THE NAUTILUS A QUARTERLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF CONCHOLOGISTS VOL. 70 JULY, 1956 to APRIL, 1957 EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS HENRY A. PILSBRY Carator of the Department of Mollusks and Marine Invertebrates, Academy of Natural Sciences H. BURRINGTON BAKER Professor of Zoology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia. Pa. LANCASTER PRESS, INC., LANCASTER, PA. CONTENTS Names of new genera and species in italics. Achatina control 65, 71 Alaska 4 American Malacological Union meeting' 70 Arctic 4 Associations and land snails 60, 102 Argentina 127 Atlantic, eastern 49 western 12, 37, 48, 73, 84, 88, 90, 96, 106, 113, 123 Austrodiscus, for Araucania (Endodontidae) 131 Baker, F. C, type shells of 21 Bolivia 127 Brazil 127 California, marines 10, 49, 53, 108 Canada 120 Cenozoic 89, 108 Chile 127 Cinctura Hollister, subgenus of Fasciolaria 76 Cistula vs. Parachondria 30 Color patterns in Tapes semidecussata 53 Crampton, Henry Edward 31 Crepidula fornicata, host of Odostomia 96 Cuba 1 Cuna dalli 123 Cuttlebones 106 Cypraea, subgenus Micracypraea 88 Dates of Nautilus 34 Demidoff, Museum 35 Discus brunsoni 16 Dranga, Theodore Thomas 138 Easter Island Ill Endodontidae, Austrodiscus -. 131 Familial names of land operculates 28 Families of Pulmonata 34, 141 Fargo, William G 140 Fasciolaria distans, lilium and hunteri 73 Fasciolaria lilium tortugana Hollister 79 Fasciolaria, subgenus Cinctura 76 7245Si iv THE NAUTILUS [Vol. 70 (4) Florida, inland 142 marines 73, 84, 88, 123 Gonaxis introduction 65, 72 Glycymeridae 48 Haasodonta McMichael, genus of Unionidae 47 Haliotis ruf escens 109 Haplotrema vancouverense 121 Hawaii 71 Helisoma anceps, mutation 125 Hydridellinae, subfamily of Mutelidae 42 Helix aspersa in Hawaii 71 Jamaica 3 Leiovirgus guppyi aipianus McMichael 44 Lunatia heros, natural control 37 McGinty, Paul P 105 Melampus bidentatus, life history 90 Melongena corona, predator 84 Mexico 97 Montana 16, 121 Muracypraea Woodring, subgenus of Cypraea 88 Mutelidae, subfamily Hydridellinae 42 Mya, predator of 37 Nassa delosi 108 Nassarius trivittatus eats snail eggs 37 New Guinea 38 New Jersey 135 New York 117 Notice to subscribers (3) iii Odostomia seminuda 96 Operculates, familial names of land 28 Oysters, predation on 84 Pacific, eastern 10, 49, 53, 89, 108, 109, 111 western 12, 49, 53, 88 Parachondria vs. Cistula 30 Paraguay 127 Peru 107 Philomycus carolinianus togatus + collinus 16 Predators 2, 37, 65, 71, 84, 96 Publications received 36, (2) iii, 143 St. Petersburg shell club 107 South Carolina 108 Thaumastus conspicuus 107 Troschel's Gebiss der Schnecken 136 Tucetona siihtilis Nicol 51 Type shells of F. C. Baker 21 Unionidae, genus Haasodonta 47 April, 1957] the nautilus v Uruguay , 127 Valvata tricarinata, variation 13 Variation in color patterns 53 Virginia 15, 60, 102 Virgin Islands 69, 113 Vitrina limpida, ecology 116 Wilkins, Guy L 141 Xylophaga washingtona 10 Zachrysia provisoria 142 INDEX TO AUTHORS Baker, H. Burrington 28, 34, 141 Baker (Pilsbry &) 141 Brunson, Royal Bruce 16 Brunson & Unda Osher 121 Burch, John B 60, 102 Chaee, E. P 108 Clarke, Arthur Haddleton, Jr 37 Clarke, R 142 Clench, William J 70 Coleman, Nellie & Ernest Klein 108 Dineen, Clarence F. (Holle &) 90 Erdman, Donald S 107 Franzen, Dorothea S 21 Freed, Sam 135 Gunter, Gordon & R. Winston Menzel 84 Hanna, G. Dallas 4 Holle, Paul A. & Clarence F. Dineen 90 Hollister, S. C 73 Hubricht, Leslie 15 Jacobson, Morris K 1 Karlin, Edward J 116 Klein, Ernest (Coleman &) 108 Kondo, Yoshio 34, 72 LaRocque, Aurele 13 Lyons, Richard B 109 McMichael, Donald F 38 Mead, Albert R 65 Menzel, R. Winston (Gunter &) 84 Michelson, Edward H 125 Moore, Donald R 123 Newell-Usticke, G. W 113 Nicol, David 48 Osher, Unda (Brunson &) 121 Palmer, Katherine V. W 35 Parodiz, J. J 127 Pilsbry, H. A 107 Pilsbry & H. B. B 141 Robertson, Robert 96, 136 Shaw, R. F 53 vi April, 1957] the nautilus vii Schwengel, Jeanne 138 Steele, Paul H Ill Teskey, Margaret C 71 Thompson, Fred G 97 Townes, George F 108 Turner, Ruth D 10 Woodrinor, W. P 88 The nautilus Vol. 70 JULY, 1956 No. 1 