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_ WILLIAM HL DALE 


’ SECTIONAL LIBRARY 
DIVISION OF MOLLUSKs 


Unio Margarttifrer. 


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BRITISH CONCHOLOGY. 


OR AN ACCOUNT OF 


THE MOLLUSCA 


WHICH NOW INHABIT THE BRITISH ISLES AND THE 
SURROUNDING SEAS. 


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VOLUME I. 
LAND AND FRESHWATER SHELLS. 


By JOHN GWYN JEFFREYS, F.RS., F.G.S8., &c. 
“O come hither, and behold the works of the Lord!””—PsaLmM xlvi. 8. 


LONDON: 
JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW. 


MDCCCLXII. 


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TO THE MEMORY 


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MANY DISTINGUISHED NATURALISTS 


AND VALUED FRIENDS, 


WHO ARE NOW NO MORE, 


AND IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE 


KIND SYMPATHY OF 


THOSE WHO STILL HAPPILY SURVIVE, 


FROM ALL OF WHOM I HAVE RECEIVED 


MUCH ASSISTANCE 


IN THESE CONCHOLOGICAL STUDIES, 


I DEDICATE 


THE PRESENT WORK. 


AVivaue ¥ 


PREFACE, 


THE question whether another book on the British 
Mollusca is wanted by the scientific world, when there is 
at present a complete history of the subject by the late 
Professor Edward Forbes and Mr. Hanley, is answered by 
the notoriety of the fact that the price of that admirable 
work puts it beyond the reach of most naturalists ; and 
the enterprising publisher of those, as well as the present, 
volumes was so fully impressed with the necessity of 
another work at a more moderate price, that he invited 
me to undertake the task, which I fear I have inefficiently 
performed. In doing this, however, I have endeavoured 
to make the present work quite distinct from its 
predecessor, as may be seen by comparing the two; 
and those who are not fortunate enough to possess a 
copy of “A History of British Mollusca and their 
Shells,’ and who can afford the money for its purchase, 
will not regret the expenditure. 

With regard to the animals or soft parts of the 
Mollusca described in this volume, I have been greatly 


v1 PREFACE. 


indebted to the invaluable work of Moquin-Tandon, 
entitled “ Histoire naturelle des Mollusques terrestres 
et fluviatiles de France,’ in which the physiology and 
anatomy of the land and freshwater Mollusca have been 
treated in a far more able and exhaustive manner than 
had been previously done by any author. 

My old and esteemed friend, Mr. Alder, has most 
kindly promised to assist me with a notice of the Nudi- 
branchs, so as to make that part of the subject as com- 
plete as possible ; and the value of such cooperation will 
be fully appreciated by all naturalists. | 

A volume of supplementary plates will probably be 
published, to contain figures of every species and well- 
marked variety. The figures now given illustrate the 
genera; but the cost and price of the work would have 
been greatly increased by the other mode of illustration, 
except by resorting to the inartistic and unsatisfactory 
substitute of woodcuts. 

In the prosecution of this task I have been actuated 
by what I trust will not be deemed a selfish consideration. 
The study of our native Mollusca has been to me from 
childhood such an inexhaustible source of pleasant and 
innocent occupation, it has given me so many happy 
hours, and it has taken away or alleviated the sting of 
so many sorrows, that I am desirous to assist in making 
it more an object of general cultivation than it has 
hitherto been. This field of research has by no means 


been exhausted ; and whether regarded in a zoological 


- PREFACE, Vil 


or geological point of view, or as tending to increase our 
imperfect knowledge of the habits and instincts of these 
humble works of our Common Creator, very much yet 
remains to be done. No lover of nature need share in 
Alexander’s sigh, or regret that he hasno more work to 
do in any department to which he chooses to devote 
himself. ‘“ Nulla dies sine linea”? was the favourite 
maxim of the great Linné; and our days are too few for 
the accomplishment of all that we propose to do, let our 
aspirations be ever so modest. 

A few explanatory remarks as to the scope of this 
work may be here introduced. 

It was at first my intention to give, in an Intro- 
duction,-a general outline of the subject, and to treat at 
considerable length some of the principal topics which 
are more especially interesting to naturalists and geolo- 
gists. But the space which is necessarily occupied by 
the body of the work (although the synonymy has been 
compressed within the shortest limits and the descrip- 
tive characters have been printed in small type) will not 
admit of justice bemg done to this part of the subject, 
without making the volume too bulky ; and I must there- 
fore content myself with offermg in the proper place a 
few observations, so as to elicit further discussion. 

In describing the dimensions of shells, 1 have taken 
the measurements from average and adult specimens, 
dividing inches into decimal and centesimal parts ac- 


cording to the size of each species. This mode of 


vill PREFACE. 


admeasurement I have considered preferable to stating 
the largest dimensions to which each species attains, 
which would not give a fair idea of the usual size, or to 
adopting the method used by some Continental authors 
of giving the range or extreme limits of such dimensions. 
Any extraordinary difference of size presented by speci- 
mens or varieties will be noticed. In giving the ad- 
measurement of bivalve shells, I have considered the 
length to correspond with the line of growth (viz. from 
the apex or beak to the front margin), and the breadth 
from one side of each valye to the other. In the case of 
univalve shells I have adopted the same rule, viz. taking 
the line of growth for the length (the apex or point of 
the spire representing each beak of the bivalve), and the 
widest part of the shell, or its greatest diameter, for the 
breadth. 

At the end of the work I propose to give some prac- 
tical hints to collectors. 

For the benefit of such of my lady readers as have not 
added a knowledge of the classics to their other accom- 
plishments, I have marked the accentuation of all the 
names of genera and species described in this work. One 
word of frequent occurrence I have noticed to be too 
often mispronounced by many who ought to know better, 
and that is the specific name of our common eatable 
oyster, mussel, and cockle. This word (edilis) has the 
middle syllable long, as is evident by remembering one 


of the various gastronomic maxims of Catius, “Vinea 


PREFACE. ix 


submittit capreas non semper edules.” My late friend, 
the Rev. Dr. Goodall, when he was Provost of Eton, 
impressed on my memory a rule of pronunciation, which 
it may be here useful to repeat. It is, that in words 
which end in inus, and are derived from the names of 
animals, the last syllable but one is generally long (as im 
Neritina and anatinus), while in those words which have 
a similar termination, but are derived from vegetable or 
mineral names (such as Janthina and crystallinus), the 
penultimate syllable is generally short. The first are 
Latin, and the last are Greek forms. I have also 
endeavoured to render as literally as possible the 
English meaning of all generic and specific names, 
although the barbarisms are nearly as frequent in the 
nomenclature of natural history as they are in the 
materia medica. 

The way in which the name of the great Swedish 
naturalist and founder of scientific classification ought 
to be spelt has been long the subject of controversy. It 
was originally Linneus; but on his receiving a patent 
of nobility, he assumed the name of Linné. The latter 
name is given in the twelfth (and most perfect) edi- 


> and in all his subse- 


tion of the “Systema Naturee ;’ 
quent works and correspondence he always used this 
title of distinction. The learned Society which bears 
his name in this country is Linnean and not Linnean, 
as appears by their charter and Transactions. Under 
these circumstances, I have adopted the name which he 


asd 


X PREFACE. 


himself preferred, and which is prefixed to the work by 
which he is best known as a conchologist. 

A parting word to the critics! When a mere youth, 
I was encouraged by my lamented friend, Mr. Dillwyn, 
to commit to print what little I then knew of the subject 
comprised in the present volume; and my first essay, 
entitled “A Synopsis of the Testaceous Pneumono- 
branchous Mollusca of Great Britain,’ was honoured 
by the Linnean Society by publication in their Trans- 
actions. Now, in mature years, I have become still 
more bold, and venture to appeal to the public. _ But, 
although I cannot hope to be exempt from the fate of all 
authors—criticism (and indeed, for the sake of science 
and the elucidation of truth, I would rather invite it, 
instead of considering it a calamity), I cannot send forth 
this little work without a mixture of the same feeling 
of hope and doubt, which made the ancient poet thus 
apostrophize his book :— 


“ Paucis ostendi gemis, et communia laudas, 
Non ita nutritus. Fuge, quo descendere gestis : 


Non erit emisso reditus tibi.” 


25 Devonshire Place, London, 
24 May, 1862. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Geran. ) tye 


CLASSIFICATION. 

DEFINITION OF THE TERM ‘“‘CONCHOLOGY.” — CONFORMITY OF 
SHELLS WITH THEIR INHABITANTS.—CEPHALIC MOLLUSKS OR 
UNIVALVES. —- ACEPHALA OR BIVALVES. — TUNICATA. — SPE- 
CIES.— VARIETIES. — MONSTROSITIES. —- REVERSED SHELLS. — 
SYNONYMY. 


NOMENCLATURE. 


Definition of the term “ Conchology.”’—Conchology *, 
as a branch of Natural History, treats of the Mollusca 
or that great division of invertebrate animals which have 
soft bodies and an organization superior to that of 
insects and only inferior to that of fishes. It properly 
comprises the study, not only of the shell or outer cover- 
ing of the mollusk, but also of the whole animal,—al- 
though it has sometimes been used in a more limited 
sense, in contradistinction to the term “ malacology,” 
which has exclusive reference to the soft parts of the 
animal. Linné included the Mollusca in his great class 
Vermes—some of them as Vermes Mollusca and others 
as Vermes Testacea; but as the first of these divisions 
comprised a very heterogeneous assemblage of inver- 
tebrate animals, and as the testaceous Annelids were 
united with the latter, the classification proposed by him 


* Compounded of two Greek words, royxn, a shellfish, and Ndoyos, a 
treatise. 


X11 INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


has not been adopted by modern naturalists. Cuvier was 
the first to restrict the term “ Mollusca” to its present 
meaning. Nearly all the Mollusca have a shelly cover- 
ing, which protects either the whole of their bodies or 
the more important organs. Even the Nudibranchs or 
Sea-slugs, in their embryonic state, are provided with 
a unispiral shell; and the Limacide or Land-slugs 
possess a shelly plate, which is imbedded in the shield 
or mantle. The term “ Conchology ” may be therefore 
considered sufficiently appropriate to express the nature 
of this science, especially when the origial meaning of 
the word is taken into account. I do not profess to be 
conversant with the anatomy and morphology of the 
Mollusca; and I must refer those who wish to study 
this part of the subject to the admirable treatises of 
Cuvier, Milne-Edwards, Quatrefages, Troschel, Von Sie- 
bold, Vrolik, and other Continental writers, as well as to 
those of our own equally eminent countrymen, Owen, 
Gray, Huxley, and Hancock. A complete knowledge of 
the Mollusca is of course unattainable without such 
study; but I must content myself with having made 
such progress as time and opportunities have permitted. 
‘‘ Est quadam prodire tenus, si non datur ultra.” 

Conformity of shells with their inhabitants.—The im- 
portance of studying all the parts of the Mollusca is 
undeniable, and especially for the purpose of arranging 
- them in generic and higher groups ; but the distinctive 
characters afforded by the soft parts alone, which have 
been erroneously termed by some writers the “ animal,” 
cannot be much relied on in making out species. Phi- 
lippi has completely demonstrated the insufficiency of 
such characters im the case of the genus Rissoa; and a 
careful comparison of the descriptions given in the fol- 
lowing pages of our Land and Freshwater Mollusca 


Ty) INTRODUCTION. xii 


ought to satisfy any naturalist, who is inclined to con- 
sider the question in an unprejudiced spirit, that the 
body or soft parts of the mollusk, taken without re- 
ference to the shell, offers an extremely slight and 
variable criterion of specific difference. The shell of 
itself generally enables the conchologist to distinguish 
one species from another, without regard to the soft 
parts; and as the latter are seldom observable, the con- 
venience of such a mode of distinction is obvious. It 
would be rather difficult for a malacologist to describe 
any particular kind of testaceous mollusk without no- 
ticing the shell; and for the same reason a crab or sea- 
egg would not be easily recognized by the description, 
if all mention of the carapace or test were omitted. The 
shell of the mollusk may be in some respects considered 
as a pseudo-skeleton, serving not only to protect the 
soft and tender body, but also to keep the whole frame 
together, like the true skeleton of any vertebrate animal. 
There is, besides, an intimate connexion between the 
shell and the tissues of the body, which is only dissolved 
by death or violence. The shell is (to use the words of 
Mr. Searles Wood) “part and parcel of the animal itself.” 
I am aware that this opinion has been controverted by 
high authority, and especially by Dr. Gray, whose valu- 
able contributions to the science of zoology, in many of 
its branches, are familiar to all. He, at one time, dis- 
turbed the minds of geologists as well as students not a 
little, by a statement that some shells which were per- 
fectly alike were inhabited by animals so extremely 
dissimilar as to be referable to very different orders of 
Mollusca*, This statement, however, he afterwards quali- 
fied to a considerable extent by admitting that, “in the 
distinction of the larger and smaller groups of Mollusca, 
* Phil, Trans. 1834, p. 302. 


X1V INTRODUCTION. [ CH. 


the characters derived from the animal, the shell, and the 
operculum, which all have a mutual relation to each 
other, are of equal value and constancy ;” and he ob- 
served “how thoroughly they depend on each other, 
and what excellent and permanent characters they afford, 
both separately and in combination with each other*.” 
Dr. Gray seems now to be quite sensible of the value 
of conchological characters, as nearly the whole of his 
numerous genera of Mollusca have no other foundation 
than the shell. I believe that the form and structure of 
the shell will be invariably found to correspond with the 
habits and wants of the animal which produces it. The 
mechanical principles involved in the construction of 
shells, and the adaptability of these habitations to the 
uses of their builders, have been admirably explained by 
the Rev. Canon Moseley, in an essay “On the Geometri- 
cal Form of Turbinated and Discoid Shells,” which was 
published in the ‘ Philosophical Transactions’ for 1888, 
and to which I would invite the attention of my readers. 
The uniformity of the laws which are here so ably ex- 
pounded, and the correlation which exists between the 
mollusk and its shell, exhibit in no small degree the in- 
finite wisdom of the Creator of all things, thus 
oe “dimly seen 
In these thy lowest works ; yet these declare 
Thy goodness beyond thought, and power divine ! ” 

Cephalic Mollusks or Univalves.—The Mollusca may 
be considered in a general point of view as divided into 
Cephalic and Acephalous, and their shells into Univalves 
and Bivalves. The former arrangement was proposed 
by Lamarck, and the latter by his predecessor, Linné, 
who also added a third division—viz. that of Multivalves, 
which would almost be warranted by the anomalous 

* Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. Sept. 1855, p. 425. 


.] INTRODUCTION. Xv 


organization of Teredo and Chiton. All these divisions, 
however, are clearly artificial. The Cephalic or Cephalo- 
phorous Mollusks have a distinct head, and usually ten- 
tacles or horns, with eyes at their tips or base, and a 
foot or muscular disk for crawling or floating. A few of 
them have arms for swimming. Some inhabit the land, 
and others the water. The Snail, Whelk, and Cuttle- 
fish are instances of this kind of Mollusca. 

Acephala or Bivalves.— Although the bivalve Mollusca 
have no heads as a distinct part of their bodies, they are 
not deficient in those organs of outward sense which cha- 
racterize other Mollusca, and their brain is as largely 
developed. Many of them have numerous eyes for 
seeing, otolites or ear-stones for hearing, filaments for 
touching, lips for tasting, a mouth for taking in their 
food, and (according to some physiologists) also an organ 
of smell. The fry of the Oyster, Terebratula, and other 
bivalves, which, in their adult state, are permanently 
attached to other substances, swim about freely, and are 
provided with distinct eyes, which afterwards disappear. 
All the Acephala are aquatic, and respire by means of 
gills, like fishes. The Oyster, Mussel, and Cockle are 
familiar examples of this kind of Mollusca. 

