattered on (more
especially) the western slopes. Under such circumstances it
has been taken in profusion by Mr. Lowe and myself, on various
occasions, as well as by Senhor Moniz and other naturalists ;
but I have never been able to detect any traces of it in a sub-
fossil state on the mainland, not even at the Zimbral d'Areia,
which is exactly opposite to (and but narrowly separated from)
the Ilheo de Cima, nor in the muddy accumulations of the
subfossiliferous sea-cliff (below the Pico dos Maparicos) to the
eastward of the Villa. Hence there is every reason to suspect
that it has never existed except on that small and nearly inac-
cessible island. Yet so intimate is its relationship with the
subfossil H. vermetiformis, which as already stated is par
excellence characteristic of the deposits in the direction of the
Ilheo de Cima, that it is impossible to resist the enquiry as to
whether it. might not in reality be some extreme development
of that quondam form, which has been gradually matured since
the Ilheo de Cima was permanently separated from the main-
land. This question however being merely a speculative one,
hardly concerns us here, for no amount of evidence can ever
succeed in raising it beyond the atmosphere of probability ; and
it may be sufficient therefore to add that the H. turricula in
even its most abbreviated phasis (under which guise alone it
bears a primd facie resemblance, in its shorter contour, more
prominent keels, and somewhat disproportionately widened
ultimate volution, to the vermetiformis) differs from its un-
questionably near ally in its much more elevated spire (and
that too when seen in its most reduced and exceptional con-
dition), in its entire surface being very much more finely and
closely granulated, and in its umbilicus (which is likewise more
concealed by the overhanging edge of the peristome) being less
MADEIRAN GROUP. 165
open. In its normal aspect, however, the H. turricula is
abundantly removed from even the vermetiformis.
As will be inferred from the above remarks, the affinities of
the H. turricula are, most unmistakeably, with the four pre-
ceding and two following species, its carinated volutions and
granulose, reddish-brown surface (the lower portion of which
has a tendency, when cleansed from the earthy dust with which
it is generally obscured, to be more or less indistinctly fasciated,
whilst the upper parts are usually marbled with a few irregular,
suffused, ill-defined, longitudinal, sometimes confluent blotches),
added to the smallness of its umbilicus, its circular aperture,
and its thin, elevated, continuous peristome, assigning it, with-
out the slightest doubt, to the little assemblage of Porto-
San tan forms to which Mr. Lowe applied the subgeneric title
of Hystricella. Yet as a species it is conspicuously distin-
guished from them all, its extremely elongate, turret-shaped
spire and numerous volutions (which have a keel, very largely
developed in the c a. pererosaj ! in the centre of each, causing
the basal volution to be strongly bicarinated), in conjunction
with the comparative fineness and closeness of its granulations,
giving it a character which it is difficult to mistake.
Helix Leacockiana, n. sp.
T. trochiformis, subtus planata perforata, undique granulis.
obtusis densissime obsita, pallide brunneo-subflavescens sed
fasciis (prsesertim subtus) nebulisque irregularibus (prsesertim
supra) rufo-brunneis hinc inde suffuse marmorata ; spira sat
elevata; anfractibus convexis, bicarinatis, ultimi (subtecti-
formis) carina exteriore acutissima valde exstanti, interiore
obtusa rotundata recedente rarius obsoleta; umbilico puncti-
formi ; apertura subovali-rotundata, labris continuis conjunctis,
peristomate simplici expanso subrecurvo tenui relevato. Long*
axis If lin. ; diam. 2.
Obs. Species H. bicarinatce, Sow., affinis, sed differt testa
multo minus grosse sed etiam subdensius granulata, granulis
minutioribus obtusioribus (nee spiniformibus), anfractu ultima
sensim latiore subtectiformi, sc. carina exteriore multo magis
1 This particular state, which would seem to have escaped the observation
of Mr. Lowe, passes imperceptibly into the other ; nevertheless since it is
remarkably different in its extreme (or exaggerated) condition, from what
Mr. Lowe described as the normal one, I think perhaps it may be desirable
to define it briefly as follows :
H. turricula, Lowe ; var. fr^pererosa. Plerumque obscurior, spira breviore,
anfractibus in medio multo grossius carinatis (carina altissima), ultimo sensim
latiore necnon ant ice obsolete subtortuoso, fere quasi superimposito, apertur
submajore.
1C6 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
exstanti acuta distincta, sed carina interiore magis obtuse
rotundata faciliusque recedente, interdum etiam obsoleta.
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in monte ' Pico d'Anna Ferreira '
dicto sat copiose reperta. Necnon in statu semifossili (cum
exemplaribus recentibus vix omnino congruens) parcissime oc-
currit.
This little Helix, which was obtained rather abundantly by
myself on the Pico d'Anna Ferreira in Porto Santo, and after-
wards by Mr. Lowe (who apparently did not recognise it as
specifically distinct), is closely allied to the bicarinata, Sow.,
and the echinulata, Lowe, to both of which it stands in much
the same relation as the H. commixta does to the abjecta.
And in the comparative fineness of its sculpture it makes like-
wise somewhat of an approach to the H. oxytropis, the four
species (namely echinulata, bicarinata, Leacockiana, and oxy-
tropis) constituting, in conjunction with the echinoderma,
vermetiformis, and turricula, a very natural assemblage.
In the fact of its volutions having an additional central keel
(which consequently appears to be doubled on the ultimate one)
the H. Leacockiana has more in common with the bicarinata
than it has with the echinulata ; nevertheless in the granula-
tions of its surface being both very much smaller and very
much less raised (as well as more densely packed together) it
recedes equally from them both. But its more appreciable
distinctive character consists in the peculiar shape of its volu-
tions, especially of the last one, which is more strictly tectiform
(or roof-shaped), as well as of a relatively somewhat wider
diameter, than in the cognate species, the edge, or outer keel,
being very much more prominent, whilst the inner one is more
completely and obtusely rounded-off, and therefore recedes more
from the former than is the case in the H. bicarinata. These
various little features are so conspicuous, when once seen, that
it is impossible to confound the H. Leacockiana with any of
these immediate forms ; and it appears to me to have far
greater claims for specific separation than the bicarinata has
from the echinulata ; and indeed I cannot but think that it is
removed from them both quite as much as the (very much
larger) oxytropis is, though in a different manner.
I possess two subfossil individuals, a trifle larger and some-
what less finely granulated than those now before me of the
H. Leacockiana, which I have little doubt (from their general
contour and proportions) represent the quondam analogue of
this species.
I have had great pleasure in naming the present little
Helix after my old friend T. S. Leacock, Esq., whose long
residence in Madeira, and whose continued and careful re-
MADEIRAN GROUP. 167
searches throughout the entire Group of islands, has con-
tributed so much to our store of knowledge, not merely of the
Land-Mollusca but in many other departments of Natural
Science.
Helix oxytropis.
Helix oxytropis, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 57. t. 6.
f. 18 (1831)
Pfeiff** Man. Hel. i. 190 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 186 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 37. t. 9. f. 8-10 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 46 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum; sub lapidibus in intermediis
degens. Semifossilis rariss. ; sed in statu majore (= /?. sub-
carinulata, mihi) paulo magis copiose reperitur.
As already stated, the H. oxytropis belongs to the same
geographical type as the six preceding species ; yet it is
thoroughly distinct from them all, never merging into any of
them, so far as I am aware, by even doubtful aberrations.
Although exceedingly similar in colouring (which is unmis-
takeably characteristic), and a good deal so in form and sculp-
ture, to its allies, it has the volutions (the basal one of which is
sharply and singly keeled) conspicuously more flattened,
causing the upper portion of the shell to be more strictly
conical or roof-shaped (though apically somewhat rounded and
obtuse). Its granulations, although coarse, are relatively much
less developed than those of the H. echinoderma, echinulata,
bicarinata, and vermetiformis, but rather more so than is the
case in the H. LeacocJdana and turricula.
The H. oxytropis, which is equally confined to Porto Santo
with its immediate allies, is less abundant than the echinulata
and bicarinata. Nevertheless it is common locally, occurring
beneath stones on the mountain-slopes ; and so far as my own
observations are concerned, it is more prevalent in the south-
eastern extremity of the island than elsewhere, particularly on
the two closely adjoining peaks opposite to the Ilheo de Cima,
known as the Pico de Baixo and the Pico dos Maparicos.
In a subfossil condition the H. oxytropis is found very
sparingly; indeed, so far as I have myself observed, I should
say that it was decidedly rare. There is, however, a larger
phasis of the shell with the spire relatively more elevated and
apically-acute, and with the volutions very obsoletely keeled in
the centre which I have taken on various occasions more
abundantly. Under this form, the shell has much the size and
prima facie aspect of certain states of the H. cheiranthicola ;
though, on a closer inspection, its more densely granulated
168 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
surface and smaller umbilicus, added to the sharper edge of its
ultimate volution and its more raised and continuous peri-
stome, will readily distinguish it from every phasis of that
variable species. Believing it far from unlikely, however, that
this particular subfossil Helix to which I am now calling
attention may be separated by some future monographer from
the oxytropis proper, I will briefly characterize it as follows :
H. OXYTROPIS, Lowe ; var. ft. subcarinulata. Major, spira
magis elevata, ad apicem paulo magis acuta, anfractibus in
medio obsolete subearinulato. Long, axis 2^ lin. ; diam. 3J.
( TurrtoeUa, Woll.)
Helix cheiranthicola.
Helix cheiranthicola, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 57.
t. 6. f. 17 (1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 212 (1 848)
Lowe,Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 187(1 854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 37. t. 9. f. 14-16
(1854)
(pars), Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 48
(1867)
var, mustelina, Lowe.
Helix mustelina, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 186 (1854)
cheiranthicola, /3. minor, Paiva, I. c. 49 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, insulamque parvam adjacentem
' Ilheo de Baixo ' dictam ; in montibus hinc jnde vulgaris, cau-
libus Cheiranthi arbusculce, Lowe, saepissime adherens. Semi-
fossilis, et in Campo de Baixo et in Ilheo de Baixo, parce
reperitur.