MALACOLOGICAL NOTES FROM WESTERN CUBA By MOREIS K. JACOBSON In 1948 (Torreia, 13, May; not 12, March, as in Revista Soc. Mai. 7 : 67) Aguayo and Jaume described two species of Cupulella, a remarkable new genus of land snails from near La Palma in Pinar del Rio Province. They provisionally placed the genus in the family Sagdidae. Subsequently in 1950 {Bev. Soc. Mai., 7: 67) on the basis of anatomical examination of living specimens, they decided to put the genus into the Achatinidae near Lyohasis. On July 22, 1953, we paid a visit to the Mogote Talavera at km. 5 to the north of the Viiiales-La Palma highway, the type locality of Cupulella doming uezi. There had been heavy rains the night before and we collected live snails in large num- bers. In a hollow at the base of a tree, we found about twenty live cupulellas and noted with some surprise that the animals were moving about carrying or, rather, dragging the compara- tively large shell behind them with the spire down and the large, hollowed basal region facing up. This is probably why the nuclear whorls in most specimens stand out whitish against the predominantly brownish cast of the shell. At home some of these snails revived and here I noted, that in the small jar where I kept them, some also seemed to carry the shell spire up. The animals did not long survive, but from what was seen, the animal can apparently move with its shell either spire up or spire down, with the latter position the one preferred. The various genera and species of Oleacinidae are the out- standing examples of predatory snails in the mogotes and sierras of western Cuba. The feeding habits of their mainland relatives, Euglandina, have frequently been observed and recorded, chiefly by Pilsbry (1907, Man. Conch., Ser. II, 19: XII— reproduced in Land Moll N. A., 2: 189, 1946) and Ingram & Henning (1942, 1 2 THE NAUTILUS [Vol. 70 (1) Zoologica: 2: 81-88), who also give a short bibliography of the subject. In these cases, the predator is described as attacking the food snail via the aperture. As far as I could find, only F. C. Baker (1903, Shells of Land and Water, p. 51) reported that Euglandina ''sometimes . . . will make a hole for itself in the shell of the victim and will eat the contents through this aperture." (loc. cit.). This habit might be of little use to EuglandinAi which, north of Mexico at least, has to contend with only two or three small operculate genera. That it definitely is the habit of the Cuban oleacinids, which probably meet with more operculate than inoperculate snails in their daily hunt for food, was demonstrated in San Vicente. There, in the well- known Ensenada del Balneario on July 15, 1953, I collected a specimen of Oleacina oleacea straminea (Deshayes) tightly fixed to the base of a Rhytidothyra MMiata rosacea Torre and Bartsch. Upon separating the snails, I found that the Oleacina had apparently scraped an irregular hole about one millimeter in diameter at the base of the body whorl near the aperture. The operculum of the Rhytidothyra was fixed in place, but soon dropped off, indicating that the predator had not only killed but had also eaten the food snail through this hole. The hole is very different from the countersunk hole that is left in its victims by the marine snail Natica, but the irregular edge has a border of a thinned area of shell matter where the outer layers had been scraped away. This hole, which we later found in many dead and bleached shells, may be taken for the result of the natural weathering of dead shells, but the thinned margin betrays its true origin. This Oleacina-produced hole is quite unlike that reported in some land shells of Yucatan by Harry (Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. U. Mich., 524, p. 27, 1950). While collecting Viana regina (Morelet) in the areas of Viiiales, San Vicente, Luis Lazo and La Palma — which here is one of the commonest species although appearing in many dif- ferent sizes, colorations and types of surface sculpture — we were struck by a thin vermillion-reddish deposit on the posterior por- tion of the aperture, just where the glazed columellar callus