Tunicata.—The Tunicata or Ascidians can scarcely 
be said to belong to the Mollusca, from which they differ, 
according to Milne-Edwards, in many essential par- 
ticulars, especially as regards their circulation and re- 
production. They appear to have a considerable affinity 
to the Polyzoa (or what are generally called “‘ Polypes”’), 
and may with them constitute the great and separate 
class of Molluscoidea. Each division of the animal 
kingdom has so many points of resemblance to others, 
and the network of organization is so closely inter- 
woven, that it would be very difficult to define any one 


Xvi INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


class by characters which others do not share in common 
with it. Mr, Alder is at present occupied with the sub- 
ject of the British Tunicata; and it will doubtless re- 
ceive from that talented and experienced naturalist the 
same elucidation as was bestowed on his celebrated 
Monograph of our native Nudibranchs, 

Species.—I now venture to offer a few remarks on a 
very difficult and perhaps insoluble problem, viz, the 
nature of species. The difficulty of this investigation is 
greater in the study of the Mollusca and other Inver- 
tebrata than in that of more highly organized animals, 
because one characteristic element, from the nature of 
their reproductive system, is here wanting or beyond the 
reach of observation, Nearly all the land Mollusca, 
the habits of which it is comparatively easy to study, 
have both sexes united in the same individual; and not 
even the aquarium will enable us to make those experi- 
ments as to the fertility or sterility of hybrids to which 
such importance is attached in the discussion of this 
question in the case of vertebrate animals, 

The forms of some shells appear to be more perma- 
nent or capable of being reproduced without any modi- 
fication than others, The Silurian Lingula, which claims 
the precedence of all Mollusca in point of antiquity, is 
said to be undistinguishable from an existing species ; 
and its mould must therefore have been continued from 
the womb of time to the present day without the slight- 
est change. The secondary strata contain many well- 
known instances of a similar persistence of form, espe- 
cially those of Terebratula caput-serpentis and some 
Foraminifera, which are considered by competent autho- 
rities not to differ from species which now live in the 
adjacent seas. A large proportion of the fossil shells 
found in the lowermost of the Pliocene strata (or 


1.] INTRODUCTION. xvi 


“ Coralline Crag ”’) are precisely similar in every respect 
to the recent shells of species which bear the same names 
and still survive; and it is impossible for the most critical 
species-maker to distinguish one from the other. Even 
their varieties and monstrosities or abnormal forms are 
still repeated. The opinion of the late Professor D’Or- 
bigny, which has been adopted by Agassiz, that all tertiary 
species became extinct, and that they are only repre- 
sented at present by analogous forms, evidently resulted 
from a preconceived theory, against which a concordance 
of fossil with recent species would have militated. 
Without, however, entering into an abstruse (and 
perhaps useless) inquiry into the origin of species, or 
how far they have been modified during any period of 
time, however vast, by external circumstances or condi- 
tions, it is undeniable that certain definite forms, called 
“species,” exist, and that they constitute more or less 
extensive groups of individuals, which resemble each 
other as well as their parents and offspring, to the same 
extent that we observe in the case of our own kind. 
These groups, to deserve the name of species, must 
be distinct from others; because if any of them are so 
intimately blended together by intermediate links as to 
make the lne of separation too critical, the test fails, and 
a subordinate group, or what is called a “variety,” is 
the result. For this reason it is indispensably necessary 
to compare as great a number of individuals as possible, 
and especially a series of different ages and sizes com- 
mencing ab ovo, as well as specimens collected from 
various localities. The study of abnormal or monstrous 
forms is also important in order to ascertain the range 
of variation in growth. By such investigations a crying 
abuse of the present school of natural history (an ex- 
cessive multiplication of species) would be avoided, 


Xvill INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


juster views would prevail as to the distmction of spe- 
cies, and the well-deserved reproach of those philo- 
sophers who are confirmed in their denial that species 
have any real existence in nature by the notorious dis- 
agreement of naturalists as to their limits would thus 
cease. There is no judge or “ arbiter specierum ;” and 
every naturalist is at perfect liberty to follow the bent 
of his own discretion or inclination in the extension or 
reduction of species, subject only to the opmion of his 
scientific compeers. He is amenable to no other autho- 
rity. Hence arises that great and continual diversity of 
opinion as to the determination of certain species among 
naturalists, whose opportunities or experience are more 
or less great, or whose minds are differently constituted— 
the nature of some being rather analytical and of others 
syuthetical. The same remark of course applies to the 
distribution of species to genera, and of these, again, 
mto families and higher groups or sections. To a cer- 
tain extent all classification is artificial and arbitrary ; 
but the necessity for some arrangement of the kind is | 
obvious, considering the immense number and variety 
of objects to which some name or symbol of distinction 
must be given for the sake of those who pursue or study 
any branch of natural history. Systems of classification 
are as indispensable to a naturalist as tools to a work- 
man. ‘This necessity of science equally applies to the 
discussion of the imteresting question as to the origin 
and mutability of species, which in the absence of such 
data could not be satisfactorily conducted. 
Varieties.—Besides species, and holding a subordinate 
rank to them in the great host of Nature’s works, are 
certain forms called “varieties,” which are not less defi- 
nite, but more difficult to separate from the typical or 
specific forms. They are offshoots of species, and origi- 


1. | INTRODUCTION. XIX 


nate in some peculiarity of climate, situation, composition 
of the soil or water which they inhabit, the nature or 
supply of food, and various other conditions. The cha- 
racters by which they usually differ from species consist 
of size, comparative proportions of different parts, colour, 
and degree of sculpture ; and the investigation of forms 
thus changed or modified is often extremely perplexing. 
Some species are more liable than others to variation ; 
and, as might be expected,:the tendency to variation is 
greater in those species which most abound in individuals, 
by reason of their offering a wider scope of observation 
to the naturalist. Varieties are of two kinds, perma- 
nent and local. The former are called “races,” and 
have many of the characters of true or typical species, 
with which they associate. Great experience and good 
faith are essential to the vestigation of this eaxperi- 
mentum crucis; and the only reliable test of distinction 
between species and races appears to be the discovery 
of intermediate forms. In the absence of such diseovery 
‘we may proceed to classify,—although after all we must 
not lose sight of the great probability that all species, 
and even higher groups, may have originally descended 
from races or permanent varieties, and these again from 
local varieties. The latter are more readily distinguished 
from species and are never found associated with them. 
I believe it may be now considered a well-established 
rule, that all distinct groups of individuals living toge- 
ther and having a common feeding-ground, and which 
are not connected or blended with each other by insen- 
sible gradations, are primd facie entitled to the rank of 
species. A coutrary opinion used formerly to be enter- 
tained by some naturalists; and it was not unusual 
to found a claim to specific distinction on the fact that 
the specimens thus distinguished did not oceur with the 


XX INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


species from which it was proposed to separate them, 
They apparently forgot that the very difference of locality 
or habitat, with its accompanying conditions, caused the 
variation in question. 

Monstrosities—These abnormal forms of shells are 
frequently repeated, and even appear to be hereditary ; 
and it is not easy at first to distinguish them from varie- 
ties. Both are probably owing to an irregularity, or an 
excessive or defective power, of secretion in the mantle 
of the animal. The monstrosity seldom, if ever, occurs 
in the first stage of growth; and the examination of the 
top whorls or apex of a univalve, or of one of the beaks 
of a bivalve (being in each case the nucleus of the shell), 
offers a good criterion to distinguish monstrosities from 
species. The normal or regular form becomes distorted 
at a subsequent stage of growth, instead of pursuing the 
usual course of formation. 

Reversed shells —Among the numerous cases of mon- 
strosity to which the Mollusca are liable, by reason of 
their comparatively simple organization, none is more 
remarkable than the reversed turn and position which the 
spire of univalve shells and the valves of some Acephala 
not unfrequently assume. The twist of the spire in 
univalves is, with a few exceptions, dextral or from left 
to right, the shell being placed with its spire towards 
the observer and its mouth downwards. If the shell is 
held in this position before a mirror, the spire will of 
course appear to be sinistral or turning from right to 
left, which is termed “reversed”? This phenomenon 
occurs in most species of Mollusca which have spiral 
shells; but it is more rare in some than in others. In 
certain genera the shell is naturally reversed; and a 
dextral spire becomes the exception or monstrosity. In 
a few species the spire is as frequently sinistral as dex- 


1.] INTRODUCTION. XXl1 


tral. The direction of the spire is attended by a corre- 
sponding change in the position of those organs of the 
animal which are usually placed on one particular side ; 
and it may be compared to the case of a man having 
his heart on the right and his lungs on the left side of 
his body. ‘The structure of a mollusk is, however, not 
so complicated; and the consequence of such a reversal 
in the position of its organs is probably not very import- 
ant to its economy. One curious case of this kind of 
malformation is worth noticing. During the deposit of 
that part of our upper tertiary strata which is called the 
“Red Crag,” nearly all the specimens of the almond 
whelk (Fusus antiquus) appear to have been sinistral or 
reversed, dextral specimens being comparatively very 
scarce in this formation. The same species still exists 
and is common in our seas; but the proportion of dex- 
tral to sinistral specimens is at present exactly the con- 
trary to what it was in the Crag epoch—the former being 
now the rule and the latter the exception. A reversed spe- 
cimen in a recent or fresh state is worth half a sovereign ; 
while dextral specimens may be had at any street stall 
(with the fish) at the rate of four fora penny. A few 
bivalve species, which have one valve larger than the 
other and are therefore called inequivalve, have also 
their sheils occasionally reversed,—their right or left 
valve being the largest, contrary to the usual rule in 
these species. 

In the prosecution of any inquiry into the nature of 
species or varieties, or as to whether there have been 
any special or successive creations since this world was 
called into existence by the fiat of its Great Creator, I do 
not believe that it can have any irreligious or sceptical 
tendency. Holy Scripture is not a work of natural his- 
tory, and it is silent on the subject of this investigation. 


XXH INTRODUCTION. [CH, 


As Dr..Carpenter has well observed, in his Researches 
on the Foraminifera*, “The creation of any organism 
seems to me just as much to require the exertion’ of 
Divine Power when it takes:place in the ordinary course 
of generation, as it would do if that organism were to 
be called into existence de novo; the question, being in 
reality whether such exertion takes place in the way of 
continuous exercise according to a settled and compre- 
hensive plan, or by a series of disconnected efforts.”” . _ 
Synonymy.—Although the prevalent habit of multi- 
plying species is much to be deprecated, an equal amount 
of injury has been done to the cause of science by the 
unnecessary addition, from time to time, of fresh names 
for species which had been previously described ;- the 
consequence of which is that an overgrown mass of 
nomenclature encumbers most works on natural history. 
For our common Cockle and its varieties no less than 
sixteen, and for the Oyster fourteen different names 
have been given by British and Continental writers; a 
genus of minute shells (Odostomia) has received from 
various conchologists twenty different names ; and in an 
essay of M. Bourguignat on the species of Pisidiwm (a 
small freshwater bivalve) the synonymy of P. amnicum 
comprises eighty specific names and extends over more 
than. five octavo pages. The student may well stand 
aghast at this fearful array of names, which bewilder him 
and obstruct his entrance into the portals of the edifice 
of natural. history! This’ redundancy of names for the 
same object has partly arisen from the want of inter- 
course which naturalists of this and other countries 
experienced formerly, and especially during that chronic 
state of international warfare which so long debarred us 
from any communication with foreigners. Such an 


* Phil. Trans. vol. cl. p. 570. 


ta}, INTRODUCTION. XXli 


unfortunate state of things certainly retarded scientific 
progress in Great Britam to a very great extent; and 
the friendly sympathy which now exists between the 
naturalists of all countries cannot be sufficiently ap- 
preciated. In one sense the multiplication of species 
and addition of synonyms are convertible terms; and 
that is, where local varieties have been described and 
raised to the rank of species. This evil it is impossible 
to prevent. but as science does not march “ pede claudo,”’ 
but regularly and steadily, it is to be hoped that each 
succeeding year will bring with further discoveries the 
occasional publication of monographs by experienced na- 
turalists, so as gradually to rectify this cryig evil. The 
introduction to the ‘ Flora Indica,’ by Drs. Hooker and 
Thomson, contains a valuable remark which deserves the 
attention of zoologists as well as botanists, viz., “The 
discovery of a form uniting two others, previously thought 
distinct, is much more important than that of a totally 
new species, inasmuch as the correction of an error is a 
greater boon to science than a step in advance.” 


~ Nomenclature.—Very often the longest and most un- 
pronounceable names have been bestowed on minute 
and almost microscopic species. When the student meets 
with such names as Cerithiopsis tubercularis and Omalo- 
gyra nitidissima, he is scarcely prepared to find that one 
of the objects designated by these more than sesqui- 
pedalian words is scarcely more than a quarter of an 
inch in length, and that the other is only about one- 
fifteenth of an inch m diameter !. There is, however, no 
way of preventing this abuse of language for scientific 
purposes, except by making a new coinage; and this 
would be attended with more inconvenience to naturalists 
in the substitution of new for old and familar names, 
than in the retention of a few long words. 


XXIV INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


The general rule is not to alter the name which has 
been first given to any species, in order to establish a con- 
ventional right of priority and to prevent confusion, But 
this rule is not without an exception—especially where 
the original name has been accidentally misspelt, either 
by the author or prmter. Thus “ Suediense”’ has been 
properly changed to Swecicum ; and “ Syndosmya” ought 
to be replaced by Syndesmia. Such trivial corrections 
are necessary in the works of our best authors; and in 
those which have largely benefited the cause of science, 

non ego paucis 


Offendar re quas aut incuria fudit 
Aut humana parum cavit natura.” 


CHAPTER tt. 


ORGANIZATION AND HABITS. 


REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM.—-FECUNDITY.—HYBRIDISM.—PROGRESSIVE 
DEVELOPMENT, —ORGANS OF SIGHT——-HEARI 
MOTION.—FOOD.—SIZE.—HABITAT.—CARE OF YOUNG.—SOCIA- 
BILITY.—— ZSTIVATION AND HIBERNATION.—NESTS.—MODES OF 
ATTACK AND DEFENCE.—RENEWAL OF PARTS.——PHOSPHORES- 
CENCE.—-PERFORATING POWERS,—OCCASIONAL APPEARANCE AND 
DISAPPEARANCE.—TENACITY OF LIFE,—AGE,—RESUME. 


Reproductive system.—The modes of propagation 
among the Mollusca are varicus. In the case of uni- 
valves, many of them (e. g. the Whelk tribe) have distinct 
sexes, and are what botanists term “ dicecious ;” while 
most of the land-snails are nearly “‘ monecious,” each 
individual being at the same time male and female, but 
incapable of fertilizing itself. Some of these even change 
their sex at different periods,—the Valvatide being at 


11. | INTRODUCTION. XXV 


first male and afterwards becoming female. In the case 
of the Conchifera or bivalves, they are probably all 
strictly “ moncecious ” and fertilize themselves. It was 
at one time supposed that the Oyster and freshwater 
Mussel were exceptions to this rule, and that some in- 
dividuals were male and others female; but the re- 
searches of Davaine, Moquin-Tandon, and other able 
physiologists have disproved this idea*. The external 
organization of the Conchifera, as well as the complete 
isolation of the Teredines and many other kinds from all 
intercourse with each other during the whole of their 
lives, would make it very unlikely that they are of dif- 
ferent sexes. Some of the Mollusca are ovoviviparous, 
the eggs being hatched within the body and the fry ex- 
cluded in a perfect form. This is the case not only with 
“moneecious ” kinds (such as Anodonta and Kellia), but 
also with some snails (Helix rupestris and Pupa umbili- 
cata) and even with “ dicecious”’ kinds, such as Paludina 
and certain species of Littorina. Some particulars will be 
found in the following pages with regard to the amours 
of the land and freshwater snails ; and much more might 
be said on this curious subject. The tender passion 
seems to take up much of their time and attention. M. 
Turpin has observed a pair of the common garden-snail 
(Helix aspersa) engaged in love-making for the space of 
more than ten hours ! 

Fecundity.—The extreme fertility of some mollusks is 
not exceeded by that of fish. It has been estimated that 
the oyster spawns annually at least three millions. Ac- 
cording to C. Pfeiffer the gills of a freshwater mussel of 
moderate size contain at least 400,000 eggs ; and Jacob- 
son has given a much higher figure (two millions) for the. 


* See also Hancock “ On the Organization of the Brachiopoda,”’ Phil. 
Trans. vol. exlviii. p. 816. 


b 


XXV1 INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


product of a large individual of this kind. If this rate 
of increase were unchecked, our seas and rivers would in 
a comparatively short time (reckoning geologically) be 
filled up with the remains of shell-fish. 
Hybridism.—Although many surmises have from time 
to time been hazarded as to the production of abnormal 
forms of Mollusca by means of an unnatural union be- 
tween individuals of different species, the only direct 
experiments or observations that appear to have been 
published on the subject have been made by French 
naturalists. M.Gassies, in his descriptive Catalogue of 
the Land and Freshwater Mollusca found near Agen, 
mentioned several cases of what he called ‘ accouple- 
ments adultérins,” which he had observed between in- 
dividuals of Hehe virgata and H. Pisana, as well as 
between those species and Bulimus decollatus. M.Gassies 
enclosed the snails during a thunderstorm im a vessel 
covered with metallic gauze; and he beheved that the 
electricity with which the air was then charged induced 
the unnatural union. Great care appears to have been 
taken to prevent any error in the result, by selecting 
individuals which had not been previously fertilized and 
keeping them after fecundation separate from any others. 
The product of these unions was as follows. The young 
of H. Pisana had perfectly white shells,—their mother 
having the usual coloured bands; and the young of H. 
virgata had shells of a darker colour than that of their 
mother. In the other case, the product of the Helices 
which had been coupled with the Bulimus was various. 
Many had shells which were almost scalariform ; the 
shells of others were pyramidal; but the greater part of 
them had shells exactly like that of their mother. The 
product of the Bulimus did not differ from their maternal 
form. M. Gassies had also observed the product of .a 


1. | INTRODUCTION. XXV1l 


union between Helix nemoralis and H. hortensis, in which 
the colour of the lips of their shells in each case varied 
indifferently from brown or rose-colour to milk-white. 
Professor Lecogq and M. Miergue have celebrated the 
voluntary nuptials between individuals of Helix nemo- 
ralis and H. aspersa, as well as between Pupa cinerea 
and Clausiha papillaris ; but these unions do not seem 
to have been blessed with any offspring. The fact, 
however, of such unions having taken place in a state of 
nature, and not under forced or accidental conditions, 
is remarkable, and the more so because the individuals 
belonged to what are considered different genera. 