Owing doubtless to the great elevation of its spire, the H.
cheiranthicola was placed by Mr. Lowe and Dr. Albers (and, copy-
ing them, by the Baron Paiva) in the section Hystricella ; but
it seems to me to have quite as much in common (indeed even
more, in some respects) with the Discula type, and I think
therefore that we may safely regard it as exactly intermediate
between the two, though belonging absolutely to neither of
them. The Hystricella group is so wonderfully well denned
not only in the continuous, raised, circular peristome of its seve-
ral members, but likewise in its sculpture and the very great
peculiarity of its colouring that it seems a pity to admit into
it a species like the present one, which is so thoroughly different
in the generality of its features ; whilst, at the same time, the
H. cheiranthicola is too high and turret-shaped to be properly
referred to the section Discula.
The H. cheiranthicola occurs on certain of the loftier moun-
MADEIRAN GROUP. 169
tains of Porto Santo, particularly the Pico Branco, where it
absolutely swarms, towards the summit, within the crevices of
the rocks and upon the stems of shrubby plants, especially a
native wall-flower (the Cheiranthus arbuscula, Lowe). In a
subfossil condition it appears to be scarce, though I have met
with it sparingly on the Campo de Baixo and also on the Ilheo
de Baixo ; but I am not certain that it has been found on the
latter adjacent islet in a living state.
Apart from its elevated column and subconical contour, the
present Helix may be known by the tumidity of its volutions,
which are so prominent as to form a kind of obtuse keel (imme-
diately above the suture) which is usually traceable up the spire,
by its umbilicus, although not large, being open and deep, by
its surface being coarsely granulated both above and below (the
granules, however, being often sub-evanescent about the most
prominent part of the whorls), and by its peristome being con-
tinuous though not circular, the upper and lower lips being
joined at their insertion by a thick corneous callosity. The
shell is extremely solid in substance, or incrassated, and nor-
mally of a faintly plumbeous white with two narrow darker
bands beneath (one of which is sometimes absent), and another
above, just under (and adjoining) the suture, and continued
for a considerable distance up towards the apex. These three
bands are occasionally broken-up, or even well-nigh obsolete ;
but it is scarcely necessary to establish ' varieties ' and ' subva-
rieties ' (so-called) upon trifling fluctuations of mere colour.
There is, however, a distinct phasis of the shell, which was
detected by myself towards the northern coast of Porto Santo, in
the district known as ' Pedragal,' and towards the Pico Juliana,
which deserves notice, inasmuch as it is so permanently dif-
ferent from the typical one as to have been described by Mr.
Lowe as a separate species, under the name of H. mustelina. I
think there can be no question that the intermediate races
which occur connect it with the true cheiranthicola type ; never-
theless it is a little smaller than the latter and more uniformly
and roughly granulated all over, its volutions are flatter (or
much less tumid) and with hardly any indications of a keel, its
umbilicus is joined (though not exactly overlapped) by the more
angularly produced lamina of the lower lip, and its colour is
more dingy, the surface being less evidently fa sciated (though
sometimes with an obsolete medial band above), but crowded
with irregular brownish fragmentary markings.
170 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
( Discula, Lowe.)
Helix tetrica.
Helix tetrica, Paiva, in litt.
Loive, Ann. Nat. Hist. x. 95 (1862)
Pfei/., Mai. Bldtt. xi. 53 (1864)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 87. t. 1. f. 7 (1867)
Habitat Desertam Australem ; in prseruptis excelsis mariti-
mis rarissima, inter lichenes latitans. Semifossilis parce repe-
ritur.
This is one of the largest and most distinct members of the
Discula section (measuring about 7^ lines across its broadest
part), and one which seems to be quite unconnected, so far at
least as our present data would imply, with any of the numerous
varieties of the protean H. polymorpha. It was detected on
the Southern Deserta (or Bugio), ' amongst lichens on the sea-
cliffs, in the spring of 1861,' by a man who was sent out by the
Baron Paiva to collect for him on that remote rock ; and it ap-
pears to have been extremely scarce even there. It had however
been previously obtained in a subfossil condition by Mr. Lowe,
who met with a single example of it during our visit to that
island in June of 1855.
Apart from its larger size, solid substance, and flattened, dis-
coidal, lozenge-shaped form, the H. tetrica may be recognised
by its extremely wide, open, spiral umbilicus, its not very
strongly pronounced keel (which however is placed rather above
the dorsal line), and by the coarse and greatly elevated granules
with which it is everywhere uniformly asperated. In colour too
it is most peculiar, the fasciae (in at any rate the few examples
which I have had an opportunity of inspecting) being so broadly
developed as to cause nearly the entire surface, except the paler
and yellowish umbilical area, to be of a dark reddish coffee-
brown (which makes the white tubercles remarkably conspicu-
ous). Its aperture, which is of a dingy reddish-brown within,
has the peristome (though not perfectly circular) a good deal
elevated, the upper and lower portions of it being joined across
the body-volution by a thick corneous process.
Helix polymorpha.
Helix polymorpha, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 54
(1831)
Pfei/., Mon. Hel. i. 213 (1848)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 25 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 83 (1867)
Habitat ins. omnes Maderenses ; sub lapidibus, praecipue in
MADEIRAN GROUP. 171
collibus aridis apricis maritimis, congregans, et vix supra 1500'
s.ra. ascendens. Semifossilis, sub formis plurimis diversis,
hinc inde sed parce reperitur.
So numerous are the forms which are assumed by this pro-
tean Helix, in the various islands and districts of the Madeiran
Group, that the more salient ones would seem to demand,
each of them, an independent notice. And this is all the more
desirable since the major part were described by Mr. Lowe
(though not originally) as separate species, and it might still
perhaps be a question with certain monographers whether at any
rate one or two of those which I have thought it better to
treat as varieties might not be retained as distinct. My own
belief, however, is, that even more than those which are here
placed upon record will be found eventually (when the few
remaining localities which have not yet been fully explored shall
have been properly investigated) to increase the list of perma-
nent races, which, although merging into the immediately
allied ones by unmistakeable connective links, are neverthe-
less sufficiently denned within their own particular provinces
to be properly looked upon as ( local modifications,' in the
usually accepted sense of that term. Commencing with the
phases which are more roughly granulated than the rest, I
think that the following thirteen (which almost arrange them-
selves, as might naturally be anticipated in the case of mere
varieties, topographically) may perhaps be accepted as the ones
which should principally be noticed.
a. [normalis].
Helix polymorpha, a. irrasa, Lowe, I. c. 54. t. 6. f. 11 (1831)
a. Pfei/., Mai. Bldtt. 81 (1852)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 187 (1854)
var. a., Alb., I. c. 25. t. 5. f. 7-13 (1854)
Paiva, I. c. 83 (1867)
saccharata, Lowe, olim, in litt.
Habitat Maderam ; ad rupes maritimas versus orientem,
prsecipue in ins. parva ' Ilheo de Fora ' dicta, juxta promonto-
rium Sancti Lourentii, degens.
This is the most conical state which has hitherto been de-
tected of the present variable Helix ; and although Mr. Lowe
cited it in 1831 as but one variety out of many, he subsequently
(in 1854) adopted it as a distinct species, regarding it, par
excellence, as ' the H. polymorpha ' (properly so called) ; though
I think that it is much to be regretted that he should not have
adhered to his original (and, as it seems to me, far more correct)
treatment of it. Even in the elevation of its spire this roughly
172 TESTACEA ATLANTICA.
granulated race is by no means constant, some examples being
much more trochiform than others ; whilst as regards colour, it
passes through a nearly endless number of changes, certain spe-
cimens being comparatively pale and unbanded, though by far the
greater number are very highly decorated, the fasciae being- so
enlarged as to cover most of the surface except a sutural line, the
region outside the aperture, and the central area beneath. The
umbilicus is tolerably large and spiral, and the keel is rather
sharply expressed.
This normal phasis (as we can scarcely help regarding it) of
the H. polymorpha occurs only in Madeira proper, and is emi-
nently characteristic of the eastern half of the Sao Lourenyo pro-
montory (itself in the extreme east of that island), attaining its
maximum on the detached insular termination of it known as the
Ilheo de Fora (where it has been taken in profusion by Mr, Lowe,
Mr. Watson, Dr. Grrabham, myself, and others). 1 The examples
from the actual Ponta de Sao Lourenpo have all their characters
rather less exaggerated than in those from the Ilheo de Fora,
thus showing a manifest tendency to merge into the other
coarsely granulated but less conical form (the ' /3. salebrosa ')
which occurs both to the north and south (i. e* towards Porto
da Cruz, and towards Machico) of that low rocky tongue of land,
and which indeed crops up even so far away as the Ponta de Pargo,
the north-western point of Madeira.
Common as it is towards the extremity of the Sao LourenO
promontory, I am not aware that this typical phasis of the H.
polymorpha has ever yet been observed in the subfossil deposits
(so near at hand) of Canipal.
ft. salebrosa, Lowe.
Helix polymorpha, y., Pfeiff., Mai. Blatt. 81 (1852)
senilis, Lowe [nee Morelet, 1851], Ann. Nat. Hist. ix.
116 (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 189 (1854)
polymorpha, var. 7., Alb., I. c. 26. t. 5. f. 16-18
(1854)
salebrosa, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. x. 95 [note] (1862)
polymorpha, var. /Q., Paiva, I. c. 84 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, et tres Desertas ; in aridis apricis mariti-
1 I may add that this shell has never been observed by at any rate either
Mr. Lowe or myself in the neighbourhood of the fossil-bed and the Piedade,
but always on the red Tufa soil nearer to the actual Point, where, during
the winter months, it may be found attached to the stems of plants and low
bushes (particularly of Sahola fruticosa), beyond (i.e. to the eastward) of the
arch-rock in Labra.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 173
mis hinc inde vulgatissima. Semifossilis ad Canical Maderaa
parcissime sed in summo Desertae Australis copiosius invenitur.
While the last (or normal) state of the H. polymorpha is
characteristic of a limited district in the extreme east of Madeira
proper, the present one makes its appearance in many parts of
the eastern and northern coast of the same island, extending like-
wise .to the Desertas, on the whole three of which it occurs,
though more particularly on the central or larger one. The Ma-
deiran examples however are not usually quite similar to those
of the Desertas, being, on the average, a little more sharply
keeled and more coarsely granulated ; and they are generally too
a trifle thinner (or less solid), and not so highly coloured : indeed
I possess a series of them from the Ponta de Pargo (perhaps
somewhat exceptional) which are nearly devoid of markings.