borders on the rest of the body whorl. This deposit did not appear on all specimens, but enough seem to have it to make it quite noticeable. It is a surface deposit and can be removed by July, 1956] THE NAUTILUS 3 a little rubbing. The deposit is irregular in outline and varied in size, and sometimes appears in blotches even on the outer surface of the operculum. Chemical investigation might help give a clue to its origin and significance, if any. The land shell genus Proserpina occurs in Jamaica and Cuba. In Thiele {Handb. Weichtierk. p. 90) the genus is divided into two sections, apparently on the presence or absence of apertural lamellae. Proserpina s.s. is restricted to Jamaica. When I collected Proserpina nitida Sowerby at Quickstep in Trelawney Parish in July 1949, I noticed that when the snail was active, its mantle completely covered its shell, much like the marine Cypraeidae, so that the shell was quite invisible. As I recall — my notes were mislaid — P. nitida has a yellow-greenish mantle heavily speckled with dark spots.^ But when I collected Proserpina (Despaenella) depressa d'Orbigny in the Ensenada Miranda at the base of El Queque in Vinales, I found no spec- imen using its mantle in that manner. Apparently this feature, provided that my observations can be corroborated, is more deserving of diagnostic status than the absence or presence of lamellae. In 1950 {Rev. Soc. Mai., 7 : 70) Aguayo described and named a new subspecies, Cepolis (Eicrycampta) honplandi pinarensis, and stated that its limits of distribution are comprised by Vinales and Consolacion del Norte southwest to Luis Lazo. However, we have it also from the following localities, all well to the west of Luis Lazo and all representing an extension of range: Mogote de Punta de la Sierra, the mogotes between Teneria and La Muralla on the road to Guane, and finally at the Cueva Oscura of Los Portales. The last named is about 14 miles southwest of Luis Lazo. All told, the subspecies pinarensis, as we now know, occupies an area about 35 miles in extent, so that this extension of range is not inconsiderable. At the Paso Real near Guane, we collected only typical honplandi. 1 See vol. 47 (4), p. 151, for animals of 4 Jamaican spp. H. B. B. 4 THE NAUTILUS [Vol. 70 (1) LAND AND FRESHWATER MOLLUSKS OF THE ARCTIC SLOPE, ALASKA * By G. DALLAS HANNA California Academy of Sciences The term '* Arctic Slope" is Alaska is usually interpreted to mean the relatively low, flat plain extending northward from the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean. This covers an area of approximately 50,000 square miles. Most of it is so level that drainage is poor; streams are sluggish; and meandering and uncounted tundra lakes, large and small, occur by the thousand. Very few are more than five or six feet deep, the usual thickness of winter ice. Vegetation is strictly Arctic with no trees and the only bushes are willows which are confined to the upper portions of the streams draining the north side of the Brooks Range. Mosses and lichens are very abundant and many beautiful flowering plants gladden the landscape. Rainfall is scant. Total precipita- tion ranges between four and eleven inches per year. Fog and overcast are prevalent in summer along the coast and ice fogs are common in winter. Summer temperatures along the coast are low and snow may fall in all months. In winter, the tem- perature usually stays in the interval - 20° F to - 30° F and in extreme cases goes as low as — 50° F at Point Barrow and — 70° F inland, as at Umiat. The ground thaws out a foot to 18 inches in summer; below this there is permafrost to depths of 800 to 1300 feet. The Arctic pack ice is never far off shore and sometimes does not leave. Usually, however, a limited amount of boat travel can be done close to shore during August and September. Flowing streams usually break up in July, and lakes and ponds become ice-free during August and September. Since 1945 there has been much activit}^ in this region. First, the Navy Department established camps in order to drill and evaluate the potentialities of Petroleum R-eserve No. 4 which