' Progressive development.—The researches of geolo- 
gists have established by positive evidence, that the 
organization of many animal and vegetable types has not 
become more specialized or rendered more perfect since 
_ the period to which we ascribe their creation, and that, 
notwithstanding the enormous lapse of time which is 
indicated by the accumulation of fossiliferous strata, the 
modification or change which these types have under- 
gone has been remarkably slight. There is abundant 
evidence of variation, but none of what is usually under- 
stood as progression*. The theory of “ progressive de- 
velopment” appears to have been very hastily advanced, 
and is by no means borne out by geological facts. It is 
a curious circumstance in the history of the growth of 
certain land and freshwater Mollusca, that the young of 
some species of Pupa resemble those of Helix, the young 
of the latter those of Zonites, and the young of the last 
those of Vitrina. These genera are enumerated in the 
order of their organization, Pupa being the most, and 
Vitrina the least perfect of them. 


* See Professor Huxley’s Address delivered at the Anniversary Meeting 
of the Geological Society, 21st February, 1862. 


b2 


XXVIL INTRODUCTION. [cH, 


Organs of sight.—The eyes of a Cuttle are more perfect 
than those of many kinds of fish ; but the so-called eyes 
of land-snails are supposed to be only organs of touch 
and not of vision, although endued with a greater sensi- 
bility than the tentacles which support them. The 
coloured bulbs which frmge the mantle of a Scallop are 
also called eyes; but their structure is very simple. 
According to Mr. Lea, several kinds of Unio are sensi- 
tive to light. These organs are entirely wanting in many 
of the Mollusca, and even in some species of genera which 
usually have eyes. 

Hearing.—In the Pectinibranch Mollusca the contents 
of the auditory capsules consist of spherical ear-stones, 
which in every respect but that of form are similar to 
the otolites of fishes. In the Pulmonobranch Mollusca 
they are called octoconia and consist of a chalky pulp, 
which is separable into minute elliptical granules. Frey 
has observed organs of hearing in many of the land 
and freshwater Mollusca, both univalve and bivalve. He 
counted as many as 200 otolites of different sizes in one of 
the auditory vessels (of which there were two) in an adult 
snail. In Spherium (or Cyclas) each individual appears 
to have never more than a single otolite. He believes 
that these bodies are formed by a subcrystallization of 
the liquid contained in the auditory vessels. 

Smell.In the Helicide, or land-snails, this sense is 
supposed to lie in the bulbs which surmount their ten- 
tacles. It is probable that the carnivorous or zoophagous 
Mollusks have the power of scenting out their prey or 
food. Quantities of the common “almond-whelk” of 
dealers in shell-fish (Fusus antiquus) are procured on 
the Cheshire coast by the fishermen placing a dead dog 
on the sands at low-water mark during spring tides. 
The bait is then completely covered with stones, which 


II. | INTRODUCTION. XX1X 


are piled up like a cairn, partly to prevent the carcase 
heing carried away by the tide, and also because the 
fishermen have a scruple about eating shell-fish which 
have been fed on such carrion. On the next turn of 
the tide the heap of stones is visited and the whelks are 
found on the surface in great numbers, having been 
apparently attracted by the smell of the bait, but unable 
to get at it. 

Locomotion.—The methods by which Mollusca move 
from place to place are exceedingly varied. Most uni- 
valves crawl on the lower part or disk of a large fleshy 
organ, which is the homologue of a foot and supports 
the body. The Melampus uses this organ in an unusual 
way, by first planting the front half, like a caterpillar, 
and then drawing up to it the other half, and repeating 
this alternate movement in a fashion called “ looping.” 
_ The celebrated French naturalist, Adanson, gave that 
genus the name of Pedipes on account of this peculiarity. 
Many of the aquatic univalves can swim, or rather creep 
underneath the surface of the water, the position of their 
bodies being reversed, with the poit of the shell down- 
wards. A few of the bivalves (e. g. species of Lepton 
and Galeomma) sometimes walk about with their valves 
spread out like the cover of a book when left on the 
table by an untidy person. The Cuttles and Pteropods 
swim as rapidly as fishes, but in a different manner— 
viz. by taking in and expelling by means of their mantle 
successive volumes of water, so as continually to propel 
them onwards. One kind of Cuttle is said even to pos- 
sess the faculty of flying, and to dart for a considerable 
distance out of the water through the air like a flying- 
fish. Most of the Acephala or bivalves have a tongue- 
shaped organ of progression, which is muscular and 
extremely flexible. By means of this kind of foot the 


4.4 « INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


Cockle, Razor-fish (Solen), and other kinds burrow in 
sand and mud. The Scallop and Lima fill their bodies 
with water, and then, suddenly collapsing and closing 
their valves, execute a series of leaps or jerks, by which 
they can traverse a considerable distance, although in 
an irregular course. Certain small bivalves (Spherium 
and Kellia), while floating on the surface of the water, 
spin filaments which serve to moor them and prevent 
their being drifted about. Several kinds of slug secrete 
glutinous threads by which they suspend themselves 
from trees and either remove from one branch to another 
or drop safely to the ground. ‘Thus it will be seen that 
the Mollusca partake of all the modes of locomotion pos- 
sessed by other animals—that they can walk like quadru- 
peds, fly like birds, crawl like serpents, swim like fishes, 
and even spin threads like spiders. 

The action of creeping in a snail is performed by the 
close appression of its foot to the substance over which 
it moves, as well as by muscular force. Any unevenness 
in the surface to be traversed is filled up by folds of the 
foot, which is extremely flexible. This action may be 
compared to the application of one piece of flat glass to 
another. Musical sounds, resembling those which are 
given out by the Eolian harp, may be observed on a dry 
summer evening by putting a garden-snail to crawl out- 
side a window; and this phenomenon has frightened 
many a timid or superstitious person, who could not 
imagine whence these mysterious sounds proceeded. A 
curious calculation was made by Mr. Thomas, an Ameri- 
can conchologist, as to the rate of a snail’s pace. He 
found that it takes 16 days and 14 hours for a moderately 
fast snail to do a mile. 

Food.—By far the greater part of the Mollusca are 
zoophagous or animal-eaters. The food of the Acephala 


11. | INTRODUCTION. $9.0 al 


consists of Infusoria and other animalcules, which are 
conveyed to their mouths, by an action analogous to 
that of suction, through the inhalant tube or the outer 
folds of their mantle. The Buccinum or whelk tribe prey 
upon other mollusks (especially bivalves) by drilling 
holes in their shells with their proboscis, which is armed 
with a formidable apparatus of teeth. The whelks are 
also very troublesome to fishermen, being often found 
sucking and sticking to the bait when the lines are taken 
up. Numbers of them may be caught in lobster-pots 
baited with fish or meat, if laid down on a sandy instead 
of a rocky ground. Most of the littoral univalves feed 
on sea-weed. ‘The common Limpet forms by means of 
its foot a shallow excavation in the rock. When the 
tide returns it goes out to its pasture, browsing like an 
herbivorous quadruped ; and it returns to its hole when 
the tide retires. The track left by its grazing on the 
submarine vegetation which clothes the adjoming rock 
is very perceptible and is sometimes tortuous or maze- 
hike. Land and freshwater snails, as well as slugs, are 
for the most part herbivorous, as gardeners know to 
their cost in the former case; but some of them also 
devour animal matter, and a few are cannibals. The 
food of the Testacella consists almost exclusively of 
living earthworms; and a full account of its carnivorous 
and voracious propensities will be found in this volume. 
Snails have been taken with insects in their mouths, 
which they were swallowing by degrees; and, accord- 
ing to M. Bonnafoux, the Heliz aspersa has been known 
to perforate birds’ eggs in deserted nests, in order 
to feed on their contents. The number of curved si- 
liceous teeth which arm the tongues or lingual plates 
of snails is prodigious (amounting in some species to 
many thousands), being arranged in several rows. Some 


XXX INTRODUCTION. _ (cH. 


of the marine Mollusca are parasitic, or live upon the 
secretions of other animals. Among the bivalves Mon- 
tacuta substriata, and among the univalves Stylifer Tur- 
toni, are instances of these parasitic habits. 

Size.—This appears to depend on the supply of food ; 
and it is probable that, owing to the vast shoals of mol- 
lusk-eating fish which abound im the northern seas, the 
shell-fish there are thinned to such an extent that the 
fortunate survivors have a proportionally larger share of 
food than those which inhabit southern seas, where both 
species and individuals are more numerous. Northern 
Mollusca are generally larger than those of the same 
species from the South*. The same law is observable 
with regard to cultivated fruits,—thinning being resorted 
to for the purpose of reducing the number and in- 
creasing the size of those which are allowed to remain. 

Habitat.—There is probably not a square foot of land, 
either im a cultivated or uncultivated state, or co- 
vered with fresh, brackish, or salt water, that is not 
inhabited by Mollusca of various kinds. Trees, herbage, 
and sea-weeds are the chosen stations of many sorts, 
for the sake of the shelter or food which they afford ; 
and even our cellars and kitchens are not free from 
them. Some live only in the ocean, and never approach 
land unless when driven on shore by the winds and 
waves. These are called “ pelagic.” Among them are 
the Lanthina, or “ blue-snail,”’ and a few small Ptero- 
pods, which are occasionally found in our seas. The 
former is provided with a cellular apparatus, by which 

* See also Draparnaud (Tabl. Moll. p. 35) as to the comparative size 
of land shells inhabiting the North and South of France. ‘“ Le climat 
influe beaucoup sur la grandeur des individus. Chez les Mollusques, 


comme chez les Mousses et un grand nombre d’autres plantes, la méme 


espéce acquiert un volume d’autant moindre, qu’elle habite dans un pays 
plus chaud.” 


11. | INTRODUCTION. XXX1 


it is enabled to keep always in a floating position on the 
surface of the water, with the poimt or spire of its shell 
downwards, and which apparatus also serves as a nidus 
for its spawn. A description of this curious appendage 
or “ float,” as well as of the equally remarkable habits of 
the Lanthina; will be found in its proper place. The 
Pteropods have feet like wings, and flutter through the 
water hke butterflies. They have conical, and some- 
times spiral, shells as fragile and transparent as the 
finest blown glass. 

Care of young.—Many of the bivalve Mollusca, inha- 
biting the sea as well as fresh water (e.g. Teredo and 
Anodonta), retain for some time their fry, after being 
excluded from the egg, in the folds of their mantle, this 
beimg in some degree an analogous provision to that 
which is possessed by the marsupial quadrupeds. The 
common Limpet and some kinds of Pupa (small land- 
snails) have also been observed to carry about. their 
young, the former within the folds of its foot, and the 
latter attached to the shells of their mother. These 
eases of Molluscan oropy?) are nearly as wonderful as 
any which have been adduced in accounts of much more 
highly organized animals. 

Sociability.— Although many of the Mollusca are gre- 
garious and assemble together on the same feeding- 
grounds, it does not appear that they ever associate for 
a common object, like bees or ants. Each Pholas and 
Teredo makes a hole for itself; and although the com- 
mon garden-snail often fastens itself to the shell of its 
companion, when they hibernate and form clusters, a 
smooth stone or any other object is used for the same 
purpose. 

Aistivation and Hibernation.—Many animals in a state 


of nature have their periodical seasons of repose, espe- 
b5 


XXXIV INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


cially in the winter when there is a deficiency of food. 
For this reason it may be supposed that all the Mol- 
lusca hibernate; and we know that the land-snails in 
this country have such a habit. Most of them bury 
themselves in the ground, or nestle in the crevices of 
rocks, under the bark of trees, or even in the hollow 
stems of the larger umbelliferous plants. They also 
cover the mouths of their shells with a calcareous plate 
of various degrees of thickness, which they secrete, in the 
same way as the shells, by means of their mantle. This 
plate is called an “epiphragm,” and in the apple-snail 
(Helix pomatia) is of considerable thickness. But in 
dry weather and during the heat of summer they form 
another and slighter kind of epiphragm, im order to keep 
their bodies always moist and lubricated, as without such 
protection the tissues would soon dry up and the snails 
perish. The Rev. H. B. Tristram, in his account of the 
Great Sahara, says that the snail-shells which he found 
there were much thicker than those of the same species 
from more temperate parts of Europe, apparently as an 
additional means of preventing evaporation in so dry a 
climate. The simile in the 58th Psalm (verse 8) which 
is rendered in our translation for the ‘ Common Prayer,’ 
“consume away like a snail,’ may have had reference 
to the inability of these Mollusca to endure exposure 
to the great heat of the sun in an Eastern climate. 
None of the naked Slugs occur in the lists of land 
Mollusca collected by Professor Roth in Palestine, 
and by Dr. Schlafli and M. Mousson in the East. 
The circulation of land-snails is affected to a great 
extent by the temperature. In some kinds the rate 
of pulsation varies from 30 to 110 per minute during 
summer ; and it ceases altogether in winter. Although 
the temperature of the sea is nearly the same in summer 


II. | INTRODUCTION. XXXV 


and winter, except at its surface, the circumstance that 
most sea-weeds are annual would lead us to conclude 
that the marine phytophagous Mollusca also retire into 
winter quarters, and that, as these are preyed upon by the 
zoophagous kinds, the habit of hibernating is common to 
all shell-fish. In shallow seas near the land, the number 
of marine animals is perceptibly diminished during cold 
and inclement seasons; and this was noticed by several 
naturalists to have been the case in the wet year of 1860. 
The period of hibernation differs among the Mollusca. 
Some retire earlier or emerge later than others. Ac- 
cording to M. Drouet the Anodonte or freshwater mus- 
sels hibernate before the close of autumn, and bury 
themselves deep in the mud until the middle of spring, 
when the water begins to get warmer. 

Nests——A few marine bivalves, which do not spin a 
byssus or bundle of threads with which they can moor 
- themselves to rocks, or which have not the power of exca- 
vating for themselves a place of residence in stone, wood, 
the tunic of Ascidians, or other substances, form a kind of 
rude nest out of broken shells and zoophytes, which they 
cement and line internally with a slimy exudation from 
their bodies; and thus they remain snugly ensconced 
and protected from their natural enemies. Among these 
nest-builders are the Modiola radiata, Lima Loscomdii, 
and the northern form of LZ. hians. So little is known 
of the habits of the marine Mollusca, that Iam not pre- 
pared to say whether these are proper nests and used 
for the protection of the young, as in the case of stickle- 
backs and other small fishes, or are constructed solely 
for the use of the adult shell-fish. 

Modes of attack and defence.—Some aquatic mollusks 
have the faculty of emitting from their bodies a purple 
or dark fluid, apparently for the purpose of securmg 


XXXVI INTRODUCTION. (CH. 


their prey or concealing themselves from fishes or other 
predaceous animals. The inky cloud which the Cuttle 
ejects is of a glutinous or viscous nature, and does not 
readily mix with the water. It seems to be better 
adapted for entangling small fishes than to cover the 
retreat of the Cuttle, which is extremely rapid in its 
movements. The Aplysia, or sea-hare, gives out a 
purple dye which is also glutinous and has an offensive 
smell, As this mollusk crawls but slowly, it may use 
the dye to obfuscate some more active animal which it 
may have taken a fancy to make a meal of, all the Nudi- 
branchs being said to be carnivorous. Several kinds 
of Planorbis (freshwater snails) yield, on bemg irritated, 
a quantity of their own purple blood. These are vege- 
table-eaters; and we can therefore conceive no other 
object in this voluntary blood-letting than to elude ob- 
servation. A few land-snails (e. g. Bulimus obscurus and 
Pupa secale) in their young state, as well as some small 
freshwater bivalves belonging to the genus Pisidiwm, 
have their shells covered with mud and other extraneous 
matter ; but it is difficult to say whether this is the re- 
sult of design or accident. One might suppose that the 
sharp eyes of a bird or a frog would easily detect their 
prey through this feeble disguise. Some marine bivalves 
(as Lyonsia Norvegica and species of Neera) are covered 
with a coat of sand, which may to some extent answer 
the purpose of concealment. If the safety of these 
animals is ensured by such means, how great must be 
our admiration of that wonderful yet varied plan of con- 
trivance which makes the humble Mollusk, as well as 
Man, the object of Divine care ! 