Although extremely variable in the elevation of its spire, the
' 0. salebrosa ' is considerably less conical than the (so-called)
type, it being altogether flatter and more lenticular; but the
Madeiran phasis of it is, I think, quite as strongly asperated as
the latter with powerful granules. The Desertan specimens are
usually less coarsely granulated, particularly above, and their
keel is a little more obtuse ; but both of these features are subject
to considerable variation. As for the mere development of the
bands (which are for the most part more conspicuous in the De-
sertan race than in that from Madeira), hardly two examples have
them precisely alike.
The ' /8. salebrosa ' (which is so common on the Desertas, par-
ticularly on the central island) was found by Mr. Lowe in Madeira
proper, namely on the Larana promontory below Porto da Cruz,
and at the Ponta de Pargo ; and it occurs likewise between Ma-
chico and Sta. Cruz. In a subfossil condition it is not uncommon
on the summit of the Southern Deserta, but extremely rare in the
calcareous deposits near Canical. 1
y.porompkala, Lowe.
Helix polymorpha, S.,P/eiff., Mai. Bldtt. 81 (1852)
poromphala, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 116 (1852)
senilis (pars), Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 189 (1854)
polymorpha, var. S., Alb., I. c. 26. t. 5. f. 19, 20 (1854)
var.. (subv. 1), Paiva, I. c. 84 (1867)
Habitat tres Desertas ; prsecipue in insulis Boreali et Australi
congregans. In Deserta Australi semifossilis quoque reperitur,
1 As regards the synonymy of this shell, I may add that the name 'senilis'
having been preoccupied by Morelet during the preceding year to that in
which it was employed by Mr. Lowe, it became necessary for the latter to
propose a fresh one, which he consequently did in 1862.
174 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
It is only on the Desertas that the present race of the H. poly-
morpha has been found ; and although it occurs on the whole
three of them, it is principally on the northern and southern
islands that it abounds, the ' /3. salebrosa ' being the dominant
form in the Deserta Grande. There is, however, very little differ-
ence between that modification and the present one, the much
smaller umbilicus of the ' 7. poromphala ' being its main distinc-
tive feature ; though it is likewise, on the average, a smaller shell
altogether, descending on the Bugio (where it was also found in a
subfossilised condition, by Mr. Lowe and myself, during June of
1855) to a comparatively diminutive stature, the most reduced
examples measuring only about four lines across their broadest
part.
S. Pitta?, Paiva.
Helix senilis, var. 7., pusilla, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.
189 (1854)
Pittae, Paiva, Journ. de Conch, xiv. 340 t. 11. f. 5
(1866)
Id., Mon. Moll. Mad. 41. t. 1. f. 3 (1867)
polymorpha, /3. (subv. 2. minor), Id., ibid. 85 (1867)
' Pittse, Pfeiff., Mon. Ed. vii. 352 (1876)
Habitat Desertam Australem : prsesertim in statu semifossili
(an vere recens ?) occurrens.
This is the most minute form under which the H. polymor-
pha has hitherto been ascertained to exist, the examples measur-
ing only from about 3 to 3^ lines across their broadest part ; and it
is one which seems to be peculiar to the Southern Deserta, where
it was met with by Mr. Lowe and myself, during June of 1855,
and from whence it has subsequently been obtained by the Baron
Paiva. 1 But it was only subfossilized that we found it ; and I
have no evidence hitherto that it occurs in a living state, for it is
almost certain that the individual from which the Baron (I. c. 85)
professed to describe the ' animal ' was merely a small one of the
common ' 7. poromphala? This variety however seems to differ
in no respect (either as regards sculpture or relative proportions)
from the c 7. poromphala ' (though its worn and colourless con-
dition may give it at first sight a somewhat peculiar aspect) ex-
cept in its extremely reduced stature, and in its possessing only 6^-
1 The Baron therefore was not altogether accurate in adding, concerning
this particular variety, ' In Deserta Australi a meipso primum inventa ; ' for,
in the first place, it was found by Mr. Lowe and myself more than ten years
previously, and, in the second place,. it is well known that he never collected
on the Desert as at all, his material having simply been brought to him by
men, not always very trustworthy, whom he sent out from Funchal.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 175
volutions (instead of 7^-), and it is surprising to me how the Baron
Paiva could have so far confused its affinities as to have recorded
it not only (as above indicated) as a stunted phasis of the H. poly-
morpha, but likewise as a distinct species (under the name of H.
Pittce) of the Caseolus group ! Yet that this is certainly the case
I am able to vouch, having received types of his H. Pittce from
the Baron himself. It is also to be noted that in his diagnosis of
the H. Pittce he does not even allude to the fact that his types were
subfossilized (as is nevertheless clear, not only from those which
he transmitted to me, but also from his own remark ' Animal
hodie non observare licet '), but describes them as ' cinereo-plum-
bea ' (a very common tint for a bleached, subfossilized surface),
thus leaving the impression that the H. Pittce is characterized by
an eccentricity of hue which certainly does not belong to it.
f. Alleniana, Paiva.
Helix All enia,n&, Paiva, Journ.de Conch, xiv. 342. p. 11. f. 10
(1866)
Id., I.e. 86. t. 1. f. 4 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in collibus apricis submaritimis prope
Sta. Anna lecta.
This modification of the H. polymorpha was first taken by the
late Mr. Bewicke at Sta. Anna in the north of Madeira pro-
per, and it appears to have been met with subsequently by
Senhor J. M. Moniz ; but it is one of the few Helices which was
never obtained either by Mr. Lowe or myself. It is in some
respects intermediate between the ' /3. salebrosa ' and the ' f.
linctaj though differing from them both in its somewhat more
shining and lightly sculptured surface, and in its granules being
much more minute and elongated, and transversely arranged,
being formed by the breaking-up, or interruption, of the fine
transverse lines, and having more the appearance at first sight of
narrow abbreviated impressions than of granules.
The ' s. Alleniana ' (which is certainly not recognizable, as I
understand it, from the Baron Paiva's published figures) is a
flattened, lenticular shell, with the keel acutely expressed ; and
its underside is usually of a clear porcelain-white, with a narrow
reddish-brown band encircling the umbilical area, and another
broader one (sometimes two) towards the keel. Its upper side,
in the only fresh and perfect example which I possess for inspec-
tion, is irregularly mottled with dusky-white and reddish-brown,
the latter preponderating. Its umbilicus is much about the
same as in the average of the ' (B. salebrosaj but a trifle smaller
than in the ' . lincta ' ; but in the widely separated, almost un-
176 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
connected margins of its peristome it has more in common with
the latter than with the former. 1
f. lincta, Lowe.
Helix polymorpha, 0. depressiuscula, Lowe, I. c. 54. t. 6. f.
13(1831)
s. Pfeif., Mai. Bldtt. 81 (1852)
lincta, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 116 (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 189 (1854)
polymorpha, var. s.,Alb., I. c. 26. t. 5. f. 21-23 (1854)
var. 7., Paiva, I. c. 85 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in eollibus apricis maritimis hand longe
ab urbe Funchalensi, sc. ad et versus promontorium Garajao
dictum, copiossime sub lapidibus.
This is the common modification of the H. polymorpha on
the dry, sunny, maritime hills and cliffs to the eastward of Fun-
chal, towards, and around, the Cabo Grarajao (or Brazen Head).
It may be known by its keel being somewhat blunt or obtuse,
and its underside slightly shining and comparatively free from
sculpture, the lines being very light, and the granules nearly
evanescent. Its upper region however has the granules coarser,
though rather wide apart. In colour it is generally of a clear
yellowish-white beneath, with a distinct band encircling the um-
bilical area, and another, usually broken -up and more or less
fragmentary (sometime obsolete), between that and the keel ;
whilst above it is dappled, or dingily variegated, with whitish
and brownish irregular transverse markings, the region outside the
aperture (which has the margins of its peristome wide apart, and
scarcely connected across 'the body- volution by a thin corneous
lamina) being gradually paler.
i). arenicola, Lowe.
Helix polymorpha, 7. arenicola, Lowe, I. c. 54. t. 6. f. 13.
(1831)
f., Pfeiff., Mai. Bldtt. 81 (1852)
., lincta, var. /&. cinerea, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.
190 (1854)
polymorpha, var. , Alb., 1. c. 26. t. 5. f. 24, 25 (1854)
var. 7. cinerea, Paiva, I. c. 85 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in aridis calcareis arenosis, praesertim
1 The Baron Paiva speaks of the 'e. Alleniana ' as subfossilized in the
Blbeira de Sao Jorge ; but I suspect that he must allude in reality to dead and
decorticated examples (of which I possess several from Sta. Anna), for I am
not aware that there is any strictly subfossil deposit in the S. Jorge ravine.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 177
ad basin montis Piedade, ad promontorium Sancti Lourentii,
vulgarisi
The 6 77. arenicota ' scarcely differs from the ' f. linctaj except
that it is, on the average, a little smaller, perhaps a trifle more
depressed, not quite so solid in substance, and altogether of a
paler, yellower, and less brightly variegated hue. It appears to
be confined to the region of the Fossil-bed and around the Pie-
dade, at the base of the Sao Lourenco promontory, in the east of
Madeira proper, where it is extremely common, beneath stones,
on the sandy calcareous soil above the sea-beach and up the ad-
joining slopes ; but, being a mere local race peculiar to that
immediate calcareous district (so exceptional in Madeira), I am
not aware that it has occurred elsewhere in the island.
6. Barbosce, Paiva.
Helix Barbosae, Paiva, Journ. de Conch. xiv 341.pl. 11.
f. 8 (1866)
Id., I.e. 90. t, 1. f. 6 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, aut potius ins* parvam adjacentem
' Ilheo da Fonte d'Areia ' dictam ; sat vulgaris.
The present Helix was obtained by the Baron Paiva, in 1864,
from the small and uninhabited rock off the north-western coast
of Porto Santo known as the Ilheo da Fonte d'Areia ; and it has
certainly no more right to be specifically separated from the
numerous modifications of the H. polymorpka than any of the
others (indeed not so much as several of them) ; yet the Baron
erects it along with two equally insignificant forms into (so-
called) c new species,' and that too whilst suppressing the H* pul-
vinata, discina, papilio, lincta, and senilis, of Lowe, which,
although (as I fully believe) mere varieties also, are neverthe-
less quite as worthy of distinction as these three of his own ;
whilst the fact that they had been already defined and pub-
lished, ought to have given them in reality a superior claim.