covers much of the slope. In this connection, the Arctic Re- search Laboratory was started at the Point Barrow Camp by * Eeproduction in whole or part is permitted for any purpose by the United States government. These studies were aided bv a contract between the Office of Naval K^search, Department of the l^avj and the Arctic Institute of North America. July, 1956] THE NAUTILUS 5 the Office of Naval Research, and it has been in operation con- tinuously ever since. A great many investigators have made this their headquarters for studying a multitude of Arctic problems. Although many of these projects have pertained to studies of the fauna and flora of the tundra and freshwater lakes, little or no attempt has been made to find mollusks. In 1881-1883, an International Polar Expedition (1) estab- lished a station at Point Barrov^ under the command of Lieut. P. H. Ray, Signal Officer, U. S. Army. The naturalist on the expedition was John Murdoch, a very industrious collector. Dall (2) gave a preliminary list of the mollusks obtained and among these there were recorded three land shells: ^^Cochlicopa luhrica Muller, Zonites (Conuhis) Stearnsii Bland and Zonites {Hya- Una) radiatula Alder." The records were repeated in the com- plete report of the expedition (1). These shells had previously been considered by Lehnert (3) under the names '^Cionella suh- cylindrica, Hyalina arctica and Hyalina pellucida," respectively. Dall (4) later used the names ''Cochlicopa luhrica, Vitrea radia^ tula and Prist oloma (?) arctica" for the same records. The species are currently called: '^Cionella luhrica (Muller) Pris- t oloma arcticum (Lehnert), and Retinella electrina (Gould)" by Pilsbry (5, pp. 1047, 401 & 256). Dall stated (1, p. 178) that these three species were recovered by Lehnert from mosses used by the Expedition personnel for packing other articles. The latter included in his account of the shells, a list of the plants. This list would be interesting to check with modern collections, because during the summers of 1954 and 1955 I collected many batches of the local tundra moss and screened it in an unsuccessful effort to find any of the species listed. The area searched was not only in the vicinity of the site of the 1881-1883 Polar station, but at places as far as 40 miles away. Although this effort was disappointing, other investigators, who had an opportunity to work over a much wider area, suc- ceeded in finding several species. Their names appear below, and to them I am very grateful. Only two species of land shells were found. SucciNEA STRiGATA Pfciffer. Plate 1, fig. 6. This widely distributed northern species has often been called S. chrysis Westerlund, but Pilsbry (5, pp. 810-814, figs. 438, 6 THE NAUTILUS [Vol. 70 (1) 439) indicated that the American shells should be united with the ones Pfeiffer described from Port Clarence, Siberia, in 1855. It was collected on the Arctic slope of Alaska in 1955 at the following localities : Half Moon Three Ranch between Admiralty Bay and Techepuk Lake, August 20, 1955 (Fr. John Ostdiek!). Ocean Point, on the Colville River, August 8, 1955 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). Three miles up the Colville River from the mouth of Kiligwa River, June 23, 1955 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson ! ) . At the junction of the Itkillik and Colville Rivers, August 9, 1955 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson ! ) . Deroceras laeve (Miiller). This small, almost black slug is widely distributed in North America. It lives from the extreme Arctic to Central America. For many years, the Alaska records were under the name ^ ' Agriolimax hyperhoreus (Westerlund)," but Pilsbry (5, pp. 539-552), in an excellent analysis of available information, con- sidered European and American material to be the same. Fr. John Ostdiek collected a specimen at Half Moon Three Ranch, between Admiralty Bay and Techepuk Lake, August 20, 1955, and Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson found four specimens beside a pond at the west end of the air strip at Umiat, July 17, 1955. Robert Usinger and Ray