Renewal of parts.—Some Mollusca, which had been 
accidentally deprived of their feet, tentacles, eyes, and 
even of their entire heads, have been known to repro- 


11. | INTRODUCTION. XXXVl1 


duce them. Nearly a century ago, the experiment of 
decapitating unfortunate slugs and snails was con- 
ducted on a wholesale scale on the Continent, and every 
philosopher was anxious to cut off a head. Even the 
great Voltaire followed the universal fashion ; and his 
experiences were published in the ‘ Questions sur l’ En- 
cyclopédie.” In these he mentions having operated on 
twenty brown slugs and a dozen snails; and he after- 
wards records with great pride and satisfaction “ mes 
Limaces” and “ mes Escargots ” showing their budding 
heads and horns, and doing as well as might be expected 
under the circumstances. 

Phosphorescence.—Although a great many animals, 
from the highest order of fishes to the imperfectly orga- 
nized Noctiluca miliaris, as well as several of the Tuni- 
cata, emit or exhibit a phosphorescent light, I am not 
aware that any of the Mollusca possess the same property, 
except some kinds of Pholas ; and it is possible that the 
phenomenon in their case may be owing to animalcula 
which infest them or are found in their holes. The 
eggs of a common slug (Arion hortensis) are said to be 
luminous for the first fifteen days after they have been 
laid. But both the nature and object of this common 
phenomenon requires further investigation. 

Perforating powers.—Many shell-fish, and especially 
bivalves, burrow in sand or mud for protection against 
their natural enemies ; but some of them excavate wood, 
peat, or stone of various degrees of hardness, for the 
same purpose. The process of burrowing is undoubtedly 
performed by the foot of the Mollusk. It is exemplified 
by the case of the common Cockle, which uses its tongue- 
shaped and flexible foot m the same way as a gardener 
uses his dibble, and, having thrust it into the sand and 
expanded it, thus makes a hole large enough to contain 


XXXV1ll INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


the shell. The limpet (Patella vulgata) slightly perforates 
calcareous rocks by the muscular action of its sucker- 
like foot or disk, which occupies all the lower part of the 
body. The shell exactly fits the space thus excavated, 
so as to prevent the limpet being easily dislodged by a 
bird or a crab. The common garden-snail excavates 
hard limestone rocks for the purpose of hibernation ; and 
as its shell is covered with a delicate epidermis, which 
remains on specimens having just emerged from their 
winter quarters, it may be safely inferred that the shell 
is not the instrument of perforation in this case. But 
with respect to the Teredo or ship-worm (which tunnels 
through wood), the Pholas (which pierces wood, peat, 
clay, and chalk), the Gastrochena (which penetrates 
hard sandstone, chalk, and limestone, as well as old 
oyster-shells), and the Saaicava (which perforates the 
hardest calcareous rocks), it is not so easy to form a 
definite conclusion. This volume would scarcely con- 
tain all that might be said on the subject. Forbes and 
Hanley have given an excellent account of the discussion 
which had taken place up to the time of publishing their 
work ; and I will content myself with stating briefly the 
result of their investigation and adding a few remarks 
suggested by my own inquiries. 

The opinions which had been expressed on this subject 
when the ‘ History of the British Mollusca’ was pub- 
lished, were classed by its authors, when treating of the 
Pholas, under five conclusions, which are as follows :— 

“], That the boring Mollusca perforate by means of 
the rotation of the valves of their shells, which serve as 
augers. 2. That the holes are made by rasping, effected 
by siliceous particles studding the substance of certain 
parts of the animals. 8. That currents of water, set in 
action by the motion of vibratile cilia, are the agents. 


II. | INTRODUCTION. XXX1X 


4. That the animal secretes a chemical solvent—an 
acid which dissolves the substance into which it bores. 
5. That the combined action of a secreted solvent and 
rasping by the valves effects the perforations*.” 

The first of these views is advocated by Forbes and 
Hanley; and the other naturalists to whom they have 
referred as having expressed an opinion on the subject 
are as follows, taking the several views in their order 
of succession :—1l. Dr. Gray, Dr. Fleming, Mr. Osler. 
2. Mr. Hancock. 38. Mr. Garner. 4. Dr. Gray, Dr. 
Drummond, M. Deshayes, M. Cailhand. 5. Mr. Thomp- 
son, M. Necker. 

As I believe that all these different views, except the 
first, have been successfully refuted by the arguments of 
Forbes and Hanley, it only remains for me to adopt 
their view, or to substitute another for it. 

If we only consider the shell of Pholas, with respect 
to its efficiency as an instrument of mechanical perfora- 
tion, there might be sufficient reason for supposing that 
it can by this mode drill a hole im peat, submerged wood, 
clay, or even in chalk.when softened by the continual 
contact of water. The shell is certainly harder than 
any of these substances ; and the animal is provided with 
muscles of unusual strength for effecting the rotatory 
motion which would be necessary for such an operation. 
But we must also consider the cases of other perforating 
mollusks whose shells are not so hard. ‘The shell of 
Gastrochena is more fragile than that of the oyster into 
which it bores, and very much more so than the lime- 
stone in which it not unfrequently lodges itself. The 
helmet-shaped valves of Teredo could only be used to 
rasp the sides of the tube which this mollusk forms in 
wood; and they are not adapted for excavating the cons 

* « British Mollusca,’ vol. i. p. 104. 


xl INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


cave end of the tube. The shell of Sazicava is coated 
with a delicate epidermis, which would unquestionably 
be scraped away in perforating the solid limestone rock, 
if the theory advocated by Forbes and Hanley is appli- 
cable to this case. And, to take the case of other 
marine animals which excavate rocks and shells for the 
same purpose as the Mollusca, we know that the boring 
Annelids or sea-worms have no hard substance in their 
composition. For these reasons, I do not think that 
the mechanical theory (viz. that the shell is the sole 
instrument of perforation) has been established. 

Since the publication of Forbes and Hanley’s work, the 
controversy has been continued with unabated ardour ; 
and to the list of naturalists who have taken a part in 
it, other names may be added as supporters of the under- 
mentioned theories. 

Mechamcal. Mr. Robertson and M. Fischer. 

Chemical. Dr. Mantell, M. Thorent, and Mr. Reeve. 

M. Cailliaud now contends that both methods of per- 
foration are adopted by the same kind of mollusk ac- 
cording to the material acted upon ; and M. Bouchard- 
Chantereaux, who was at first in favour of the mechani- 
cal theory, is now strongly of opinion that a corrosive 
secretion of the animal is the agent of perforation. 

But there is another point of view in which the ques- 
tion may be considered, and which does not appear to 
have received any attention, although in my humble 
judgment fully deserving it. 

Nearly 130 years ago, a very learned but eccentric 
Dutch philosopher, named Sellius, wrote and published, 
for the benefit of his country, an elaborate monograph on 
the Teredo. In this remarkable production he discussed 
at great length, and im the most exhaustive style, all 
the various theories which had been propounded up to 


1. ] INTRODUCTION. xhi 


that time as to the means by which the ship-worm bores 
into wood. He showed conclusively that their shells 
could not be the instruments of perforation; and he 
asked how it was possible that the extremely tender 
shell of the young Teredo (in fact a mere film) could 
make a hole in solid oak, a material ten times harder 
than itself. Besides, as he justly remarked, the form of 
the tube is evidently not the result of an auger-hke in- 
strument, because it is broader at the bottom than at 
the top and sides. The conclusion he formed, after a 
most laborious and impartial investigation, was that the 
Teredo perforates by suction, aided by continual mace- 
ration and softening of the wood. One of his numerous 
quotations from the ancient poets, in support of his 
argument, may be here appropriately repeated. It is 
from his favourite, Ovid :— 
“Quid magis est durum saxo? quid mollius unda? 
Dura tamen molli saxa cavantur aqua.” 

I profess myself to be a follower of Sellius; and | 
am convinced that the sole instrument of perforation by 
the Mollusca of stone, wood, and other substances, is in 
every case their foot or muscular disk, which is closely 
applied to the concave end of the hole and is constantly 
supplied with moisture through the glandular tissues of 
the body. The strength of this organ may be easily 
tested by any one who tries to remove a limpet from its 
native rock, after having touched it and thus given it 
due notice of his intention. By this simple, yet gradual, 
process the fibres of wood or grains of sandstone may 
easily be detached or disintegrated, time and patience 
bemg allowed for the operation. When it is considered 
that the hole made by an adult Pholas or Savicava_is 
only a few inches deep, and that an aged Patella scarcely 
penetrates a quarter of an inch into a limestone rock, 


xlii INTRODUCTION. [ cH. 


there can scarcely be a question that these mollusks 
have abundance of time to effect their purpose. It is 
said that even the hardest marble is not proof against the 
softest impressions, and that the big toe of St. Peter’s 
statue in the Vatican has been nearly worn away: by the 
lips of fair devotees. The osculatory process is not un- 
like that of suction. 

Occasional appearance and disappearance.—Both sea 
and land furnish instances (some of which are difficult 
to explain) of the periodical appearance and disappear- 
ance of certain species of Mollusca in particular places. 
Their arrival and departure are often sudden and seem- 
ingly capricious. In the case of marine species, this 
phenomenon is probably the result of changes in the 
eourse of tidal and other currents, as well as of the 
migratory habits of fish. These currents, by accumu- 
lating or removing deposits of mud, sand, and gravel, 
which afford shelter and food to Mollusca, conduce 
greatly to their congregation or dispersal. When such 
deposits are rapidly formed, the shell-bed becomes co- 
vered up or silted; and the Mollusca are entombed 
alive for the benefit of future geologists. When their 
chief enemies, the fish, desert their former quarters and 
migrate to another feeding-ground, the Mollusca then 
increase and multiply, bemg unthimned except by the 
tigers of their own kind, or occasionally by the curious 
conchologist, or by all-devouring death. The destruc- 
tion of shell-beds by marme currents may account for 
the prevalent notion that some parts of our sea-coast 
(as for example South Devon), which used to yield such 
regular and plentiful harvests of shells to collectors, 
are now scarcely worth searching,—it being said that 
the shells have “ deserted” the coast. The unexpected 
occurrence of some kinds of land and freshwater Mol- 


U1. | INTRODUCTION. xl 


lusca in places where they had not been previously 
noticed is not unfrequent. Many a wonderful tale of a 
“ shower of snails”’ has helped to fill the pages of country 
newspapers, arising out of the sudden appearance in a 
limited area of Helix virgata and Bulimus acutus, which 
are abundant on most of our sandy downs and plains. 
This has been sometimes caused by a mere change of 
wind to the south-west, in consequence of which the air 
has become charged with moisture, and tempted all the 
snails to leave their retreat at the roots of grass during 
the night, and to present themselves in the morning to 
the eyes of astonished rustics. It is not, however, so 
easy to account for some kinds of freshwater snails (e. g. 
Limnea glutinosa) bemg found in the same spots so 
abundantly some years, and scarcely at all in others, as 
has been noticed by Mr. Bridgman of Norwich. This 
is one of the minor, but numerous, problems in the pre- 
sent branch of Natural History which still remains to be 
worked out, and the solution of which will reward the 
diligent and observant conchologist. 

Tenacity of life-——Many of the Mollusca, as before 
remarked, pass the winter in a state of torpidity, their 
vital functions being apparently suspended during hiber- 
nation. But some of the land-snails have been known 
to live many years shut up m boxes and drawers, or 
affixed to tablets as specimens. This capability of sub- 
sisting for a long period without food is probably owing 
to the snail being able to close its shell by an epiphragm, 
which not only prevents the evaporation of its natural 
moisture, but also produces a kind of protracted hiber- 
nation. Miller relates that some snails, from which he 
had cut off their heads, lived more than a year in this 
state without food, crawling about, and at the usual 
time forming their winter epiphragms. Some marine 


xliv INTRODUCTION. (CH. 


Mollusca, both univalve and bivalve, possess also a cer- 
tain power of endurance under altered conditions. Thus 
Trochus lineatus, which inhabits rocks only uncovered 
at low water, can live in a warm room for a fortnight ; 
and specimens of Mya arenaria, which burrows into 
muddy gravel in the sublittoral zone, have been noticed 
by Mr. Rich (an intelligent collector and dealer) to sur- 
vive their captivity for three weeks, being all that time 
in apparently a healthy state (evidenced by the with- 
drawal of their tubes when touched), at the end of which 
period they were killed for commercial purposes. No 
sea-water was supplied in any of the above cases. The 
gills must have been kept moist by the fluid contained 
within the mantle—a provision nearly similar to that by 
which the camel is able to endure the heat and fatigue of 
a journey across the desert after having filled its paunch 
with a stock of water. M. Joly observed with respect to 
some freshwater mollusca (Anodonta cygnea and Paludina 
vivipara), that they may be frozen up, and kept for some 
time enclosed in ice, without being killed. Some of the 
Paludine even produced young after being thawed *. 

Age.—Little or nothing is known with respect to the 
duration of life in the Mollusca. According to Sir 
Emerson Tennent, the pearl oysters of Ceylon only live 
seven or eight years; and it is said that snails do not 
attain a greater age. This is not improbable as regards 
the latter, because most of them become adult at the 
end of their first year. Whether the numerous lamin 
of old oyster-shells afford the same indication of an- 
nual growth as the rings of a forest tree is another 
question. 

Résumé.—In concluding this chapter, I cannot do 
better than quote the résumé given by M. Moquin-Tandon 

* Comptes Rendus, 1843, xvi. p. 460. 


111. | INTRODUCTION. xlv 


of his admirable observations on the land and freshwater 
Mollusca of France :— 

“ Les Mollusques ont des ruses et des industries, des 
sympathies et des imimitiés, des guerres acharnées et 
des amours bizarres. Beaucoup sont a la fois male et 
femelle, et par suite pere et mére .... Malgré leur 
apathie apparente, les Mollusques sont des étres qui ne ~ 
manquent pas d’intelligence. Leur vie privée et leur 
vie commune nous montrent des détails extrémement 
curieux.” 


Oi 5 RS ld gd 0 a 


SHELLS. 


FORMATION.— COMPOSITION. —- SHAPE. —- NUCLEUS.— GROWTH. — 
COLOUR.—DECOLLATION.—EROSION.—OPERCULUM.——EPIDERMIS. 


Formation.—The shells of Mollusca are formed by a 
secretion from glands of the mantle or cloak. In uni- 
valves this part of the body only covers the front, and in 
most cases surrounds the head like a loose collar; but 
it is very flexible, and it can be withdrawn or folded 
back nearly to the top of the spire to repair a fracture 
of the shell in that part. In bivalves it is double, like - 
the cover of a book. 

Composition.—Carbonate of lime is the main ingre- 
dient ; and the shells of Mollusca differ from the bones 
of vertebrate animals, as well as from the shells of crabs, 
sea-eggs, and birds’ eggs, im the absence of phosphate of 
lime. In all these cases, however, the mineral ingre- 
dients are cemented together by an animal gluten. 
According to M. Delacroix, the shell of a Helix pomatia 


xlvi INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


is composed of the following materials, in every 100 


parts :— 
Oreanicmaatier: 03.. 29215. 8909. SE AIDS 18:64 
Corbanatoro€ limes. .we. fys- tei epee cites 64:96 \ 81-36 
Other mineral substances, undetermined...16°40 
100-00 


The structure of some shells is fibrous, and of others 
crystalline; and they differ considerably in the degree 
of compactness. Nearly all the secrets of this wonderful 
laboratory have been made known through the researches 
of Mr. Hatchett, Dr. Carpenter, and others; but no 
philosopher has been able to explain why this process of 
formation has continued from generation to generation 
in the same uniform mould, according to the nature of 
each species, or how the newly-born Mollusk works out, 
with unerring and undeviating imstinct, the pattern 
which was originally designed by its Creator. Humboldt 
justly observed that there are mysteries beyond our com- 
prehension ; and it might be good for us that some check 
should be put on the overweening pride of intelligence 
in the “ audax Japeti genus.” 