The ' 9. Barboece ' is a tolerably large and subconical shell,
the spire being a good deal elevated, with the volutions flattened,
and the keel rather acute ; its basal portion is somewhat in-
flated and pulvinate (or cushion-shaped), with the umbilicus
distinct and spiral ; its peristome is rather thin, with the upper
and lower margins but imperfectly connected by a thin corneous
lamina ; and its surface (which is finely granulate all over, and
has the transverse lines conspicuous above) is somewhat peculiar
in colouring, being darkly clouded on the upper side with irre-
gular brownish and reddish-brown markings, with the addition
of a more or less faint livid (or plumbeous) tinge or bloom, but
paler below in the centre, outside of which the fasciae are gene-
N
17& TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
rally fragmentary and sub-obsolete (being often only traceable
as a few detached, transverse, griseous, zigzag streaks and shape-
less blotches).
i. puhinata, Lowe.
Helix polymorpha, f. pulvinata, Lowe, L c. 56. t. 6. f. 16
(1831)
., Pfeiff., Mai Blatt. 81 (1852)
pulvinata, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 116 (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 188 (1854)
polymorpha, var. ft. Alb., I. c. 26. t. 5. f. 14, 15
(1854)
cheiranthicola, a. pulvinata, Paiva, L c. 49 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, insulasque parvas adjacentes ; in
aridis apricis calcareis arenosis inferioribus praecipue et copiose
congregans. Semi/ossilis rarissima, sed ad Zimbral d'Areia parce
collegi.
In its somewhat cushion-shaped, basally inflated, ultimate vo-
lution and open umbilicus, as well as in its more or less conical
or elevated spire and its rather finely and thickly granulated
surface, the present race of the H. polymorpha has a good deal
in common with the last one ; nevertheless it is a trifle smaller
and less acutely keeled, its peristome is more continuous (the
upper and lower margins being joined by a much thicker corne-
ous process), its whorls are a little more tumid or convex, and its
colour is totally different, the entire shell being more or less
pale and (as it were) bleached in appearance, even the darkest
examples being seldom more than obscurely variegated above with
a few irregular, transverse, brownish markings. 1
The ' L. pulvinata ' is one of the most abundant Helices in
Porto Santo, to which island and the adjacent rocks it is peculiar,
occurring more particularly in the driest and most calcareous
spots of a low elevation. Thus it often swarms beneath stones in
the Eibeira de Cochim and about the sandy edges of the Campo
de Baixo, and indeed generally around the Villa; but it is
found likewise at a rather higher altitude. Like most of the
modifications, however, of the H. polymorpha, it is decidedly
rare in a subfossil condition ; though it was met with sparingly,
by Mr. Lowe and myself, at the Zimbral d'Areia and elsewhere.
1 By the Baron Paiva the present Helix is treated as a variety of the
H. clieiranthicola ; but it is difficult to understand on what single character
it can be separated from the Discula group, its rather elevated spire being
more than paralleled in the typical phasis of the H. polymorpha, and quite
equalled in the 'var. 6,
MADEIRAN GROUP. 179
K. papilio, Lowe.
Helix polymorpha, e. calcigena, Lowe, I. c. 56. t. 6. f. 15
(1831)
6., Pfeiff., Mai. Bldtt. 81 (1852)
papilio, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 116 (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool Soc. Land. 190 (1854)
polymorpha, var. *., Alb., I. c. 27. t. 6. f. 7-11 (1854)
testudinalis, a. minor, Paiva, I. c. 92 (1867)
Habitat ins. parvam juxta Portum Sanctum ' Ilheo de Baixo '
dictam ; in aridis calcareis vulgaris. Semifossilis quoque inve-
nitur.
This is so near to the ' X. discina ' that I should hardly have
noticed it as a separate race had it not been published by Mr.
Lowe as a distinct species. However it is not quite similar to
that modification (as typically denned), it being somewhat inter-
mediate between it and the ' i. pulvinata.' Thus it is a little
less sharply keeled than the former, and perhaps not quite so
flattened, its surface is altogether paler or less brightly variegated,
and its granulations are nearly obsolete below, where it has a
slightly shining or china-like appearance. And, as compared
with the latter (the ' i. pulvinata'), although not very different
from it in its somewhat pallid hue and but faintly dappled volu-
tions, it is a trifle more lenticular, or less conical, its keel is
rather more evident, and its upper portion is a little more finely
and densely granulated, whilst the lower one is comparatively
free from sculpture and even (as just mentioned) appreciably
shining. The peristome too is less continuous, the upper and
lower margins of it being wider apart, and almost unconnected
by a corneous plate.
The ' K. papilio ' is the phasis which the H. polymorpha
assumes on the dry calcareous island adjoining Porto Santo known
as the Ilheo de Baixo; and although occasional examples of
the ' X. discinaj found elsewhere, may at first sight be scarcely
separable from it, yet as typically defined it must be regarded as
characteristic of that particular locality. 1
X. discina, Lowe.
Helix polymorpha, rj., Pfei/., Mai. Bldtt. 81 (1852)
discina, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 117 (1852)
1 Although so near (as just stated) to the 'K. discina' as to be barely
separable from it, the Baron Paiva treats the present modification of the
//. polymorplia as a ' var. minor ' of the H. testudinalis, one of the largest
and most distinct members of the Discula section, and one which would seem
to be better separated than almost any other from these immediate forms.
Indeed it appears to me (as it did to Dr. Albers) to be sufficiently well denned
to merit specific isolation.
N 2
180 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Helix discina, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 190 (1854)
polymorpha, var. 77., Alb., I. c. 26. t. 6. f. 1-3 (1854)
var. 8., Paiva, I. c. 86 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, insulasque parvas adjacentes ; in
aridis apricis vulgatissima. Semifossilis multo rarius exstat.
The ' X. discina ' is one of the most abundant of all the
phases of the H. polymorpha, being universal in Porto Santo and
on most of the immediately adjacent rocks, I having myself met
with it on the Ilheo de Baixo, the Ilheo de Cima, and the Ilheo
de Ferro. It is a central form which is less easily denned than
the generality of others, partaking, as it does, of the features of
many of them ; but it may be described as, on the average, rather
flat and lenticular, with the keel sharply pronounced, and the
umbilicus (although not large) open and spiral. It is finely
granulated both above and below ; its whorls are usually de-
pressed, with the suture hardly at all sunken ; the margins of its
peristome are wide apart, and nearly unconnected by a corneous
lamina ; and its surface, although seldom very brightly coloured,
is either fasciate or efasciate below, and more or less obscurely
mottled above with darker and paler irregular transverse
markings.
Like most of the modifications of the H. polymorpha when
found at all in anything but a recent state, the present one is
undoubtedly scarce subfossilized. Nevertheless it has been met
with sparingly, by Mr. Lowe, myself, and others, on the Campo
de Baixo, as well as at the Zimbral d'Areia.
fji. Gomesiana, Paiva.
Helix Gromesiana, Paiva, Journ. de Conch, xiv. 340. pi. 11.
f. 6 (1866)
Id., 1. c. 89. t. 1. f. 5 (1867)
Habitat ins. parvas ' Ilheos de Nordeste ' dictas, juxta Portum
Sanctum; vulgaris.
The present modification of the H. polymorpha was obtained
by the Baron Paiva, in 1863, from the almost inaccessible rocks
off the north-eastern coast of Porto Santo known as the ' Ilheos
de Nordeste.' It differs but little from the 'X. discina 1 ; but
having been published by the Baron as a distinct species, it
must of necessity be noticed.
Judging from the types before me, the ' //,. Gomesiana ' is (on
the average) a trifle smaller than the ' X. discina^ and more
thickly granulated ; its keel is not quite so sharply expressed ;
its volutions are not quite so flattened ; its upper portion i s less
variegated, being more darkly and uniformly diffused with a
warm reddish-brown tint ; and its base is more decidedly Op a ke,
MADEIRAN GROUP. 181
with the umbilicus more contracted above, but broader and more
cylindrical within, its sides (much as in the var. attrita) being
more abruptly, or more suddenly and perpendicularly, scooped-
out.
v. attrita, Lowe.
Helix tectiformis, Wood [nee Sow., 1824], Suppl.t. 8. f. 83
(1828)
polymorpha, 8. attrita, Lowe, I. c. 55. t. 6. f. 14 (1831)
attrita, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 116 (1852)
Pfei/.,Mal. Bldtt. 89 (1852)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 188 (1854)
polymorpha. var. K., Alb. I. c. 27. t. 6. f. 12-15 (1854)
attrita, Paiva, I. c. 88 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in monte ' Pico d'Anna Ferreira '
dicta prsecipue occurrens. Semifossilis in Campo de Baixo
rarissime exstat.
Amongst the numerous phases of the H. polymorpha, the
present one (which is peculiar to Porto Santo) was selected by
Pfeiffer as specifically distinct ; and certainly the structure of its
umbilicus and aperture might well seem at first sight to give it
a greater claim for separation than some of the others. Yet I
am persuaded that it has no more right, in reality, to be thus
treated than any of the rest, its umbilicus (as regards the sin-
gularity of its form) merging so completely into the ordinary
shape which obtains in the ' \. discina ' and its allies that several
examples which are now before me might be assigned almost
equally to either modification ; whilst the thickening within its
somewhat more angular aperture is merely the same thing, only
a little more pronounced, as what we observe in several of the pre-
ceding aspects of the species. Indeed the umbilicus of the ' p.
Gomesiana,' although a trifle wider and more cylindrical, differs
very little indeed from that of the present variety, partaking
more of the attrita- than of the femia-pattern.
Apart from its contracted and abruptly, or suddenly, exca-
vated umbilicus (the result, in part, of the somewhat unnatu-
rally inflated base of its ultimate volution), the present shell is
extremely solid, acutely carinate, and lenticular, with its volutions
greatly flattened, and its surface rather powerfully granulate both
above and below. Its aperture (which is much incrassated
within) is rather angulated, or subtriangular, in outline, the
margins of its peristome being wide apart, and almost uncon-
nected by an intervening lamina. Its colour is much that of
the ' \. discina ' the surface being either fasciate or efasciate be-
neath, but obscurely marbled above with brownish and whitish
182 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
irregular transverse markings, though gradually and conspicuously
paler outside the aperture.