Smith found another at the same place, July 23, 1955. Reed and Jackson collected nine specimens, 15 miles north of the junction of Anaktuvik and Colville Rivers, July 26, 1955. Freshwater mollusks occur frequently in favorable lakes and ponds. Undoubtedly, additional collecting will supply more species than the various parties secured in 1955, which was only seven. However, these were mostly alive when found in shallow water. Dredging would probably yield more, especially if done in the lakes which do not freeze to bottom. The lake from which the Point Barrow camp gets its fresh water has a soft mud bottom and seems to be without shells. The closest place to it where any were found, is one of the pools of the beaded stream which flows into the lagoon just south of camp. Lymnaea emarginata Say. Plate 1, figs. 1, 2. This is the largest of land or freshwater shells thus far found on the Arctic slope. It is very widely distributed in northern July, 1956] THE NAUTILUS 7 North America and has received many specific names. I follow the treatment here of Bengt Hubendick (6, pp. 132-135) who combined the variants under the above name. Those shells with a high spire, deep suture, and more or less angulated last whorl were given the name randolphi by Baker. It has been well illus- trated by Dall (4, 1910, p. 71, pi. 1, figs. 3, 4). Apparently this form is found only in the northwest part of the range of the species, but in a large series, there is variation into forms exactly like those of other areas. It was collected at the following localities on the Arctic Slope in 1955: Lake near Meade River Village, July 10, (Fr. E. J. Long). Half Moon Three Rranch, between Admiralty Bay and Techepuk Lake, July 29 and August 16 (Fr. John Ostdiek!). Pond at west end of air strip at Umiat, June 16 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). Lake near junction of Kikiakrorak and Colville Rivers, August 1 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). In old oxbow of Colville River, 15 miles north of junction of Anaktuvik River, July 28 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). Tundra pond on Colville River delta, August 21 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). Junction of Itkillik and Colville Rivers, August 14 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). Colville River drift 1% miles north of Umiat, July 15 (Philip Seaber!). Kumpa River (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson ! ) . Lymnaea arctica Lea. Plate 1, fig. 3. Among the shells collected by Reed and Jackson on the Col- ville River, there is one from eight miles below Umiat which cannot be included with emarginata. It corresponds closely with Hubendick 's figure (6, 1951, p. 139, fig. 320) of a specimen from Newfoundland. Aplexa hypnorum (Linnaeus). Plate 1, fig. 4. This sinistral, glossy shell seems to be the most widely dis- tributed of the fresh water snails on the Arctic slope. It replaces Physa of more southern latitudes. In the lots collected during 1955, the size of adults ranges from 6 to 17 mm. in length. It was found in the pools of beaded streams and along the grassy margins of fresh water lakes in the near vicinity of Point Barrow and east as far as the investigators went, which was the Colville River. 8 THE NAUTILUS [Vol. 70 (1) The localities represented are as follows : Lake near Meade River Village, July 10 (Fr. E. J. Long!). Half Moon Three Ranch between Admiralty Bay and Techepuk Lake, July 29 (Frs. E. J. Long and John Ostdiek!). Fond at foot of Red Hill, Umiat, Alaska, July 16 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). Ninaluk Creek, a branch of the Colville River. Fifteen miles north of the junction of Anaktuvik and Colville Rivers, July 26 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). Pools of beaded stream which enters lagoon just south of Navy Camp, Point Barrow, August 13 (John Koranda!). First large lake south of Ikroavik Lake, about six miles south of Point Barrow (Frs. E. J. Long and John Ostdiek!). Oliktok Point, Arctic Ocean, near mouth of Colville River, Alaska, August 25 (Edward Reed and Frederick Jackson!). Physa