Shape.—All shells assume the form of a cone. Uni- 
valves are generally spiral, so as to accommodate the folds 
of the body. Even the common limpet (Patella vulgata) 
has a distinct spire in its embryonic state, resembling 
‘that of Fissurella or Emarginula. The Chitons are in 
some respects abnormal, having several testaceous joints, 
which overlap each other, like the plates of ancient ar- 
mour or the scales of a fish; but all these joints taken 
together may be considered as forming a depressed cone 
of greater length than that of a Patella, the lines of 
growth on each side of the apex (which is compound in 
Chiton) being equally symmetrical in both cases. Bi- 
valves offer no exception to this conical law of growth, 


111. | INTRODUCTION. xlvii 


the apex or nucleus of each valve being analogous to the 
same part in a spiral shell; but in bivalves the deposit 
of shelly layers is formed on both sides, in consequence 
of the mantle or organ of secretion being double. Every 
part of the shell, whether univalve or bivalve, enlarges by 
growth in the same relative proportion. 

Nucleus.—This part of the shell furnishes the concho- 
logist with an important character of distinction. Odo- 
stomia, Nassa, Cerithiopsis, Ianthina, and many other 
genera of univalve shells have the apex of their spire 
differently formed. In the adult Cyprea (or Cowry), 
the whole of the spire, including the apex or nucleus, 
is covered and concealed by an extraneous deposit of 
shelly matter; and the same process, although to a 
partial extent only, takes place with regard to the genus 
Margimelia. Yn many spiral shells the upper whorls 
(which origmally formed the nucleus) are deserted by 
the animal, in consequence of the volume of its body 
having increased so rapidly that these whorls were too 
small to receive any part of it, and they therefore became 
unnecessary. 

Growth.—Owing to the difficulty which exists in keep- 
ing and observing Mollusks in a state of confmement for 
any length of time, and especially those which live in the 
open sea, very little is known as to the mode and rate 
of their mcrease. Some interesting experiments on the 
growth of land-shells were, however, made by Mr. E. J. 
Lowe and communicated to the Royal Society in 1854 *. 
The result of his observations is as follows :—Ist, The 
shells of Helicide increase but little for a considerable 
period, never arriving at maturity before the animal has 
once become dormant (or hibernated). 2nd, Shells do 
not grow whilst the animal remaims dormant. 3rd, The 


* Proceedings, vol. vil. p. 8. 


xlvili INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


growth of shells is very rapid when it does take place. 
4th, Most species bury themselves in the ground to 
increase the dimensions of their shells. Helx pomatia 
and many other shells retreat for that purpose in summer, 
having their heads and the mouths of their shells down- 
wards (this position being reversed during hibernation) ; 
H. rotundata burrows into decayed wood for the same 
purpose ; while Pupa umbilicata, Clausilia nigricans (C. 
rugosa) ,and Bulimus obscurus bury their heads only while 
the increase takes place. With regard to marine shells’ 
it may be observed that sea-water does not everywhere 
contain the same relative proportion of mineral and 
chemical ingredients, and that the admixture of fresh 
water has a material effect on the substance, texture, and 
composition of sea-shells. In estuaries, where the water 
is brackish, oyster-shells are smaller and thinner than 
usual, owing to the deficiency of calcareous salts ; while 
the shells of oysters procured from considerable depths 
in the open sea and at some distance from the land are 
remarkably large, thick, and heavy. 

Colour.—The dye by which the outer layer of shells 
is stained, and which often forms bands, streaks, spots, 
and other markings of the most beautiful and varied 
hues, is secreted by special glands of the mantle. Owing, 
however, to some defect in this organ of secretion, the 
colouring-matter is occasionally wanting; and nearly 
every kind of shell, which is usually tinted, has what is 
termed an “ albino” or white variety. This is the case 
with regard both to land and marine Testacea. 

The late Professor Forbes, in a paper which was 
published in the ‘ Proceedings’ of the Royal Society *, 
entitled “‘ Note on an indication of depth of Primzeval 
Seas, afforded by the remains of colour in fossil Tes- 


* Vol. vii. p. 21. 


nt. | INTRODUCTION. xlix 


tacea,’”’ observed that, “‘in our own seas, Testacea, taken 
from below 100 fathoms, even when they were indivi- 
duals of species vividly striped or banded in shallower 
zones, were quite white or colourless; that between 60 
and 80 fathoms stripmg and banding were rarely pre- 
sented by our own shells, especially in the northern 
provinces ; but from 50 fathoms shallow-wards, colours 
and patterns were well marked.” 

I cannot help thinking that there must have been 
some mistake as to the first and second of these obser- 
vations. At least, my own experience induces me to 
form a different conclusion. 

Instances of depths exceeding 100 fathoms in our seas 
are very rare. I only know of two. One of them is 
a submarine trough off the Mull of Galloway, called 
“ Beaufort’s Dyke,” where the depth is 145 fathoms ; and 
the other is a pit in the Sound or Sleat of Skye. The 
results of dredging in Beaufort’s Dyke are recorded in 
the ‘Annals of Natural History*.” Although shells 
usually inhabiting comparatively shallow water, and 
distinctly striped or banded (Tapes virginea and Venus 
ovata), were obtained alive from this remarkable depth, 
no deficiency of colour or markings is noticed in the 
account of these results. In the other case, I can state 
from my own knowledge that the shells were as highly 
coloured and the markings quite as vivid as in specimens 
found at a depth of 30 fathoms in another part of the 
Sleat of Skye. Soundings were taken with Massey’s 
patent log, and living Testacea were brought up in the 
dredge from 118 fathoms. On this occasion Captain 
Otter was with me, and I had the benefit of his great ex- 
perience in such matters. Last year I dredged for some 
weeks off the Shetland Isles at depths between 60 and — 


* Vol. x., Sept. 1842, p. 21. 


INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


80 fathoms ; and not only were live shells which I pro- 
cured from those depths as brightly coloured and marked 
with as distinct patterns as shells of the same species (e.g. 
of Trochus ziziphinus), taken at low-water mark, but 
colourless or white varieties of such species were found 
in the same spots. The Star-fishes lately got by Dr. 
Wallich in the Arctic Sea from a depth of 1260 fathoms 
still retain their former colours; and, during the recent 
expedition of Torell and other Swedish naturalists to 
Spitzbergen, a portion of the sea-bottom was brought up 
from a depth of 1400 fathoms, when, among other ani- 
mals of different types, a Crustacean of bright colours is 
said to have made its appearance. The extent to which 
light penetrates into the abysses of the ocean, as well as 
the mode of its transmission, does not seem to be known. 

DecollationSome univalve Mollusca, both terrestrial] 
and aquatic, the shells of which have a long and slowly 
enlarging spire, desert the first or top whorls, and get 
rid of them by a process called decollation or truncature. 
The suture, or point of junction between this part of the 
spire and the rest of the shell, is usually very shght ; 
and the animal effects the process of decollation by 
burying itself in the earth if a land-snail, or rubbing 
its shell against a stone or other hard substance if a 
freshwater or marine species, in order to disengage itself 
from the empty and useless whorls. Before doing this, 
however, it reconstructs the top of its spire by forming 
a hemispherical plate of shelly matter between that part 
of the shell which is to be retained and the empty top. 
Among land-snails Bulimus decollatus is a well-known 
instance of this peculiarity, among freshwater snails 
Limnea glabra, and among the marine univalves Trun- 
catella truncatula. 

Erosion.—The outer layers of the shells of aquatic 


111. | INTRODUCTION. hi 


Mollusca, as well bivalve as univalve, are frequently ex- 
coriated or decorticated, and sometimes to a considerable 
depth when the shell is thick, as in Unio margaritifer, 
or the pearl-mussel. Several marine species, especially 
those of Astarte, Mytilus, and Littorina, are also affected 
in the same way. Various theories have been put for- 
ward to account for this erosion. In the case of fresh- 
water shells, many naturalists have supposed that it is 
caused by gaseous action, some have attributed it to the 
attacks of Myriapodous insects, a few to excavation by 
the eggs of Neritina fluviatilis, MM. de Saulcy and Fis- 
cher, as well as Mr. Bland, to other Mollusca eating away 
the calcareous matter for the purpose of constructing 
and repairing their own shells, and MM. Cuigneau and 
Lespinasse to parasitic Confervee and other hydrophytes. 
But as this phenomenon is not confined to freshwater 
shells, some other explanation must be sought for. It 
is very probable that the former class of cases may be 
attributable to chemical action, and especially that of 
sulphuretted hydrogen ; but in the other, and perhaps 
all the cases, the effect may be produced by another 
cause. Mr. Grove suggests that it may be owing to the 
want of homogeneity in the substance of the shell, and 
that the slightest and almost imperceptible inequality in 
the surface would result in an electrolytic action of the 
water, which would gradually dissolve portions of the 
shell. Sea-water is more likely to produce this effect 
than fresh water, by reason of the stronger galvanic pro- 
perty of the former. Corrosion of metals by water or 
moisture may be due to the same cause. As the sub- 
ject does not appear to have received much attention in 
a chemical point of view, I trust the following remarks, 
from so great an authority as Mr. Grove, will help to 
throw some light upon it. The shells which I submitted 
bie 


li INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


to his examination were those of Littorina litorea, or the 
common periwinkle. 
“ March 26, 1862. 

“ Dpar JEFFREYS,—As you wish me to put on paper 
the suggested explanation of your difficulty, viz. why 
it is that substances apparently homogeneous are cor- 
roded in patches or irregular hollows, I endeavour to do 
so, premising that it is only theoretical and may be 
found not to accord with all your facts. 

“Tf a plate of pure zinc be immersed in dilute sul- 
phuric acid, little or no chemical action takes place ; 
but keep in contact with the zine another metal, say an 
iron nail, and the zinc is rapidly oxidated and dissolved, 
hydrogen being evolved from the surface of the iron. The 
action is most rapid at the points most proximate to the 
iron ; so that, ifthe nail be laid upon the zinc, both being 
immersed in the liquid, the iron would seem to eat its 
way into the zine. If a few iron filings be placed upon 
the zine, the action will be similar, but will begin more 
slowly and increase as the pomts of iron are exposed, 
these latter being protected to a great extent by their 
bemg negative and coated with hydrogen. If an in- 
finitesimal quantity of copper be dissolved im the acid, it 
will be precipitated in a metallie state on the negative 
points and make these permanent centres of action. So, 
if no iron be made to touch the zine, after a time some 
want of absolute homogeneity is sure to determine a 
chemical action; and as any trace of metal existing in 
the solution will by this chemical (or, rather, electrolytic) 
action be deposited on the negative points, or those 
least attacked, the action will continually increase, and, 
instead of being uniform, will be in patches around the 
negative centres. Thus a piece of common zinc of com- 
merce which contains small portions of iron and tin will 


1. | INTRODUCTION. hi 


be corroded in pits or holes. With imperfectly con- 
ducting bodies the action is similar; at very short di- 
stances they conduct, and the action spreads or extends 
from a point to the surrounding points. Sometimes, in- 
stead of forming a patch, the chemical action eats its 
way in a dendritic form, pursuing the ramifications of 
either the more oxidable portion of the substances or 
of the more accessible negative poimts. The slightest 
superficial change will produce a corresponding corro- 
sion: thus, if you were to breathe on a polished plate of 
iron and wipe away the condensed moisture from half 
the plate, leaving that on the other half to evaporate, 
the iron would subsequently rust in a different manner 
on the two parts. If you electrify a plate of glass having 
letters cut m paper on it, and subsequently expose it 
without the paper to hydrofluoric acid, the parts pre- 


_viously uncovered will be attacked ; and so, if you simply 


allow the paper letters to remain on the glass for some 
time (say a day or two), and then blow them off by 
breathing on the glass, or by the vapour of hydrofluoric 
acid, the letters will be made manifest. You may easily 
imagine a number of other instances. The effects all pro- 
ceed from a want of perfect homogeneity, either original 
or impressed by some very triflmg circumstance, and 


from the fact that, points of action having once been 


established, the corrosion is increased by the effects it 
itself produces and the deposits it forms. <A dentist, to 
cure a carious tooth, scrapes out all the diseased parts, 
&c. Another cause of localized destructive agency is that 
of crystallization: if a plate of common earthenware 
has been used to contain saline solutions and is then 
allowed to dry and is put aside, it will effloresce in spots 
and a sort of vegetation will sprout up here and there, 
disintegrating the plate in patches. I have now in my 


liv INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


laboratory a piece of earthenware, which was used merely 
to hold a small voltaic battery and catch the chance 
spillings of sulphate of zinc from the cells, which is 
here and there eaten out in deep pits, and in other places 
pockmarked with small spots. If this dish had been 
exposed to alternations of sea-water and air, a similar 
effect would have taken place ; and yet there was no per- 
ceptible want of homogeneity in the dish at first. 

“‘ The tree-like corrosions between the object-lenses of 
old telescopes are probably due to the same causes, or one 
of them. The old experiments of the zinc and silver 
tree are instances of the same sort of action. Wet a 
glass plate with nitrate of silver and hold the point of a 
pin in it, the acid leaves the silver for the copper; but 
the silver is not deposited in a uniform circle, but in a 
beautiful arborescent form. Old wine-bottles are fre- 
quently found corroded, some in spots, others in tree- 
hke figures. 

‘“‘T believe the above will help to solve the problem 
you are investigating ; at all events, I can offer no better 
solution. « Ever yours, 

W. BR. Grove.” 

I may add that limestone rocks are fretted in the 
same way as the shells of Purpura lapillus and a stunted 
variety of Mytilus edulis which are found on these rocks, 
all having the same calcareous basis. The erosion of 
bivalves is greater at their beaks, where the connexion 
between the animal and the shell is weaker than in other 
parts. This is also the case with the points of univalves. 
The action appears to be prevented by the epidermis. 

Operculum.—The horny or shelly plate (“ pot-lid ”’) 
by which many univalve Mollusca close the mouths of 
their shells is attached by a strong muscle to the back 
or upper surface of the foot ; and it serves to protect the 


III. | INTRODUCTION. lv 


moilusk from the attacks or intrusion of other animals. 
It is often formed on the same plan as the spire of the 
shell, but it differs from the latter in being nearly always 
compressed instead of tubular. The only exception to 
this rule of which I am aware, as far as regards Kuropean 
Mollusca, is that of Zanclea, where the operculum is 
pyramidal. It has, indeed, been stated that the opercu- 
lum of Adeorbis subcarinata is cellular ; but the supposed 
operculum of this rather common shell belongs to the 
Foraminifera and is the Spirillina perforata of William- 
son. The mistake arose from the shells and Forami- 
nifera having been found by the late Mr. William Clark 
in the same parcel of dredged sand; and as the latter 
exactly fitted the mouths of the former, he concluded 
that the Foraminifera were the opercula of the shells. 
The original specimens are now in my collection. A few 
of our native Mollusca, as well land as freshwater and 
marine (é. g. species of Cyclostoma, Neritina, Bythinia, 
and Phasianella), have calcareous or shelly opercula. 
The opercula of other kinds are horny and usually thin. 
The operculum of Neritina and Jeffreysia is furnished 
with an excentric process, or apophysis, which enables 
it to fit more closely into the shell, like the bolt of a lock 
into the box. In most cases the operculum is spiral ; 
but in Paludina, Phasianella, and a few other genera it 
is concentric. The whorls on some of the horny opercula 
nearly correspond in number with those of the shell, 
being multispiral in Trochus and paucispiral in Littorina ; 
but this rule is not universal. There is a difference of 
opinion among physiologists as to the mode in which the 
operculum is formed. Some consider the mantle as the 
organ of secretion, others the foot, while according to a 
few it is formed by the glands of a special organ called 
the operculigerous lobe. Adanson and lately Dr. Gray 


Ivi INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


have likened the operculum to the second valve of bivalve 
shells; but these do not appear to be homologous organs, 
although equally serving to cover the body of the mollusk. 
Calcareous processes, which answer the purpose of oper- 
cula, occur in a genus of land snails (Clausilia), as well 
as in marine bivalves belonging to the genus Teredo. 
In the former case this process consists of a twisted plate, 
which is not attached to the animal, but acts like a spring- 
door in closing the interior of the shell; and in Teredo 
there are two such processes, each shaped like a spatula, 
and attached to the body by strong muscles. Specimens 
of Buccinum undatum and Fusus antiquus are sometimes 
bioperculate ; and occasionally one of these opercula is 
divided into two, or even three laminz, which are piled 
upon each other, so as to give the specimen the appear- 
ance of having three or four opercula. In some cases of 
this malformation in Buccinum undatum, the two oper- 
cula are too large to be contained within the shell, and 
overlap each other; but in others they are abortive and 
widely separate from each other. They are found in 
individuals of all ages; and they appear to be congenital, 
and not the result of accidental loss and renewal. In 
one instance of malformation connected with this subject, 
which fell under my observation, a deficiency, instead 
of a redundancy, of opercular formation occurred, and 
may have been caused by disease. A living specimen of 
Fusus gracilis, which I procured last year in the Shetland 
Isles, had no operculum or even the scar or trace of any 
such process. The back of the foot, where the oper- 
culum was placed in other specimens of the same kind, 
was merely hardened by exposure. In Buccinum Hum- 
phreysianum the operculum is very small, and only covers 
part of the aperture or mouth of the shell when the animal 
withdraws itself. In some species of the genus Mangelia 


1. | INTRODUCTION. lvl 


itis entirely wanting. M.nivalis hasa distinct operculum ; 
while M. Ginnaniana (which belongs to the same section 
of this genus and is found in company with M. nivalis 
in our northern sea) has not the slightest vestige of an 
operculum. Exceptional instances of the same kind occur 
in the tropical genera Voluta, Conus, and Oliva. Buta 
remarkable peculiarity is presented by some species of 
Tanthina, which are furnished in their embryonic state 
with perfect opercula. These processes afterwards dis- 
appear, being probably absorbed by the animal when the 
shell becomes too large to be thus closed. Sars, Van 
Beneden, and Vogt have shown that the fry of many 
Nudibranchs, as well as of that anomalous mollusk 
Elysia viridis, have Nautiliform and operculated shells. 
The fry of Dolium perdiz, which has also an operculated 
shell in this stage of growth only, is so unlike the adult, 
that the late Professor Forbes constituted for it a new 
genus of another order, under the name of Macgillivrayia. 
The fry of a curious land mollusk (Parmacella), which 
partakes more of the nature of a slug than a snail, is said 
to be enclosed in an operculated shell. In the adult this 
shell becomes more rudimentary and only covers a small 
part of the body. ‘This is a case of retrogressive, rather 
than of “‘ progressive development.” 