So far as my own experience is concerned, the present modi-
fication of the H. polymorpha is peculiar to the Pico d'Anna
Ferreira (and its immediate vicinity), a remarkably isolated
mountain of Porto Santo, to the south-west of the great central
mass ; and I may add that this is in exact accordance with the
equally repeated observations of Mr. Lowe, who first met with
it, on the Pico d'Anna Ferreira, in 1828; yet the Baron Paiva
cites it from two other mountains, as well as from the Ilheo de
Ferro. I can only add, however, that, as the Baron's material
was not collected by himself, and was consequently subject at
times to great inaccuracies as regards habitat, I must be per-
mitted to look with some amount of suspicion upon these addi-
tional localities for the ' var. v. attrita.' At any rate I have
myself paid considerable attention to the manner in which this
particular variety is (so to speak) concentrated on the Pico
d'Anna Ferreira, and have repeatedly observed that the exam-
ples which were obtained at a certain distance from the base
of the latter are gradually less and less pronounced in their
features, according to the length of the intervening area, until
they completely merge (as it has seemed to me) into the ordi-
nary ' \. discina,' the umbilicus especially (in such specimens)
being more or less intermediate between what obtains respectively
in the two types (as normally defined).
In a sub fossil condition the ' v. attrita ' has been taken
sparingly, both by Mr. Lowe and myself, on the Campo de
Baixo (which well-nigh abuts upon the base of the Pico
d'Anna Ferreira) ; but, like every other modification of the
H. polymorpha which occurs at all except in a recent state, it
is extremely scarce.
Helix tabellata.
Helix tabellata, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 116 (1852)
Pfei/., Mai. Bldtt. 90 (1852)
Id., Mon. Hel. iii. 164 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 189 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 28. t. 6. f. 19-21 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 95 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in collibus aridis maritimis, prsecipue
ad promontorium ' G-arajao ' prope Funchal, sub lapidibus gre-
garia.
This is the smallest member of the Discula section which
has hitherto been found in the Madeiran archipelago, mea-
suring only about 3 lines across its broadest part ; for although
the most reduced examples of the ' var. poromphala ' of the
MADE1RAN GROUP- 183
H. polymorpha (described by the Baron Paiva as his * H. Pittce ')
descend to a still smaller stature, the ' var. poromphala ' does
nevertheless represent, on the average, a very much larger
and more robust shell than the present one. The H. tabellata
is also thinner, or less solid in substance, than most of these
immediate forms; and I think that its specific separation
from the various races of the H. polymorpha is fully war-
ranted by the general peculiarity of its structure. 1
In the extreme flatness of its upper portion (the spire,
which is composed of only six whorls, being perfectly tabuli-
form) and the inflation of its base, causing the keel to be
ante- medial as well as prominently and very sharply expressed,
the H. tabellata has a primd facie aspect essentially its own ;
and, although somewhat fragile in substance, it is nevertheless
strongly sculptured, it being much roughened with coarse irre-
gular subconfluent palish transverse lines, and besprinkled with
large palish granulations or tubercles. Its umbilicus is small,
but abruptly and perpendicularly scooped-out (much after the
fashion of the ' var. attrita ' and the ' var. Gomesiana ' of the
H. polymorpha) ; the margins of its peristome are wide apart and
well-nigh unconnected by an intervening lamina, the lower one
moreover being subflexuose and slightly recurved ; and in colour
it is of a dingy griseous- or yellowish-white, either uni- or bi-
fasciate (or even efasciate) below, but very obscurely mottled
above with brownish and paler transverse markings, the former
of which so greatly predominate as to cause the surface to seem
at first sight to be (apart from the tubercles and lines) almost
uniformly brown.
The H. tabellata^ which appears to be peculiar to the south
of Madeira proper, was first detected, I believe, by Mr. Leacock,
on the dry maritime slopes of the Cabo Grarajao, or Brazen Head ;
and it has subsequently been met with by Mr. Lowe, myself, and
others, in the same locality. The Baron Paiva records its occur-
rence also towards the Cabo Girao, to the westward of Funchal.
Helix testudinalis.
Helix testudinalis, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 117 (1852)
1 The Baron Paiva (evidently copying a somewhat hasty remark of Mr.
Lowe's) states that the H. tabellata is intimately related to the H. maderen-
sis, Wood I ; but it is difficult to conceive any two species more utterly re-
moved from each other in all their characters, the circular and elevated
peristome of the Placentula section being sufficient even of itself to distin-
guish its members from those of the Discula group. Although widely sepa-
rated from it specifically, perhaps the nearest ally of the H. tabellata^ both in
the structure of its umbilicus and the inflation of its under-parts, is the
Porto- Sant an ' var. attrita, ' of the H. polymorpha ; but it has likewise a good
deal in common with the U. argonautula, W. et B., of the Canarian archipelago.
184 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Helix testudinalis, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 161 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 191 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 25. t. 5. f. 4-^-6 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 91 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in saxosis intermedus versus oram
borealem, prsecipue in regione Pedragal dicta, sub lapidibus.
Semifossilis in Campo de Baixo parcissime occurrit.
The H. testudinalis (which measures about 8-J lines across
its broadest part) is the largest number of the Discula section
which has hitherto been brought to light in either the Madeiran
or Canarian Groups ; and it seems to be peculiar to a certain
limited district, known as the Pedragal, in the north of Porto
Santo, where it was first detected by myself and the late Rev.
W. J. Armitage, particularly on the promontory called the Ponta
de Guilherme, in 1 848, and where it was again met with by
Mr. Lowe and myself on the 21st of April 1855. In a subfossil
condition it is extremely scarce, though to be found occasionally
on the Campo de Baixo.
Apart from its large size and open spiral umbilicus, the
present species (which is slightly shining and subpellucid, and
coloured somewhat after the manner of tortoiseshell ) may be
known by its flattened lozenge-shaped outline (the nucleus how-
ever of the spire being a little' papilliform or prominent), by its
keel being rather obtuse, and by its granules and transverse
lines being (particularly on the underside, where the former are
nearly evanescent) both fine and ininute, Its peristome, which
is recurved and internally white, has the margins wide apart and
merely connected by the thinnest possible intervening lamina ;
and its basal portion is of a clouded, or unequal, yellowish-
corneous hue, with a broad castaneous band encircling the
umbilical area, and the fragments of a second (obsolete) one
towards the keel ; whilst above, it is of a pale olivaceous brown
freckled with a few irregular cinereous transverse markings, and
ornamented with a more or less evident narrow castaneous medial
fascia which is usually traceable up the spire, an arrangement
of colouring which gives the volutions, at first sight, a very ob-
soletely subcarinated appearance about their central or dorsal
line. The ultimate whorl, which is deflected a good deal in
front, is more or Jess brightly ochreous outside the aperture.
( Tectula, Lowe.)
Helix Lyelliana.
Helix Lyelliana, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. 117 (1852)
Pfei/., Mon, Hel. iii, 161 (1853;
MADEIRAN GROUP. 185
Helix Lyelliana, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Land. 191 (1854)
Bulwerii, /?., Alb., Mai. Mad. 24. t. 4. f. 19-22 (1854)
Lyelliana, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 93 (1867)
Habitat Desertam Grandem ; in promontorio alto graminoso
occidental! <Pedragal' (aut, sec. Paiva, 'Ponta dos Castan-
heiros') dicto, sat vulgaris sub lapidibus. 'Var. /3. gigas' ad
Feijaa Grande invenitur.
A rather large and sharply keeled Helix which has been
found hitherto only on the Deserta Grande, where it was first
detected by myself and the late Bev. W. J. Armitage during
January of 1849, and where, in company with Mr. Lowe, I
again met with it in June 1855. We obtained it only on the
lofty western promontory known, I believe, as the ' Pedragal '
(but cited by the Baron Paiva as the Ponta dos Castanheiros),
where it was tolerably common on the open grassy slopes
beneath stones ; but there is a larger phasis of the shell (the
' var. /3. gigas ' of this catalogue) which was collected for us at
the time in an almost inaccessible spot further to the south, on
the eastern side of the island, called the Feijaa Grande. The
Baron Paiva, after speaking of its habitat, remarks briefly ' sub-
fossilis rarior ;' but as there is no record hitherto of a subfos-
siliferous deposit on the Central Deserta, there is a rashness
about this short observation which inclines me to suspect that
the Baron was not sufficiently accurate in his data, and that he
probably mistook some examples which were old, bleached, and
decorticated for semifossilized ones.
In their general aspect and colouring the Desertan H.
Lyelliana and the Porto-Santan H. Albersii and Bulwerii have
a good deal in common ; but I think that they are nevertheless
quite as well separated inter se, by a number of small but
constant and readily appreciable characters, as could reasonably
be expected with species which belong to the same topographical
assemblage, and which are naturally therefore allied ; and I
consequently do not agree with Dr. Albers, who professed to see
nothing about them to indicate more than races of a single type.
Of course it is quite possible to take that view; but those who
adopt it are at least bound to be consistent with their own
principles, and to apply the same synthetic treatment (which
Albers certainly has not done) to a host of other forms which
are similarly circumstanced, and the non-recognition of which
would create incalculable confusion, and render all our specific
limits a matter of mere speculation and caprice. It is true
that this method of dealing with closely related forms is at
times unmistakeably forced upon us ; but I will only add, that
the case in question is by no means analogous to that of the
numerous modifications of the H. polymorpha, most of which
186 TEST ACE A ATLANTICA.
are manifestly connected by intermediate grades, and which
belong to a type which is essentially a variable one. But no
such links have as yet been discovered between the H. Lyel-
liana, Albersii and Bulwerii (the second and third of which
moreover are associated in the same actual area, and are conse-
quently subjected to the same local influences) ; and I do not
see, therefore, that we have any right to proceed upon a mere
hypothesis (such as we practically decline to apply in so many
other instances of a similar nature) and to treat them as other-
wise than specifically distinct.