sp. Among the shells collected by Reed and Jackson, there are several lots of young sinistral forms which seem to have a lower spire and duller surface than Aj^lexa. They resemble Physa but the state of the nomenclature of the genus is too confused to venture giving a specific name at this time. The lots were obtained as follows : Ocean Point near the mouth of the Colville River. Itkillik, Ipnavik, Kumpa and Kiliarorak Rivers. Gyraulus parvus (Say). Plate 1, figs. 5 and 7. There is some doubt attached to the naming of smaller planorbs because of lack of adequate keys. However, the Arctic slope specimens do not seem to differ significantly from those found in other parts of the north. Characters given for separation of arcticus Moller from parvus are not adequate. If the Greenland shells differ from parvus, it would be expected that ours might be the same. Reed and Jackson collected the species at the following places : At the foot of Red Hill near Umiat on the Colville River. Tundra pond 15 miles north of the junction of Anaktuvik River and Colville River. Near mouth of Anaktuvik River. Ocean Point near mouth of Colville River. Itkillik, Ipnavik and Kumpa Rivers. July, 1956] THE NAUTILUS 9 Valvata helicoidea Dall. Plate 1, fig. 9. This is a small, flattened species, well figured by Dall (4, p. 123, pi. 2, figs. 1, 2). It has been called a subspecies of lewisi. It is about the same size and color as Gyrauhis parvus, but does not have a depressed spire, and the umbilicus is narrower. The species was collected by Reed and Jackson as follows: Pond at end of air strip at Umiat on the Colville River. Ninaluk Creek, a branch of the Colville River. Ocean Point near the mouth of the Colville River. Ipnavik River. PismiUM idahoensis Roper. Plate 1, fig. 8. This name is assigned to the only freshwater bivalve thus far found on the Arctic slope. It was described from Old Mission Idaho in 1896 by Roper (Nautilus, vol. 4, p. 85) . Five specimens of that lot in the California Academy of Sciences, collected by Henry Hemphill, were labelled ''types" by him. The Arctic slope specimens do not differ from these significantly in size or other shell characters. It may be that there is an older name for the species, such as P. steenhuchii Moller from Greenland, but this is difficult to determine from published descriptions only. Reed and Jackson obtained a series of these shells in a lake near the junction of the Kikiakrorak and Colville Rivers, August 2. A small specimen, of what may be the same species, was brought up by a boat anchor in No Luck Lake in the head- waters of one of the tributaries of the Colville River during the summer of 1954 by Dr. Donald E. Vohlschlag. References 1. Ray, p. H. Rept. Internat. Polar Exp. to Point Barrow, Alaska, 1885, pp. 1-695 ; Rept. on the Mollusks by W. H. DaU, pp. 177-186, 1 pi. 2. Dall, W. H. New or specially interesting shells of the Point Barrow Expedition. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. 7, 1885, pp. 523-526. 3. Lehnert, E. Alaska Plants and Shells. Science Record [Boston, Mass.], Vol. 2, No. 8, pp. 171-172, June 16, 1884. 4. Dall, W. H. Harriman Alaska Expedition, Vol. 13, 1910, pp. 1-172, 3 pis., 118 figs. See pp. 33, 38, and 45 for records referred to. 5. PiLSBRY, H. A. Monog. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia No. 3, pt. 2, 1946, 1948. 10 THE NAUTILUS [Vol. 70 (1) 6. HuBENDiCK, Bengt. Recent Lymnaeidae. Kungl. Svenska Vet. Akad. Hand. Ser. 4, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1951. 7. LiBAREV, E. M. «fe Rammelmeyer, E. C. Land MoUuscan Fauna of the Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics. Publ. Zool. Inst. Acad. Sci. U, S. S. R., No. 43, pp. 1-511, figs. 1-420 in text, 1952. (In Russian.) 8. Jadin, V. E. Mollusks from non-marine and brackish waters of the Union of Soivet Socialistic Republics. Publ. Zool. Inst. U. S. S. R., No. 46, pp. 1-376, figs. 1-339 in text, 1952. (In Russian.) Explanation of Plate 1 Fig. 1. Lymnaea emargmata Say. Height, 22.7 mm., diameter, 14.5 mm. Fifteen miles north of junction of Anaktuvik and Colville Rivers, Alaska. 2. Lymnaea emargin