Epidermis.—Most shells have an outer horny covering, 
called an “ epidermis” or “ periostracon,” which appears 
to be analogous to the periosteum of bones in vertebrate 
animals. Its office is probably to protect the shell from 
the chemical action of the air or water inhabited by the 
mollusk. It is formed simultaneously with the shell, and 
probably by the same organ of secretion. It is usually 
glossy, and sometimes resembles a coat of varnish. In 
Astarte (a genus of marine bivalves) it is thick and 
strong. In some of the whelks and land snails it re- 

c5 


lviii | INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


sembles the pile of cloth, and is occasionally produced 
into bristles or hairs; but in most cases it is very thin 
and only forms a delicate film. It exists also in shells 
which are internal, as those of Limax and Lamellaria, but 
not in Cyprea or the cowry, which is constantly being 
lubricated by the mantle. In its nature it appears to 
be persistent and almost indestructible, beg not unfre- 
quently found still adhering to shells in upper tertiary 
strata. 


CART Hii pe 
EXTERNAL RELATIONS. 


ENEMIES OF MOLLUSCA.—PARASITES.—USES TO MAN: VIZ. FOOD, 
MEDICINE, ORNAMENT, AND ECONOMY.—-INJURIES TO MAN.— 
STUDY OF CONCHOLOGY.—PLEASUKES AND DRAWBACKS.—INCI- 
DENTS OF THE PURSUIT. 


Enemies of Mollusca.—These soft creatures are the 
favourite food of many animals. Man is not the only 
one that finds them savoury and digestible, and that 
hunts them down with insatiable voracity. The slow- 
ness of their movements makes them an easy prey; and 
their shells afford them no protection against their 
larger enemies. On land, hedgehogs (and it is said the 
fox also), rats, thrushes, ducks and other birds, snakes, 
lizards, toads, zoophagous beetles and centipedes pursue 
them and greatly thin their numbers. An insect (the 
Cochleoctonus voraz) lays an egg in the body of dif- 
ferent species of snails, which, when hatched, eats up by 
slow degrees the whole of its unwilling host, and then 
curls itself up in the spire of the empty shell, until it is 
turned into a chrysalis. The Mollusca which live in 
fresh water are devoured by wild ducks and other birds 
of that class, frogs, fishes, leeches, and the larve of the 


Iv. ] INTRODUCTION. lix 


dragon-fly. The innumerable host of marine Mollusca 
afford a constant supply of food to sea-fowl of various 
sorts, fish (especially the cod, haddock, mullet, gurnard, 
halibut, and sole), crabs and other crustacea, star-fishes, 
sea-cucumbers, and Actinie. No less than 35,000 spe- 
cimens of a small bivalve (Turtonia minuta) were esti- 
mated by Mr. Hyndman to be contained in the stomach 
of a single mullet which had been taken in Larne Lough. 
They are not even spared by their own kind. M. Des- 
hayes fed some pet snails with chopped-up morsels of 
one of their companions, which appeared to be unhealthy 
and not likely to survive. Many instances of such 
cannibal propensities in the land and freshwater Mollusca 
will be found in this volume. Budla lignaria is a great 
tyrant among the smaller marine shell-fish, and uses the 
strong plates of its singular gizzard to crush them. All 
_the whelk-tribe, as well as the Natice, enfold their testa- 
ceous prey in their large feet, and drill holes in the shells, 
as before observed, in order to feed on their contents. 
The great strength of the shells possessed by some whelks 
does not save them from becoming victims in their turn. 
I have been informed by intelligent fishermen, that, if 
their lobster-pots (im which the Buccinum undaium is 
often caught) are left a few hours longer than usual, the 
shells of the whelks are found cracked “ like nuts,” 
having been cleared out by the lobsters and crabs while 
they were fellow-prisoners. Quantities of this kind of 
whelk are caught on the Dogger-bank as bait for the cod- 
fisheries of Iceland and Greenland. The way in which 
gold-fish contrive to extract the animals from fresh- 
water shells is curious. When the shell is too large to 
be swallowed, the fish puts its mouth to it, and then, 
sucking it for some minutes, lets it go. After a while 
the snail recovers and withdraws itself from its shell, 


Ix INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


when the fish again seizes and sucks it, repeating this 
operation for hours and sometimes for days, until its 
victim is exhausted. Whether the fish kills its prey by 
means of any poisonous injection is a question which 
might be answered by some observant naturalist who 
not only has an aquarium but makes good use of it. In 
consequence of this continual and internecine warfare, 
an excessive increase in the number of mollusks, both 
on land and in water, is checked. 

Parasites.—Very little appears to be known with re- 
spect to the animal and vegetable parasites which are 
nourished by the juices or excretions of living Mollusca. 
On land, several kinds of slug are infested by a small 
white mite (Philodromus limacum, Jenyus), which may 
often be seen in eonsiderable numbers running actively 
over their bodies, but apparently not domg the slugs any 
harm, except, perhaps, in slightly lessening or interfering 
with their secretion of slime, on which these insects pro- 
bably feed. The Rev. Leonard Jenyns says that the 
most striking feature im the history of this kind of para- 
sitic mite is “the circumstance of its not confining its 
abode to the external surface of the slug, but often re- 
tiring within the body of that animal—effecting its en- 
trance by means of the lateral foramen which leads to 
the cavity of the lungs.” And he observes, “ Indeed 
I am inclined to think that this cavity is its principal 
residence, whence it only comes forth occasionally to 
ramble about the surface of the body. In one instance 
I confined in a close box a slug which, to all appearance, 
was free from parasites. On opening the box a day or 
two afterwards, I observed very many crawling about the 
slug externally, all of which would seem to have pro- 
ceeded from the pulmonary cavity. On another occa- 
sion I observed these insects running in and out of the 


Iv. | INTRODUCTION. Ixi 


cavity at pleasure; and some which I saw retire into it 
never reappeared, although I watched the slug narrowly 
for a considerable time. It is remarkable that the slug 
appears to suffer no particular inconvenience from these 
parasites, and even allows them to run in and out of the 
lateral orifice without betraying the shghtest symptoms 
of irritation.” M. Barthélemy has noticed in the eggs of 
one kind of slug numbers of a small Nematoid worm, 
which he has named Ascarioides limacis. These worms 
are present in the egg at the moment of its being laid, 
having been previously deposited by the parent worm 
while living in the ovary of the slug. The young worms 
must therefore have been introduced into the egg while 
it was being formed. ‘They appear to adopt the same 
course as the parasitic larve of the Jchnewmon when 
they are deposited in the body of a grub, and to spare the 
vital parts of the embryo on which they feed, until the 
period has arrived for their own development. In fresh 
water, the pond-mussel (Anodonta) constantly entertains 
a large party of parasites, consisting of another kind of 
mite (Ataxz ypsilophora, Buntz), which are so tenacious of 
hfe, that after their host has been put into boiling water 
and killed they survive and crawl about as if nothing 
had happened to them. A kind of hair-worm (Gordius 
inquilinus, Miller) attaches itself in clusters to Limnea 
stagnalis and many other freshwater snails. In all pro- 
bability, however, these are not true parasites, and only 
attach themselves to the Mollusca for the sake of the 
shelter afforded by their shells or mantles, obtaining 
their food from the water and not from the snails, be- 
cause their heads are always seen outside and in active 
motion when the snails are crawling. Hach genus, if 
not every species, of freshwater snail may have its own 
pseudoparasite. Limnea, Planorbis, Physa, Ancylus, 


Ixil INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


and Bythinia are similarly infested; but they are of 
various sizes, and some of them have different habitats. 
In the sea, a small kind of pea-crab (Pinnoteres vete- 
rum) is frequently found inside the mantle of Cyprina 
Islandica, Modiola modiolus (or the great horse-mussel), 
and Pinna pectinata, taking up its abode in these snug 
quarters for parasitic purposes, and not (as was imagined 
by the too credulous Pliny) in order to warn the Pinna of 
the approach of its foes, like a faithful friend or watch- 
dog. Professor Kolliker has lately noticed in the shells 
of several kinds of Mollusca, both univalve and bivalve, 
certain vegetable parasites, which he regards as unicellular 
fungi. They form minute tubes, which run straight 
through the pores or fibres of the shell. He thought 
it probable that these vegetable parasites dissolve the car- 
bonate of lime contained in the shell by means of an acid 
which they may have the power of secreting. But the pro- 
cess by which shells are perforated by vegetable as well 
as animal organisms does not seem to be understood, and 
requires much elucidation in a chemical point of view. 
Uses to Man.——(Food.)—We naturally consider our- 
selves (as the “ lords of the creation”’) the sole pivot round 
which all other creatures turn, without much sympathy 
with them or regard for their wants and feelings. But 
the countless and complicated links of the chainwork in 
which all Nature is involved are so closely and wonder- 
fully connected together, that not one of them can be 
broken or displaced without interfering with the eco- 
nomy of the whole. Much of the animal food which we 
consume has been nourished at the expense of other 
creatures, which in their turn have subsisted upon smaller 
organisms ; and this process of destruction is repeated 
until the bottom of the scale of animal life has been 
reached. Then the varied and inexhaustible stores of 


Iv. | INTRODUCTION. Ix 


inorganic substances are called into requisition, and 
these again are supplied and renewed from decayed par- 
ticles of once living matter. Thus a never-ending cycle 
of waste and renewal takes place, in accordance with the 
beneficent design of the Author of all things ! 

The principal use which the Mollusca subserve, so 
far as man is concerned, is to supply him, directly and 
indirectly, with an abundance of food. It is true that this 
kind of food is not so grateful to us in a civilized as in 
an uncivilized state; but one of our most favourite lux- 
uries is derived from this source, and the oyster, fortu- 
nately, inhabits those regions where civilization has 
attained its present height of perfection. Many other 
kinds of shell-fish, such as scallops and cockles, are not 
less wholesome than the king of the Mollusks, and are 
by no means to be despised ; and the ormer (Haliotis 
tuberculata) is reckoned a delicacy in the Channel Isles, 
when properly cooked. The salt flavour which is so 
much relished by a maritime population is imparted by 
all the marine Mollusca. The quantity (amounting to 
many hundreds of tons) of whelks, mussels, and peri- 
winkles which is every year disposed of in Billingsgate 
market alone is almost incredible; and there is no 
seaport or adjoining tract of country, especially in the 
manufacturing and mining districts, but has a consider- 
able traffic carried on within it by a numerous and in- 
dustrious class of itinerant dealers in such wares. On 
many parts of the Scotch and Irish coasts shell-fish form 
a considerable portion of the food of the poorer inha- 
bitants; and in a few of our more remote and almost 
inaccessible islets (such as Fair Isle and some of the 
Western Hebrides) positive starvation would ensue in 
winter, if it were not for these unfailing and easy sup- 
plies. In an indirect way, the Mollusca contribute still 


Ixiv INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


more to the sustenance of man, by supporting the innu- 
merable shoals of cod, ling, haddock, halibut, and various 
other sorts of fish which abound in our seas and provide 
a constant livelihood for a hardy race, and through them 
for a great part of our population, who, both from neces- 
sity and choice, are fish-eaters. Our Continental neigh- 
bours, not being so well supplied as we are with sea-fish, 
do not disdain any “frutti del mare.” The date-shell 
(Lithodomus dactylus), which is extracted with much 
labour from the solid rock on the coasts of the Mediter- 
ranean, is reckoned a dish fit for an emperor; and M. 
Récluz says of a kind of cockle (Cardium levigatum), 
‘Sa chair est savoureuse et prisée du gourmet.” 

The Romans had their oyster-beds, as well as their 
Cochlearia or snail-preserves; and Varro, in his 3rd 
Book (“ De villaticis pastionibus”’), describes fully the 
method adopted by his countrymen for improving the 
different breeds of oysters by crossmg. The improve- 
ment of the breed of oysters, as well as their preserva- 
tion, ranks in France as a science, and has received the 
name of “huitreculture,” its professor bemg M. Coste. 
We can, but (alas!) do not, manage these things so 

well. Even land-snails are pressed into the service of 
the French, and enter rather largely into their cookery. 
No one can have traversed the streets of Paris, or of the 
larger towns in France, without seeing dishes of Helix 
pomatia temptingly displayed in the shops of restaurants, 
ike kidneys and white-bait in the windows of London 
eating-houses. The list of eatable snails in France is 
very considerable and comprises some comparatively 
small species. ‘ Chacun a son goit !” 

(Medicine.)—In our pharmacopeeia of former times a 
decoction of snails was much esteemed as a remedy in 
pulmonary complaints ; and great numbers of them were 


Iv. | INTRODUCTION. Ixv 


unmercifully pounded alive for that purpose. Even in 
the present day snail-broth is said to be serviceable as a 
lenitive. In France an extract from snails, called ‘ Hé- 
licine,’ is used in similar cases. The spongy plate of 
the common cuttle (Sepia officinalis), calcined oyster- 
shells, and the Limacella of the large slug (Limax maxi- 
mus), as well as “crabs’-eyes” (or the concretions of 
calcareous matter found in the stomach of the eatable 
crab), were used during the last century in the prepara- 
tion of certain medicines. 

(Ornament.)—W hen the Romans were the masters of 
these islands they ransacked not only our seas and estu- 
aries for oysters (those from the Mediterranean being 
very scarce and inferior in quality) but also our northern 
rivers for pearls, which were extracted from the Unio 
margaritifer. This shell, with its accompanying product, 
_ is represented in the Frontispiece to the present volume. 
The search for native pearls continued until a compara- 
tively modern period, when it was superseded by the 
successful prosecution of the true pearl-fishery in Eastern 
seas, the valuable and lustrous produce of which threw 
into the shade our comparatively worthless and dull 
jewel. Other species of freshwater mussel, as well as 
the oyster, ormer, sea-mussel, and cockle, and even the 
periwinkle, occasionally yield pearls, but of an unservice- 
able kind. It is evident, from an examination of the 
shells in which such excrescences are formed, that they 
are owing to an irregular and partial secretion by the 
mantle of the nacreous and lamellar substance which 
Imes the inside of the shell. In all probability the 
proximate cause is some extraneous body, and not dis- 
ease as was formerly supposed. In freshwater bivalves 
the irritating tenacity of parasitic insects and worms 
(Lamnochares Anodonte and Distoma duplicatum), and 


Ixvi INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


in marine bivalves the attacks of perforating annelids, 
would be sufficient inducements for the shell-fish endea- 
vouring to smother or keep out its assailants by secre- 
ting an extra quantity of nacreous matter. The nucleus 
of many pearls reveals the origin of their formation. A 
communication made by Signor Antonio Villa in 1860 
to the Literary and Scientific Atheneum at Milan (en- 
titled “Sull’ origine delle perle”’), and another by Mr. 
Robert Garner to the Linnean Society in December 1861 
(“Note on the formation of pearls”’), will well repay a 
perusal by those who are interested in this curious sub- 
ject. The unsuccessful experiments made a century ago 
by Linné for the artificial production of pearls by the 
Unio margaritifer in the rivers of Sweden (and for which 
he took out a patent), and the ingenious process invented 
by the Chinese, of putting little josses or images of some 
incorrodible metal between the mantle and shell of an- 
other freshwater mussel, so as to have them coated over 
with several layers of pearly matter, are now well known. 
Great quantities of the Mytilus edulis are said to have 
been collected a few years ago in the estuary of the 
Conway, as well as in the North of Ireland, and exported 
on account of the Jews, for the purpose of fabricating 
mock pearls out of their nacreous linings. 