The H. Lyelliana (which measures about 7^ lines across its
broadest part) is a lenticular and strongly carinated shell, the
keel being just traceable, in the form of a slightly elevated
thread-like sutural line, up the column ; its umbilicus is rather
small but spiral; and, with the exception of a few minute
granules immediately below the keel, the surface is altogether
ungranulated. In colour it is of a pale whitish-yellow beneath,
the umbilical area being encircled by a dark castaneous band,
between which and the keel there is generally a second one (the
two however being sometimes confluent, and occasionally more
or less obsolete) ; whilst above, it is of an unequal castaneous
brown, mottled with a few irregular transverse yellowish lines
and markings (with an obscure narrow castaneous medial
fascia), and gradually paler outside the aperture, where there
is often also a clear rosy or orange tinge.
We may regard the H. Lyelliana as representing in the
Deserta Grande the Porto-Santan H. Albersii. It is, however,
on the average, a trifle smaller and more solid than that species ;
its umbilicus is narrower, and more closed-up internally ; its
surface has the transverse lines much coarser, but is free from
granulations except immediately beneath the keel; the latter is
not quite so prominent and tectiform ; its aperture is a little
more deflected in front; its base is rather more convex; its
keel is traceable as a minute thread-like line up the spire ; and
its colour is altogether clearer, brighter, and more variegated,
with the darker bands more abruptly and strongly expressed.
The ' var. /3. gigas ' of this species is not only considerably
larger (measuring nearly 9 lines across its broadest part),
but it has its keel a little more acute and prominent, though
not so traceable (or thread-like) up the spire ; its aperture is
not quite so deflexed in front ; and its volutions are 9 in
number, instead of only 8.
Helix Albersii.
Helix Albersii, Lowe, Ann. Nat Hist. ix. 117 (1852)
Bulwerii, ., Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 161 (1853)
MADEIEAN GROUP. 187
Helix Albersii, Lowe, Proc. ZooL Soc. Loud. 192 (1854)
Bulwerii, 7., Alb., Mai. Mad. 24. t. 4. f. 16-18 (1854)
Bulweriana, a., Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 95 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum ; in montibus vulgaris, una cum
H. Bulwerii saepe degens.
Although they have been generally much confused inter se,
the present Helix and the H. Bulwerii, which live in company
on the mountains of Porto Santo, are nevertheless very readily
separated when once their diagnostic features are fairly grasped ;
and as the latter (out of many hundred examples which I have
inspected) appear practically quite invariable, I scarcely see
how we can refuse to accept the conclusions arrived at by
Mr. Lowe in regarding the two as specifically distinct. At any
rate, as he has published them, and has defined their characters
with great precision, I will not undertake to suppress as a
species either the one form or the other ; and more particularly
so, since my own experience inclines me to think that they are
as easily recognizable as any two members of a topographical
assemblage can be which are closely allied.
The H. Albersii is, on the average, a little smaller and paler
in colouring than the H. Bulwerii, its under-region (which is
more convex) being of a clearer yellowish- or olivaceous-brown,
whilst the upper one is not so dark, more evidently unifasciate,
and gradually ochreous outside the aperture ; its umbilicus is a
little less cylindrical; its keel is not quite so prominent or
tectiform; its spire is not so cupola-shaped, or obtuse; its
surface is somewhat less densely granulate; and its aperture,
which is less angulate in the middle and has the upper margin
of the peristome more curved, is appreciably deflected (instead
of being quite horizontal) in front. The entire shell, too, is a
trifle more solid, or less fragile. Its distinctions from the De-
sertan H. Lyelliana have already been pointed out.
It is chiefly on the higher mountain-slopes of Porto Santo
that the H. Albersii and Bulwerii are to be met with ; and
although they are pretty general at a tolerable altitude, I have
usually observed them in greater profusion on the ascent of the
Pico do Facho than elsewhere, a district in which they were
obtained in large numbers by Mr. Lowe and myself during
April and May of 1855.
Helix Bulwerii.
Helix Bulwerii, Wood, Suppl. t. 8. f. 82 (1828)
Bulveriana, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 44. t. 5.
f. 11 (1831)
Bulweriana, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel i. 208 (1848)
188 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Helix Bulwerii, Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 161 (1853)
Bulveriana, Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 192 (1854)
Bulwerii, Alb., Mai. Mad. 24. t. 4. f. 12-15 (1854)
Bulweriana (pars), Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 94 (1867 )
rota, Lowe, olim, in litt.
Habitat Portum Sanctum; in montibus una cum specie
prsecedenti degens. Semifossilis parcissime collegi.
As already mentioned, the H. Bulwerii is essentially a
Porto- Santan species, occurring on the mountain-slopes of a
rather high elevation, often in company with the H. Albersii.
In a subfossil condition it is extremely scarce, though I have
taken it out of the sandy, or muddy, deposit of a sea-cliff below
the Pico dos Maparicos, to the westward of the Villa.
The H. Bulwerii (the specific title of which appears to have
fc^en unwarrantably altered by Mr. Lowe, in 1831, into ' Bul-
veriana''} is, on the average, a trifle larger than the H. Albersii;
and it is also a little less solid in substance, and of a darker
hue, it being browner, or more castaneous, both above and
below, though the whorls have their single medial band obsolete,
and the ultimate one (which is more strongly and acutely cari-
nated, and not deflected in front) is free from the pale ochreous
tinge, or dilution, behind the aperture. Its spire is more
rounded and obtuse at the apex, or dome-shaped, the volutions
being even still flatter and in a more continuous curve, an
arrangement which causes the keel to be more downwardly
inclined, and more tectiform or produced. Its entire surface
is a little more densely and evidently granulated ; its base is
somewhat flatter, with the umbilicus just perceptibly deeper
and more cylindrical ; and its aperture, which is more angulated
in the middle, has the upper margin of the peristome straighter,
or less inwardly curved.
Like the H. rotula, and indeed like so many of the Helices,
particularly in Porto Santo, the H. Bulwerii has an occasional
somewhat greenish-white, almost colourless, albino state ; but
as the same tendency to decoloration exists in so large a number
of the species, I can scarcely regard that peculiar (and, as it
were, accidental) condition as representing a distinct ' variety,'
- properly so called.
Helix tectiformis.
Helix tectiformis, Sow,, Zool. Journ. i. 57. t, 3. f. 6 (1824)
Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 45, t. 5.
f. 12 (1831)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. i. 208 (1848)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 192 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 22. t. 4. f. 4-6 (154)
MADE1RAN GROUP. 189
Helix tectiformis, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 99 (1867)
var. {3. [fasciata], cingenda* Woll.
Helix tectiformis, subvar. 2., Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.
192 (1854)
8., Paiva, 1. c. 100 (1 867)
var. 7. [subfasciata], suffuse^ Woll.
Helix tectiformis, subvar. 3., Loive, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.
192 (1854)
j3., Alb., I.e. 23. t. 4. f. 7, 8 (1854)
B. (pars), Paiva, I. c. 100 (1867)
var. . [submajor, sublenticularis, semifossilis, extincta], Ludo-
vici, Alb.
Helix Ludovici, Alb., Mai. Bldtt. 187 (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Hel. iii. 642 (1853)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 23. t. 4. f. 9-11 (1854)
tectiformis, a., Paiva, I. c. 100 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, insulamque parvam adjacent em
' Ilheo de Baixo ' dictam ; in aridis calcareis vulgaris. Semi-
fossilis (prsesertim in statu ' 8. Ludovici ') copiosissime in-
venitur.
The H. tectiformis, which is peculiar to Porto Santo and
the adjoining islets, is one of the most singular, though at the
same time most variable, land-shells of the Madeiran archi-
pelago ; and common as it is on the low calcareous slopes and
dry sandy plains of that island, as well as on the adjacent rock
of the Ilheo de Baixo, it appears to have been even more
abundant still at a former period, it being one of the uni-
versal species in all the subfossiliferous deposits. On the Campo
de Baixo and at the Zimbral d'Areia it swarms in a subfossil
condition (particularly under a slightly larger and more lenti-
cular aspect which was described by Dr. Albers, under the title
of H 9 Ludovici, as specifically distinct), where it would seem
to take the place of the equally anomalous H. delphinula of
Madeira proper, which is almost as plentiful in the beds near
Cani^al as the H. tectiformis is in those of Porto Santo.
In its normal state the present Helix (which measures from
about 7 to 8 lines across its broadest part) is so completely
white, bleached, and colourless that it sometimes is not easy to
tell at first sight whether the examples are living or subfossi-
lized. But it is liable occasionally to be tinged with a livid-
or leaden-brown hue, the result of two (generally indistinct)
fasciae below, and one above. When these bands are tolerably
denned, the individuals represent the c var. /3. cingenda ' of this
catalogue ; but when they are suffused (the basal ones being
entirely confluent), so as to obscure the greater part of the
surface, the ' var. 7. suffusa ' is indicated.
190 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
In its obtuse, cupola^ or dome-shaped upper portion, and its
downwardly-produced tectiform keel, as well as in its ultimate
volution having no tendency to be deflected at the aperture, the
present shell has very much in common with the H. Bulwerii.
Nevertheless it is (on the average) a trifle smaller than that
species, its roof-like keel is broader and even still more ex-
pressed, its umbilicus is a little more suddenly and perpendicu-
larly scooped-out, its granulations (particularly beneath) are,
although extremely variable, very much coarser, and its colour
is altogether different, it being either of a bleached calcareous
white, or else (though much more rarely) more or less suffused
with a pale livid brown. Its granulations, although so incon-
stant as regards their size and development, have a curious ten-
dency (at any rate at the base) to be split-up, each of them,
into several compartments, by minute intersecting lines, so
that in examples where they are largely expressed and elongated,
each one has somewhat the appearance of a bundle, or fascicle,
of smaller ones placed side by side (like the closed-up club of a
Coleopterous Lamellicorn antenna).