Another testaceous article of commerce in this coun- 
try for ornamental purposes is the “ ormer” or ear-shell 
(Haliotis tuberculata), which is found abundantly in the 
Channel Isles. Many tons of these shells are annually 
gathered for the Birmingham market; and their inner 
coats of mother-of-pearl are sufficiently thick to make 
buttons and studs, or for inlaying. 

Shells of various kinds are collected wholesale from 
the famous beach of the islet of Herm, and sent to 
England for fancy-work. The Romans used shells for 


Iv. | INTRODUCTION. Ixvii 


ornamenting their dwellings. Gell’s ‘ Pompeiana’ (vol.i. 
pp- 195, 196) contains an interesting description of the 
celebrated ‘‘ Fountain of Shells,” which appears to have 
been decorated with the Tyrian murex and pilgrim scal- 
lop; and these shells are stated to have been “ neither 
calcined by the heat of the eruption nor changed by the 
lapse of so many centuries.”” Cicero is said to have also 
used shells in decorating a fountain at his Formian villa. 
In our own country it was once the fashion to ornament 
grottos in the same way. 

Among other ornamental uses may be mentioned the 
purple dye which is yielded by many shell-fish. The 
Greeks and Romans extracted it from Murex trun- 
culus and other species which we do not possess; and 
the process of dyeimg constituted one of their most 
important manufactures. An excellent article on this 
subject, considered in a scientific and artistic pot of 
view, and entitled “‘ Natural History of the Purple of the 
Ancients,” by Professor Duthiers of Lille, will be found 
in the ‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society’ for 1860 *. 
Dr. Bizio, a distinguished chemist, has also investigated 
the nature and properties of these dyes; and a learned 
Scotch divine, the Rev. James Smith, has given, in the 
‘Zoologist ’ for 1849, a classical and elaborate disqui- 
sition on the same subject. The common dog-whelk 
(Purpura lapillus) of our own rocky coasts, as well as 
Murex erinaceus, Scalaria communis, and Ianthina com- 
munis produce the same colouring-matter, but in a 
smaller quantity and of a much less vivid hue; and it 
has never been turned to any account. More than a cen- 
tury ago, Borlase, in his ‘ Natural History of Cornwall,’ 
mentions “The purple-marking whelke.” He says, “the 
juice which marks is in a separate bag, of a yellowish- 

* Vol. x. p. 579. 


Ixvill INTRODUCTION. [ CH. 


green when first drawn upon linen, grows a little ruddy 
afterwards, till it comes to a faint purple; when dry, 
and the linen washed, it is of a good purple, and rather 
betters by age and frequent washing.” A cambric 
handkerchief, which I stained more than twenty years 
ago with the dye from the purpuriferous gland of a 
dog-whelk, still retains its violet hue. © The pillar lip of 
this shell often exhibits the same tinge of colour. 
Nearly two centuries ago Lister tried, but in vain, to 
fix the purple dye which is yielded in such quantity by 
the Planorbis corneus, a freshwater snail. 
(Economy.)—Other uses to which the shells of Mol- 
lusca are sometimes applied in this country are numerous 
and varied, although not very important. The valves 
of the great pond-mussel (Anodonta cygnea) make here, 
as well as in the North of France, excellent cream- 
skimmers. The mussels are procured by means of a 
long pointed stick, which is inserted between the gaping 
valves when the animal is feeding, and these closing on 
the stick allow it to be drawn up out of the water. The 
shell of the almond-whelk (Fusus antiquus) serves our 
northern fishermen for a lamp, being suspended from a 
nail in the wall or ceiling of their hut by a piece of 
string, which is fastened round the shell in a triangular 
fashion. The inside is filled with fish-oil, and a wick of 
cotton or tow is put into the canal at the extremity of 
the mouth. This I have seen prepared and used in the 
Shetland Isles; and I doubt whether any antique lamp 
could excel it in elegance of shape. In the palmy days 
of the Italian and Flemish schools, valves of a freshwater 
mussel (named for this reason Unio pictorum) were used 
by the great masters to hold their colours. Although 
they have been superseded by palettes for this purpose, 
they are sold by many artists’-colourmen in London, 


Iv. | INTRODUCTION. Ixix 


containing a preparation of gold or silver leaf for em- 
blazoning. The valves of Pecten maximus and P. oper- 
cularis make an ornamental as well as a useful little 
dish for scalloped oysters. Ormers are used in Guernsey 
by farmers to frighten away small birds from the standing 
corn, two or three of these shells being strung together 
and suspended by a strimg from the end of a long stick, 
so as to make a clattering noise when moved by the 
wind. Among other services which the Mollusca render 
to man is their indicating an approach of rain or a 
change of temperature. Several interesting facts with 
respect to this hygrometrical property have been recorded 
by Mr. B. Thomas of Cincimnati, U.S., in Dingler’s 
‘Polytechnisches Journal ;’ and as I am not aware that 
similar observations have been made or published in 
Great Britain, I venture to direct the attention of 
naturalists who live in the country to this curious 
inqury. Mr. Thomas states that snails are more 
reliable than leaves as natural barometers ; that, in con- 
sequence of their never drinking, all the moisture they 
receive 1s by absorption of rain, mist, or dew through the 
tissues of their bodies, and this they afterwards exude 
at regular intervals, until they obtain a fresh supply 

that the colour of certain kinds of snail varies according 
to the quantity of moisture retained; that two days 
before rain is about to fall they clmb trees, which they 
never do on other occasions; and that when they are 
observed to leave the herbage and get on rocks, it is a 
certain prognostication of wet weather. Not many 
years ago some wonderful stories were afloat as to the 
galvanic nature of snails, which it was proposed to 
turn to account as a medium of communication between 
distant friends ; but this mystery has been eclipsed by 
that, of spirit-rapping, with which the molluscan phe- 


Ixx INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


nomenon may perhaps be classed. I have no doubt 
that both of these mysteries will in due time become 
equally obsolete and superseded by some other preter- 
natural manifestation. 

Injuries to Man.—The sum total of the mischief in- 
flicted by the Mollusca upon Man is easily told and 
reckoned; and it by no means counterbalances the 
benefit he derives from them. At sea, the damage done 
to the woodwork of our piers by some kinds of ship- 
worm (Zeredo), as well as by species of an allied genus 
(Xylophaga), is indeed not inconsiderable ; and, before 
copper or yellow-metal sheathing was used for protect- 
ing the bottoms of our outward-bound vessels, these 
marine scourges used to be justly dreaded. The noble 
breakwater at Plymouth has also suffered, although not 
to any extent, from the excavations made in its more 
exposed parts by a small bivalve (Sazicava rugosa); and, 
on some parts of the coast, beds of clay, which served as 
natural barriers to ward off the action of tidal waves on 
our harbours, have disappeared in consequence of Pho- 
lades having chosen to take up their abode in them. On 
land, our molluscan foes are more troublesome than 
formidable. Turnips and cabbages occasionally suffer 
from the partiality of slugs to such succulent food ; and 
of course we cannot help sympathizing with the gentle 
florist who sees her pet carnation nipped in the bud and 
ruined, in consequence of its having been selected by a 
hungry or dainty snail for its supper. But the wire- 
worm, fly, and grub are far more formidable pests to the 
farmer and gardener, and no mollusk has been known 
to attach itself parasitically to Man; so that we may 
safely challenge the entomologist in favour of the com- 
paratively harmless subjects of this inquiry. Various 
remedies have been proposed for preventing the ravages 


1V. | INTRODUCTION. Ixxi 


a 


of slugs and snails in gardens. The application of lime 
has only a temporary effect ; and it may do as much 
harm as good by overstimulating the chemical ingredients 
of some soils. An ingenious method has been proposed 
for protecting flowers by surrounding the bed with cop- 
per and zine wire, the former being outermost. The 
wire should be laid on the ground and kept clear of 
dirt, or fixed in such a way that the snails and slugs 
must crawl over it to reach the flower-bed. In attempt- 
ing to do this, they receive an electric shock, and they find 
the sensation so uncomfortable or unusual, that they 
never venture to transgress the forbidden boundary. Pro- 
fessor Wheatstone assures me that he has no doubt such 
a galvanic battery, or “ slug-shocker,” would answer the 
desired purpose. 
Study of Conchology.—As Wordsworth nobly says, 
fy ato Raa ‘Know that pride, 


Howe’er disguised in its own majesty, 

Is littleness ; that he who feels contempt 

For any living thing, hath faculties 

Which he has never used ; that thought with him 

Is in its infancy.” 
Besides the interest which belongs to the study of any 
branch of Natural History for its own sake, Conchology 
has other claims on our attention in consequence of its 
important relation to Geology. The first consideration 
leads us to admire (if our limited sphere of mental vision 
does not enable us to fully comprehend) the infinite 
wisdom, harmony, and variety of that wonderful scheme 
of creation which connects us with all our fellow-creatures 
in one common bond of sympathy; and it also teaches 
us a lesson of humility, by showing that all our phy- 
sical, and perhaps even our mental, faculties are shared 
with us by other animals, far indeed inferior to us in 
organization, but equally enjoying the prescient and 


Ixxul INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


beneficent care of Him through whom “ we all live and 
move and have our being.” The second consideration 
discloses to us the ancient history of the globe which 
we inhabit; and, by reason of the durable nature of 
molluscous shells, which is capable of resisting the 
action of many forces that destroy other organisms, we 
can apply our knowledge of their living structure and 
habits to the elucidation of some of those difficult pro- 
blems which are necessarily involved in the study of 
Geology. For this reason, shells have been aptly called 
the “ Medals of Creation;” and they are as important 
to this science as coims are for making us acquainted 
with the history of past nations. The advantages and 
pleasures of the fascinating pursuit of Natural history 
have been so often and so forcibly expatiated upon by 
popular writers on the subject, that I can hardly hope 
to add anything to promote its mterest. As a branch 
of education, the benefit of such studies is incalcu- 
lable. They impart and inculcate, in the most agree- 
able form, the faculty of sound reasoning, the continual 
exercise of memory, a love of order, habits of observation, 
and, above all, the necessity of truth. No one can hope 
to be a naturalist who is wanting in accuracy. As a 
source of intellectual gratification, no pursuit of any 
other kind can excel it. It is entitled to bear equal 
rank with the pleasures of ‘ Hope,” “ Memory,” “ Ima- 
gination,”’ and “ Literature,” all of which have had able 
poets and writers to celebrate their praises ; and, although 
the great orator of ancient days had letters especially in 
his view, his admirable remarks will apply with equal 
force to the study and love of Natural science. After 
premising that such pursuits are most worthy of the 
dignity of a thinking being, as well as most humanizing 
and liberal in their tendency, he says, “ Other mental 


Iv. | INTRODUCTION. xxii 


occupations are not suited either to every time, or to 
every age or place: these studies, however, foster our 
earlier years and impart pleasure to our declining ones ; 
they adorn our prosperity, and afford a refuge and solace 
in adversity ; they delight us at home, but do not hinder 
us in the discharge of our public duties; they are our 
companions in the evening, abroad, and im the country*.” 

We are, I fear, too prone to indulge in a patriotic 
boast, that our naturalists are more painstaking and 
numerous than those of other nations; but, with regard 
to conchology, I must admit that we are far excelled by 
the French. Mogquin-Tandon stands preeminent in the 
elucidation of the anatomy, physiology, and habits of his 
native land and freshwater Mollusca; and the number 
of his countrymen to whose works on the subject of con- 
chology he has referred in his admirable ‘ Histoire Natu- 
relle des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de France’ 
is no less than 168. Can we show any work at all equal 
to his as regards knowledge or labour on our own land 
and freshwater Mollusca, or one-half of the above num- 
ber as British writers on conchology, from Lister to 
the present time? It is true that the marine fauna 
of France has not been studied with equal assiduity and 
success ; but our superiority in this respect may be owing 
to the greater extent and variety of sea-coast which we 
possess, as well as to our habits as a maritime people, 
evidenced by the fleet of yachts and pleasure-boats which 
crowd many of our harbours. In the thinly populated 
and comparatively isolated region of Scandinavia, but 
where opportunities of marine investigation are peculiarly 
favourable, we find a host of able and zealous concholo- 
gists (such as Nilsson, Lovén, Sars, Hisinger, Steen- 
strup, Oersted, Moller, Morch, Asbjérnsen, Malm, Torell, 

* Cicero, Or. pro Argh. poet. (ed. Anth.) p. 158. 


Ixxiv INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


and Bergh), who are not far, if at all, behind us in the 
race, and are worthy successors of the great Linné, 
Miiller, and Fabricius. Nor are the conchologists in 
Germany, Italy, and other parts of the European con- 
tinent few or unknown, as may be seen by reference to 
the list of authors which is appended to this volume. 

Pleasures and drawbacks.—In the pursuit of this as 
well as of other branches of Natural History, not the 
least part of our enjoyment is derived from sympathy 
with other naturalists, or from what may be, perhaps 
not inappropriately, termed “the freemasonry of the 
craft.’ In my occasional visits to the Continent, I have 
invariably experienced the greatest kindness from many 
who were only known to me by name; nor is such 
good-fellowship less hearty at home than it is abroad. 
On one occasion my hobby of snail-hunting perhaps 
saved me from some trouble or annoyance. In the spring 
of 1850 I was travelling with my wife through Lombardy, 
when, during a mid-day halt at Rovigo to bait the horses, 
I could not resist taking a walk outside the barriers, 
accompanied by our courier, who had been previously 
useful to me in assisting to collect shells. At the end 
of an hour or so we returned, but found at the barrier- 
gate an Austrian official who demanded our passports. 
This was at first a poser, as I had left in the carriage at 
Rovigo the document which was at that time so indis- 
pensable for passing through the North of Italy. All 
explanations appeared to be unavailing, when the courier 
pulled out of his pocket a collecting-box full of live snails, 
and at once satisfied the smiling official by showing this 
proof of our innocence with the remark, “ Ecco, Signore, 
1 nostri passaporti !” 

The reminiscences and association of ideas arising out 
of the work of collection are often very pleasant, but 


Iv.] INTRODUCTION. Ixxv 


occasionally not unfraught with sadness. A specimen 
will in after days bring back to our minds many an in- 
cident, which else had been forgotten, of woodland and 
seaside rambles, of nautical adventure, of excursions in 
foreign lands, and (above all) the companionship of be- 
loved but lost friends, who have, alas! left this fair world 
and us. The bitter drop will arise from the midst of 
the sweet and bubbling spring of pleasure, and give us 
pain even among the encircling flowers. It is still the 
same as when Lucretius wrote— 
Spa Peotcke corone, serta parantur ; 

Nequicquam: quoniam medio de fonte leporum 

Surgit amari aliquid, quod in ipsis floribus angat.” 

Incidents of the pursuit.—It is not always easy to 
enlist fishermen in the cause of science. Most of them 
readily promise, but seldom keep their word ; and they 
do not seem to comprehend how any sensible person can 
take an interest in such pursuits, as they regard all the 
products of the sea, which are not fish, as “trash.” In 
the Shetlands, however, I have received much assistance 
from the long-line fishermen, who brought me all the 
whelks (or “ buckies”’) which were caught sticking to 
the bait on the deep-sea (or “ haaf”’) fishing-banks ; and 
- they did this regularly and for several weeks together. 
M. Drouet complained bitterly of the difficulty which he 
experienced in inducing the native fishermen at the 
Azores to bring him any shells, even although he offered 
to pay them liberally for their trouble. They told him 
they did not choose to alter their habits ; and one of them, 
after seeing the French conchologist very busy collecting 
some small land-shells, said to his muleteer one day in 
confidence, ‘‘C’est bien dommage, mais ce seigneur 
frangais est pris de la!” and, while saying this, he sig- 
nificantly touched his forehead. How far some persons, 

d2 


Ixxvi INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


who affect to consider themselves as more enlightened 
than the poor fisherman, may share in his remark, I will 
not pretend to inquire,—although it is by no means 
certain that, by their so doing, they are not themselves 
greater objects of pity than the crazy naturalist. 