The ' var. S.' of the present enumeration, which was enun-
ciated by Dr. Albers, under the name of H. Ludovici, as
specifically distinct, is merely a rather larger and more flattened
(or lenticular) phasis of the shell, with generally a more open
umbilicus, which appears (so far at least as I have been able to
ascertain) to have died out; for although it possesses several
small features of its own which will suffice usually to separate
it at first sight from the ordinary type, it nevertheless merges
so gradually and completely into the latter that I am satisfied
it cannot be upheld as more than a modification, or race, which
may formerly perhaps have represented the normal aspect of
the species. In its most exaggerated state (under which cir-
cumstances it measures about 9 lines across its broadest part) it
is not only somewhat larger and more depressed than the one
which is now so abundant, but it has its keel a trifle less roof-
like or pronounced, and its basal region appreciably more
inflated or convex. The volutions, too, of its somewhat less
cupola-shaped spire are not quite so decidedly flattened, having
a tendency to be a little gibbose or convex behind the suture ;
but many of the examples now before me possess these various
characters so doubtfully that it is impossible to decide whether
they pertain to the ' 8. Ludovici ' or not.
( Craspedaria, Lowe.)
Helix delphinula,
' Delphinula sulcata, Lam. ? ' Bowdich, Exc. in Mad. 1 40.
f. 33. a, b. (1825)
MADEIRAN GROUP. 191
Helix Delphinula, Lowe, Cambr. Phil. S. Trans, iv. 64
[note] (1831)
Id., Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Id., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 193 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 80. t. 17. f. 1, 2
(1854)
Pawa, Mon. Moll. Mad. 66 (1867)
Habitat Maderam, semifossilis ; in arenis calcareis juxta
Canipal vulgaris, hodie recens hactenus baud observata.
Of all the subfossil Helices of tbe archipelago, the some-
what large and singular H. delphinula (which measures from
about 9 to 1 1 lines across its broadest part, and which is pecu-
liar to the calcareous deposits near Canical) is by far the most
remarkable one which has not yet been discovered in a recent
condition. It is not unlikely however that more careful re-
searches in some of the less-known ravines towards the north-
east of the island may still establish it as a member of the
present fauna, just as the equally wonderful //. delphinuloides,
which had escaped the united observations of so many natu-
ralists through more than half a century, was detected so lately
as in 1860, by Mr. Lowe, at the edges of the new Levada which
has opened-out a previously unexplored district in the Bibeira
do Fayal. That it must have been once extremely common is
evident from the great abundance in which it now exists in the
sandy, subfossiliferous beds near Canipal, where it may be
said, perhaps, to take the place in Madeira proper of the
nevertheless very dissimilar (though in some respects analo-
gous) H. tectiformis of Porto Santo.
From only subfossil specimens it is not easy to say what the
exact colour of the H. delphinula may have been when in a
living state; but judging from the analogy of the H. tecti-
formis, as well as of the H. delphinuloides and of the various
other members of the section Coronaria, we may be well-nigh
certain that it was either a calcareous-white or nearly so. But,
apart from all considerations of hue, the H. delphinula (which
has something in common with the H. turcica, Chemn., from
Morocco) may be known by its somewhat lenticular outline,
but nevertheless cu>oa-shaped, extremely obtuse spire ; by its
horizontally-expanded, more or less foliaceous, tectiform keel
(which is traceable up the majority of the whorls, overlapping
the suture like a narrow plate); and by its enormous but abruptly
scooped-out umbilicus, which is not only spirally visible to the
extreme apex, but has its sides coarsely sculptured with con-
centric spiral costse (decussated by irregular, undulating, lighter
transverse ones) similar to those which roughen the entire
inferior surface (except the lamina-like keel) of the basal volu-
192 TESTACEA ATLANT1CA.
tion. Its aperture, which is suddenly and greatly deflected, is
most peculiar, being externally angulated at the keel, and
produced into a sharp beak-shaped process, whilst the peristome
is much developed and continuous, being considerably raised
above (or, rather, as it were, hung down below) the ultimate
whorl, with the basal margin conspicuously reflexed. The
sculpture of the upper portion of the shell is very much finer
and lighter; but there are evident traces (in the specimens
which are better preserved) of minute spiral ridges, crossed by
exceedingly indistinct, irregular, and still finer transverse lines,
though other examples have a more coarse and malleated ap-
pearance.
The 'var. B. planospira' is merely a little larger and
flatter than the ordinary type (the spire being less elevated),
with the umbilicus somewhat more gradually (or less perpen-
dicularly) scooped-out, and with the sculpture on the upper
side rather finer.
( Coronaria, Lowe.)
Helix delphinuloides.
Helix delphinuloides, Lowe, Ann. Nat. ffist. vi. 44. pi. 3.
f. 1-3 (I860)
Pf&ff; Mai. Bldtt. xi. 54. t. 2.
f. 14-16 (1864)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 67. t. 1.
f. 1 (1867)
Habitat Maderam ; in Eibeira do Fayal, ad alt. circa 4000'
s.m., ad terram inter gramina et herbas latitans, a Eevdo. E. T.
Lowe, A.D. 1860, copiose reperta.
This is not only one of the most anomalous of the Madeiran
Helices, but by far the most remarkable one which has been
brought to light of late years, it having been discovered, by
Mr. Lowe, so recently as in 1860. It was at an elevation of
about 4000 feet, in the Eibeira do Fayal, that Mr. Lowe met
with it, and moreover in considerable abundance, ' on the sur-
face of the somewhat moist, loose, friable, black vegetable
mould, amongst tufts of grasses, ferns, &c., on a steep, dry,
sunny bank clothed with shrubs of Vaccinium and Heath, and
mixed with a few scattered trees of Laurus, at the foot of per-
pendicular crags, along the new Levada called the Levada da
Fajaa dos Vinhaticos.'
The H. delphinuloides (which measures about 8 lines across
its broadest part) is almost exactly intermediate between Mr.
Lowe's sections Craspedaria and Coronaria, so that it might
with nearly equal propriety be assigned to either of them ; yet
although its very much larger size than any of the members
MADE1RAN GROUP. K3
hitherto detected of the latter -, in combination with its enormous
umbilicus, might seem to render it desirable to refer it to the
former, I nevertheless believe that its true affinities are with the
Coronaria group. At the same time it has very much in com-
mon, also, with the remarkable H. delphinula (the onl} r expo-
nent hitherto detected of the section Craspedaria) ; and it is
singular that while that species abounds in a subfossil condition
near Canical, and has not yet been discovered anywhere alive,
there are, on the other hand, no traces whatever of the H. del-
phinuloides occurring subfossilized.
The present extraordinary shell is rather thin and fragile in
substance, extremely roughened, perfectly opake, and of a
uniform dull pale-brownish flesh-colour varying into a chalky
white. It is flattened, rounded, and planorbiforrn, with its
spire greatly depressed, its umbilicus excessively wide and open
(being visible spirally to the very apex), with its aperture much
deflected, and with its peristome acute, broadly developed, con-
tinuous, circular, elevated, and considerably recurved ; and
although there is a raised dorsal ridge, which is very conspi-
cuous on the basal volution, it has no angular keel (properly so
called).
The sculpture of this curious Helix is very complicated, and
not easily to be described : but the upper edge of each whorl is
roughened with a series of short, equidistant, transverse ribs,
radiating from the suture and extending about a third of the
distance across : beneath which there are a few spiral costae
(crossed, or cancellated, by a few finer, remote transverse ones
which are a prolongation of the abbreviated basal ribs), which
however do not usually fill-up the entire remaining space, but
which leave the posterior zone of each volution more or less free
and concave. On the ultimate whorl these spiral costas, above
the dorsal line, are for the most part only about two in number,
the hinder one being the more prominent and constituting a
kind of medial thread-like keel ; whilst beneath, the spiral ribs
are not only more numerous, but become narrower and more
elevated as they approach the umbilicus, the sides of which
they completely crowd, as in the H. delphinula. Like the
upper series, these lower spiral ridges are crossed, or decussated,
by smaller radiating transverse ones ; and, in addition to all
this, there are more or less evident indications on the upper
side (at any rate on the basal whorl) of some very oblique and
irregular waved lines or subconfluent impressions.
Helix coronata,
Helix coronata, Desh., in Per. Hist. i. 71. t. 69. k. f. 1-4.
juliformis, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
194 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
Helix coronata, Pfei/., Mon. Hel. iii. 146 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Loud. 194 (1854)
Alb., Mai. Mad. 35. t. 8. f. 31-34 (1854)
Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 65 (1867)
Habitat Portum Sanctum, et (sec. Paiva) ins. parvam adja-
centem 'Ilheo de Cima;' recens a meipso in cacumine extreme
orientali 'Pico de Baixo' dicto, A.D. 1848, detecta. Semifossilis
ubique (in Portu Sancto) copiosissime reperitur.
Although not differing much from them in breadth, the
H. coronata (which measures scarcely 3 lines across its widest
part) is the smallest of the six members of the section Coro-
naria which have hitherto been detected ; and although it is
a most abundant species in nearly every subfossiliferous deposit
of Porto Santo (to which island, and the Ilheo de Cima, it is
peculiar), it was not until 1848 that it was ascertained to
belong to the present fauna, it having been found by myself,
during that year, in a living state, on the north-east side of the
extreme summit of the eastern- peak (opposite to the Ilheo de
Cima) known as the Pico de Baixo. I obtained it, in that
particular spot, in profusion, beneath slabs of stone and at a
considerable depth underground, the specimens adhering to-
gether in clusters ; and the Baron Paiva states that examples
were sent to him in 1863, as having come from the Ilheo de
Cima, which, topographically considered, is a sufficiently pro-
bable habitat. 1
The H. coronata is a rounded, flattened, sublenticular little
shell, solid in substance, but nevertheless (when in a living
state) rather shining (which is peculiar for the present section)
aid subhyaline', it is also strongly though sparingly sculptured
(or embossed), and either of a very pale whitish horny-brown or
else of an undiluted clear white. Its umbilicus is rather large
and spiral ; its aperture (which is constricted behind, and very
suddenly deflexed) is small, sinuate, distorted, and subtrian-
gular, the base of the triangle, or outer lip, being armed
internally with a thick, powerful, obtuse tooth ; and its peri-
stome is acute and continuous, and a good deal developed.
1 Although I have admitted the Ilheo de Cima, on the authority of the
Baron Paiva, as a locality for this species, I really cannot, without further
and better evidence, cite its occurrence, as he has done, in the subfossiliferous
deposits of Madeira proper, for no other naturalist has reported it beyond
the limits of Porto Santo, and the extreme inaccuracy as regards habitat of
the Baron's material, which was almost invariably brought to him by paid
collectors sent out from Funchal, and which was sometimes (as I have proved
to a demonstration) indiscriminately mixed up afterwards even by himself,
renders it more than likely that some of his Porto- Santan examples had be-
come accidentally transposed (as was so often the case in other instances)
into his Madeiran boxes. At any rate I feel that it is better to omit it from
the Madeiran list than run the risk of perpetuating what might possibly be,
and probably is, a serious topographical blunder.
MADE1RAN GROUP. 195
The sculpture of the H. coronata, although sufficiently ela-
borate, is somewhat less complex than that of either the //. del-
phinuloides or of the following four species. The keel, however,
is perhaps more pronounced than in any of them, consisting
as it does, of a single, prominent, compressed, thread-like line,
simple (or undentate) ; but there is a series of large, greatly
raised, subconfluent nodules (or, in reality, oblique, centrally-
elevated ribs), forming a kind of chain, in the middle of each
volution on the upper side, which gradually becomes evanes-
cent as it approaches the nucleus, occasioning the anterior
and posterior zones of each whorl to be as it were sunk (along
with the suture) into a groove, aud causing the keel of the
ultimate volution to be more shaped-out and prominent than it
would otherwise have been. 1 These abbreviated, tubercle-
shaped ribs are continued on the under side (i.e. beneath the
keel), in the form of waved or undulating concentric ridges, up
to the umbilicus, and even within it ; and between them very
minute spiral superficial lines (or line-like markings) can just
be traced beneath a high magnifying power, as though to
proclaim its affinity with the other, immediately allied forms.
Helix coronula.
Helix coronula, Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. ix. (1852)
Pfeiff., Mon. Eel. iii. 146 (1853)
Lowe, Proc. Zool Soc. Lond. 194 (1854)
., Alb., Mai. Mad. 81. t. 17. f. 5-7 (1854)
(pars), Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 63 (1867)
Habitat Desertam Australem, semifossilis ; recens hactenus
haud inventa.
The H. coronula was, I believe, first detected by Mr.
Leacock, in a subfossil condition, on the extreme summit of the
Southern Deserta (or Bugio), a locality in which it was sub-
sequently met with, in abundance, by Mr. Lowe and myself, in
June of 1855 ; and it has since been obtained from the same
spot by the Baron Paiva. It is wrongly said by the 'latter to
have been found by Senhor J. M. Moniz, in a recent state, on
the Deserta Grande, the species which was discovered by
Moniz being in reality altogether distinct. 2
1 The somewliat angular termination behind of this central chain-like pro-
jection of the lower whorls, which (by creating a depression, or groove, be-
neath it) causes the true keel to be strongly shaped-out, was mistaken by
Mr. Lowe (both in the present species and in the //. coronula') for a second or
' upper ' keel ; but a very slight examination will shew that it has, in reality,
nothing to do with the keel (properly so called) at all.
2 Apart from his mistake concerning the H. Grabhami (pointed out below),
the Baron Paiva has strangely mixed up not only the characters but also thd
o 2
196 TESTACEA ATLANT1CA.
The H. coronula (which is a little larger than the coronata,
Desh., measuring fully 3 lines, or a trifle more, across its
broadest part) is a round, depressed, and somewhat lozenge-
shaped shell, the anterior half of each volution, although sculp-
tured with coarse abbreviated radiating ribs, being horizontally
flattened. This horizontality of the anterior zone of each whorl
causes the line of transverse radiating ribs (which are abruptly
terminated behind) to shape out a kind of medial dentate keel
which is traceable up the spire, and which is very prominent on
the basal volution. Nevertheless it is not the true keel, which
latter is represented by a string-like, irregularly-dentate dorsal
line beloiv this great central ridge-like prominence, and which
is visible well-nigh up to the nucleus, in the shape of a jagged
or lacerated narrow lamella almost overlapping the suture. The
umbilicus of the H. coronula is wide, open, and spiral ; and
the entire basal region (including the umbilical wall) is most
beautifully and sharply sculptured with large spiral costse,
which are crossed, or decussated, by less elevated transverse
radiating ones. The aperture (which is constricted behind) is
considerably larger and less triangular than that of the Porto-
Santan H. coronata, and (as in the H. Grabhami, Moniziana,
and tiarella) destitute of an internal tooth.
Helix Grabhami, n. sp.
T. fulvo-lactea, latissime et perspective umbilicata, sub-
depresso-trochiformis, solidula, opaca, bicarinata, subtus spira-
liter costata et obsoletius transversim decussata ; spira subcon-
vexa ; anfractibus 7-7-J, antice costis magnis obtusissimis trans-
versis remotis radiantibus subalbidis, a sutura usque ad (aut
ultra) medium continuatis et ibidem abrupte terminatis (cari-
nam superiorem undulatam exstantem efficientibus), elegant-
issime instructis, carina propria distincta, sed vix dentata aut
lacerata, fere ad nucleum (ad suturam applicata) conspicua ;
umbilico magno, aperto, pervio, profundo ; apertura angulatim
habitats ot this Helix and his nearly allied one taken (in a living condition)
in the east of Madeira proper, and which he described ultimately under the
name of H. Moniziana. This latter was regarded by Mr. Lowe (evidently
without much consideration) as the recent state of the South- Desertan sub-
fossil H. coronula, and as such it was published by him in 1862 ; and it is
evident that the Baron wrote his diagnosis of the caronula (or had it written
for him) on the strength of this conclusion of Mr. Lowe, for his ' var. a.
minor ... ad excelsos montes septentrionales insulse Maderag, rarissima, ad
herbarum radices fere sepulta,' although wrong in its diagnostic details, is
only explicable on that hypothesis. Finding afterwards however that the
Madeiran shell was not really conspecific with the Desertan one, he seems to
have described it under the title of H. Moniziana, but at the same time to
have omitted to strike out of his original diagnosis the Madeiran habitat.
Thus a degree of confusion has been created unnecessarily which is altogether
quite unpardonable.
MADEIRAN GROUP. 197
subrotundata, postice constricta, peristomate relevato, soluto,
continue, expanse, acuto. Diam. maj. 4 ; alt. 2 tin.
Helix coronula (pars), Paiva [nee Lowe], Mon. Moll. Mad.
63(1863).
Habitat Desertam Grrandem ; ad rupes inter lichenes, ver-^
BUS borealem insulae, a cl. J. M. Moniz reperta. Species ele-
gantissima, distincta, et in honorem amici M. Grrabham, M.D.,
in ins. Maderae longe lateque Celebris, ob gratias mihi oblatas,
citata.
This new and very interesting exponent of the Coronaria-
section is due to the researches of Senhor J. M. Moniz, who
detected many examples of it (amongst lichen growing upon
the rocks) towards the northern end of the Deserta Grande ;
and it was wrongly cited by the Baron Paiva as identical with
the subfossil H. coronula, Lowe, of the Southern Deserta (or
Bugio). So long indeed as the other members of this curious
assemblage are to be regarded as specifically distinct from each
other (and they have, all, an abundance of characters by which
they may easily be recognized), it would be the height of
inconsistency to single out any one of them as a local phasis or
variety, whilst acknowledging the claims of the rest to be
treated as species ; and, in point of fact, if the H. Grabhami is
to be looked upon as a modification of some cognate form,
there is quite as much reason for assigning it to the H. tiarella
of Madeira proper as there is to the South-Desertan H. GOTO-
nula, for, both in outline and sculpture, it is as nearly as
possible midway between the two. I am satisfied therefore
that they must, all of them, be either accepted as species, or
else as insular modifications of a single plastic type ; and I
imagine that there are few monographers, if indeed any, who
would be prepared to endorse the latter somewhat wild (and, as
it seems to me, utterly untenable) hypothesis.
By the Baron Paiva a vast amount of unnecessary confusion
has been created by the rash manner in which he has mixed up
the features and habitats of these immediately-allied Helices ;
for not only has he registered the one which we are now dis-
cussing as coincident with the (apparently extinct) H. coronula
of the Southern Deserta, but he seems also to have recorded
originally the species from the south-east of Madeira proper
which he subsequently described under the title of H. Moni-
ziana as a small variety of the coronula (from which however
it is totally distinct). But, bad as it is, this unfortunately is
not all ; for, having treated it as such in his original manu-
script, he nevertheless omitted to strike it out as a variety of
the coronula after that he had made up his mind that it was a
198 TEST ACE A ATLANTIC A.
separate species and had enunciated it accordingly ! The
consequence of which is, that the H. Moniziana figures in his
monograph both as a distinct species and as a variety of the
H. coronula!
As regards the shell, however, from the Great Deserta, with
which alone we are now concerned, I may add that it is, on the
average, larger than the subfossil H. coronula of the southern
island (indeed it is the largest, with the exception of the com-
paratively gigantic H. delphinuloides, of the six representatives
of the Corona,ria-group which have hitherto been brought to
light), with its spire very much more conical (or less flattened),
and its umbilicus even wider still (or more open). Moreover it
has from 7 to 7^ whorls (instead of only from 5 to 6) ; the
anterior zone of each volution (which is embossed by the
coarse, broad, abbreviated, radiating, transverse, whitish ribs) is
more tilted, as in the H. tiarella, or very much less horizontal ;
and its true keel (below the extra, medial one, formed by the
abrupt termination of the wide ridge-like prominences), which
is traceable up the spire and well-nigh overlaps the suture, is
conspicuously less lacerated or dentate.
Feeling confident that it cannot properly be assigned to the
subfossilized H. coronula of the Bugio, any more than it can to
the H. tiarella or the H. Moniziana (both of which are recent,
and occur in Madeira proper), I have had much pleasure in
dedicating the Great-Desertan shell to my friend Dr. Grabham
of Funchal, whose well-known attainments in so many
branches of physical science have rendered his name a house-
hold word amongst the numerous class of visitors who have
formed, at intervals, a temporary home, during the past fifteen
or sixteen years, in the central island of the Group.
Helix Moniziana.
Helix coronula [recens], Lowe, Ann. Nat. Hist. (August)
(1862)
a. minor, Paiva, Mon. Moll. Mad. 64
(1867)
Moniziana, Id., L c. 64. t. 2. f, 1 (1867)
Habitat Mad 