A curious question may be raised as to the right of 
any person to collect and appropriate shells or other ob- 
jects of Natural history. According to the strict mter- 
pretation of the law, all trespasses upon private lands 
without the consent of the occupier are unjustifiable ; 
and it makes no difference whether the trespasser is a 
naturalist in pursuit of his amusement, or whether he 
is simply taking a walk for the sake of exercise. For- 
tunately for scientific research, great forbearance is 
almost invariably shown to naturalists by the proprietors 
or occupiers of land, even although the latter may take 
no interest in such pursuits; and the mstance to the 
contrary, of which the gifted Hugh Miller complained, 
in his “ Cruise of the Betsey,” was probably owing to his 
not having exercised the common courtesy of requesting, 
from a sectarian opponent, permission to collect fossils 
on his land. I could also very well imagine that the 
owner of a ‘neat villa” might have a decided objection 
to his favourite fish-pond bemg invaded by a party of 
conchologists or entomologists armed with ladles or nets, 
especially if they considered it quite unnecessary to go 
through the ceremony of asking leave. In the case of 
manorial wastes or commons, over which the lord and 
his tenants have certain and well-defined rights, not ex- 
tending to such things as objects of Natural history, no 
question of this kind is ever likely to arise; and the 
legal maxim, “de minimis non curat lex,’ would pro- 
bably apply to this case. The majesty of the law would 
not condescend to notice such trifles as a few shells, in- 


Iv. INTRODUCTION. Ixxvu 


sects, or plants. Thesamerule would, in all probability, 
hold good in the case of researches for Natural-history 
purposes on those parts of the sea-shore which le be- 
tween high and low-water mark, and especially if they 
were made exclusively in the pursuit of science and not 
for commercial gain. In a seigniory or honour, com- 
prising several manors, which has an extensive frontage 
to the sea, on the coast of Gower in South Wales, the 
lord is entitled to receive small annual sums, varying 
from sixpence to half-a-crown, by way of acknowledg- 
ment of his rights, for the privilege of gathering cockles, 
mussels, lobsters, and crabs, as well as ore-weed or wrack 
which is used as manure in that part of the country ; 
and distinct licenses are granted for these privileges. 
With respect to the vast tracts of the sea-bottom which 
extend beyond the low-water mark of spring tides, the 
right of the public to explore them with the dredge or 
any other device for scientific purposes has never yet been 
questioned. Even in France, where the garde-marine 
have strict orders not to allow any net or similar imple- 
ment to be on board of a vessel or boat on that coast 
when oysters are out of season, I have found no difficulty 
in obtaining the requisite permission to use my dredge, and 
it was granted readily and with the utmost courtesy. 

In a commercial point of view, British shells do not 
fetch high prices, compared with what is given by col- 
lectors for some exotic rarities. The late Dr. Turton 
stated, in his useful but unsystematic little book called 
‘A Conchological Dictionary of the British Islands,’ 
that a complete collection of our native shells had 
been estimated to be worth its weight in silver. This 
was certainly a singular mode of valuing such property, 
considering that many of our minute shells, which are so 
light that hundreds of them would scarcely balance the 


Ixxvill INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


smallest weight used by apothecaries, are among our 
greatest treasures. As is not uncommon in such cases, 
beauty of form or brilliancy of colour does not always 
represent the same value as rarity and the consequent 
difficulty of acquisition. As much as £8 has been given 
for a single specimen of Panopea Norvegica, which 
would be considered by all but conchologists as a very 
ugly and coarse shell. Some of our scarcer kinds of 
Fusus also command good prices ; and it is said that the 
magnificent specimen of Buccinum acuminatum, which 
once belonged to Lord Kilcoursie and is now in our 
National Museum, cost the Trustees (or rather the 
country) no less than £12. Mr. Damon of Weymouth, 
as well as Mr. Rich, Mr. Sowerby, and Mr. Wright, all 
of Great Russell Street, London, are the principal dealers 
in this line; and a priced list of British shells may be 
had of the first-named enterprising person. 


C Hix Ps hy. 


DISTRIBUTION. 


EXTENT. —- ORIGIN OF BRITISH MOLLUSCA,. — FOSSILS. — GULF- 
STREAM, 


Extent.—It has long been notorious that distinct 
groups of Mollusca, as well as of other animals and of 
plants, occupy more or less extensive areas of the earth’s 
surface. This distribution is generally more limited with 
regard to terrestrial kinds than to those which have an 
aquatic habitat. The temperature of the sea at certain 
depths is constantly the same everywhere, and it does not 
appear to be affected by that of the surface. One species 


v.| INTRODUCTION. Ixxix 


of the marine Testacea (Sawicava arctica or rugosa) is said 
to be almost “‘ cosmopolite,” being diffused over all seas 
from Baffin’s Bay to that which washes the shores of 
Australia. It has also a wide range of habitat in the 
same seas, extending from low-water mark down to a 
depth of 100 fathoms and upwards. The distribution of 
Terebratula caputserpentis 1s nearly as extensive in re- 
spect of area and depth of water. This is spread not 
only over all the European seas, but also (although under 
other names, viz. septentrionalis and Japonica) over a 
great part of the North and South Atlantic, Pacific, and 
Indian Oceans. In both of these instances the variation 
of form and sculpture is very considerable, being coinci- 
dent with, and probably caused by, the extent of habitat. 
Philine aperta is found im every part of the seas of 
Europe, as well as in Simon’s Bay at the Cape of Good 
Hope, and in the Australian seas. Sazxicava, Terebra- 
tula, and Philine represent three different orders of Mol- 
lusca ; and I have cited them, for that reason, as exam- 
ples of the extent of what is termed “ geographical distri- 
bution.” The limits within which some other kinds of 
Mollusca occur are also very wide; and the Gulf-stream 
transports to great distances pelagic or floating kinds, 
such as Hyalea, Ianthina, and Spirula. But, considering 
all these to be exceptions, it may be assumed as a 
general rule, that there is no specific conformity between 
the marine products of the temperate and tropical 
regions, especially between the Mollusca which inhabit 
that part of the North Atlantic Ocean which confines 
the coasts of Europe, on the one hand, and the rest of 
the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Pacific, Indian, and 
great Southern Oceans, on the other hand. Noauthen- 
ticated case has been recorded of any marine West 
Indian species having been found living in the European 


Ixxx INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


seas, or vice versd. The most striking difference appears 
to be with respect to those species called “ littoral,” 
which are more subject to climatal influence than the 
inhabitants of deep water. In the case of freshwater 
shells, the same rule and exceptions seem to prevail. 
The common pond-snail (Limnea peregra) is diffused 
over the whole of Europe, as well as over considerable | 
tracts of North America and Northern Asia; and it is 
only by calling them “representative ” species and giving 
them other names that any pretence can be made for 
distinguishing certain British species of Limnea, Physa, 
and Pisidium from those which are brought from very 
distant parts of the world. This diffusion of freshwater 
shells has been attributed to the chance transport by 
birds ; but I am inclined to believe that it had a different 
and very remote origin, and that it took place long before 
the present distribution of land and water. Land-shells 
are much more restricted in their range; and with the 
exception of two minute species (Helix pulchella and 
Cochlicopa lubrica), besides a few other snails which 
have been mtroduced, and as it were domesticated, by 
Man, I am not aware of any kinds which are common 
to both hemispheres. In Thibet and Cashmir, indeed, 
many of the land-shells are said to belong to the same 
species as inhabit Great Britain ; but these are probably 
the descendants of ancient immigrants during the Gla- 
cial epoch from more northern latitudes. The mode by 
which the Mollusca have become distributed throughout 
the different and remote areas in which they are now 
found living or in a fossil state has in all probability 
been the same from the time of their creation. Their 
natural tendency is to disperse either in search of food 
or from a migratory imstinct; and, although the pace 
of a snail is proverbially slow, time and the action 


v.] INTRODUCTION. Ixxx] 


of marine currents will effect for their countless race 
and generations that which is denied to animals of 
greater locomotive powers but of lessnumber. A small 
tribe of gigantic animals would be far more easily ex- 
terminated than a host of puny shell-fish. When the 
Mollusca have, in the course of ages, become thus spread 
over a certain space, their further progress is arrested 
by some geological convulsion or change. The land or 
sea-bed, which they inhabited or roamed over, is either 
suddenly or gradually covered with water or dried up ; 
plains are raised and converted into mountains; trees 
and succulent vegetation disappear; deserts become 
swamps, and rivers estuaries ; the sea-shore sinks many 
‘fathoms deep ; the climate of the land and the tempera- 
ture of the sea are altered; and conditions unfavourable 
to molluscan life succeed. By some of these means 
many species are entirely destroyed within the area 
which is the scene of such a convulsion or change ; 
others are reduced in number and dwindle away; while 
a few of a more hardy nature survive and continue to 
flourish. Frequent alterations in the relative level of 
sea and land, accompanying the alternate elevation or 
depression of more or less extensive districts, will doubt- 
less account in a great measure for the irregular distri- 
bution of some species and groups of Mollusca. But 
shell-fish do not “retire” or “ retreat,’ as has been 
conjectured by some naturalists. Their instinctive im- 
pulse is to advance only. When aquatic mollusks sud- 
denly and unwillingly find themselves on dry land, or 
snails are immersed in a sea-bath for a long time, they 
have no alternative but to die at their posts like brave 
soldiers ; while their comrades are starved to death, owing 
to the failure of the commissariat. 

With respect to the distribution of the marie Mol- 

a5 


Ixxxil INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


lusca in the European seas, many theories have been 
from time to time advanced, each of which would divide 
this great area into several distinct parts, or what are 
called “ provinces.” Professor Milne-Edwards, in the 
‘Annales des Sciences Naturelles’ for 1838, proposed 
the following division—l1l. Scandinavian, 2. Celtic, 3. 
Mediterranean. Mr. 8. P. Woodward, in his very useful 
little treatise, entitled ‘Manual of the Mollusca’ (the 
last edition of which was published in 1856), considered 
that there are four provinces, viz. 1. Arctic, 2. Boreal, 
3. Celtic, 4. Lusitanian; and these, according to this 
writer, were “framed upon the widest possible basis.” 
In a posthumous work of the late Professor Edward 
Forbes, which was most ably continued and edited by ° 
Mr. Godwin-Austen in 1859, under the title of ‘The 
Natural History of the European Seas,’ a fifth province 
(the “‘ Mediterranean”) has been added to those above 
enumerated. The latter scheme of distribution has been 
recently adopted by Mr. M‘Andrew in the ‘ Annals of 
Natural History’ for December 1861. 

Now, although such a division into “ provinces” or 
separate areas of distribution is very plausible, and pos- 
sibly may be maintamable in the same sense as the divi- 
sion of Mankind into distinct races, a definite principle 
seems to be wanting in their construction. If we com- 
pare any one of these schemes with another, a very 
material discrepancy is observable as to the relative 
limits of the provinces. For instance (not to travel far 
from home), Milne-Edwards considered that the Celtic 
province had its southern boundary in the Straits of 
Gibraltar ; Woodward restricted the same limit of this 
province to our own coasts; while Forbes advocated its 
extension ‘ from the Bay of Biscay to the Baltic Sea.” 

The principle of definition, as well as of construction, 


v.| _ INTRODUCTION. Ixxxi 


has been also left in an unsettled and unsatisfactory 
state. Woodward lays it down as a rule, that, “in order 
to constitute a distinct province, it is considered neces- 
sary that at least one-half the species should be peculiar, 
a rule which applies equally to plants and animals.’ 
On the other hand, M‘Andrew, after admitting that a 
considerable portion of the species of Mollusca inhabiting 
any one zoological province may be found in other pro- 
vinces, says, “It is not by a simple comparison of the 
list of species that we can determine the similarity or 
divergence of the fauna of separate localities, as the differ- 
ence between them may consist in a few characteristic 
forms, which may be especially developed in each.” This 
wide divergence of opinion as to the rule or “law” of 
distribution, between two such able and experienced 
naturalists, renders further inquiry into the facts of the 
_ case indispensable, especially when it is considered that 
so many of the ‘‘ species” referred to by Woodward and 
of the “forms” (by which it is presumed genera are 
meant) indicated by M‘Andrew are questionable or still 
sub judice. That genera-makers may be found who will 
separate such forms as Trivia from Cyprea, Erato from 
Marginella, and Admete from Cancellaria, cannot be 
helped,—although most naturalists deprecate and disavow 
such trifling distinctions. But until a complete concord- 
ance has been established and recognized between all the 
forms, whether generic or specific, of the Mollusca which 
inhabit any one area, a solid and reliable foundation 
cannot be obtamed for erecting the superstructure of 
distribution. No conchologist, whose mind is free from 
prejudice, either as regards the authority of names or of 
theories on the subject in question, can detect any greater 
difference between specimens of Mitra Grenlandica from 
Spitzbergen and Mitra ebenus from Naples, than he can 


Ixxxiv INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


between recent shells of Natica clausa from the North 
Cape and fossil shells of the same species from Palermo. 
It is an indisputable fact that whenever the Mollusca of 
any part of the European sea-coast have been carefully 
examined, the species which are there found exhibit a 
greater conformity than had been previously supposed 
with the species inhabiting more remote parts, the 
general area being thus widened and every portion of it 
brought into closer relation to the others. The former 
test of percentage is in that case fallacious and no longer 
to be depended upon. Thus we find that in Philippi’s 
invaluable work on the Sicilian Mollusca, which was 
completed in 1844, 513 species of marine Testacea are 
described. After making a small deduction for dupli- 
cates (e. g. six out of eight species of Anomia, and some 
Rissoe), about 500 species may be regarded as distinct. 
The treatise appended to the last volume of that work” 
contains a table of comparison between the Mollusca of 
the Mediterranean and those of the British seas ; and 
in this table 127 out of the above number of 500 are set 
down as belonging to our fauna. This gives a rate of 
only about 25 per cent. The result of my own exami- 
nation of the marine Testacea of’ another part of the 
Mediterranean * is very different from that of Philippi— 
especially when it is taken into account that my exami- 
nation only occupied three or four weeks, while Philippi 
was engaged for many years in a continuous investiga- 
tion. The total number of species which I found or ex- 
amined on the Piedmontese coast in 1855 was 375; and 
of this number I identified no less than 205 as British. 
This gives a rate of nearly 55 per cent.; and taking 
* “On the Marine Testacea of the Piedmontese Coast,” Ann. & Mag. 


N.H., February 1856, p. 155-188. An Italian translation by Professor 
Capellini has been published at Genoa. 


v.| INTRODUCTION. Ixxxv 


Philippi’s number of 500 as the standard of comparison 
it is 41 per cent., after making some allowance on the 
one hand for species unnoticed by Philippi but included 
in my list, and on the other hand for species described 
by him but not observed by me, although many of the 
latter are unquestionably British. The discrepancy in 
these results is the more remarkable when it is con- 
sidered that only twelve years elapsed between the pub- 
lication by Philippi and myself of our respective re- 
searches. When the number and extent of similar in- 
vestigations have been increased, and sufficient attention 
has been paid to the discrimimation of species, in order 
to their identification with the names imposed upon 
them by different authors, it is highly probable that a 
still further correspondence will be found to exist between 
the Testacea of the Mediterranean and British seas than 
has been imperfectly indicated by me. One great diffi- 
culty in making such a concordance has arisen from the 
habit of merely collating the names given by authors, in- 
stead of examining and comparing the specimens described 
by them; and I believe that many an unsuspected link 
in the chain of specific identity would be detected by 
pursuing the latter course of investigation. It was only 
by mere accident, while I was lately looking over the 
excellent collections of French sea-shells belonging to 
M. Petit de la Saussaye at Paris and to Dr. Baudon 
at Mouy, that I recognized, among some specimens 
which they had received from M. Martin of Martigues, 
and which he had procured by dredging in a deep part 
of'the Mediterranean off the coast of Provence, not only 
the Buccinum Humphreysianum of our northern sea 
(under the name of B. Fusiforme, Kiener), but also the 
Rissoa abyssicola of Forbes, which had hitherto been 
supposed to be exclusively confined to the Hebridean 


Ixxxvi INTRODUCTION. [ CH: 


channel. This last was called “ Rissoa scabra,” although 
it was not the species so named and described by Philippi. 
Bulla Cranchii and other “northern” forms also occurred 
among these Mediterranean shells, but under names 
distinct from those which British conchologists have 
given to them. If we can divest our minds of the popular 
or received impression, that the diversity between species 
which inhabit the extreme northern and southern por- 
tions of the European seas is both general and well- 
marked, we shall not be surprised at the discovery that 
many species of Mollusca which at present bear different 
names (such as Mitra Grenlandica and M. ebenus) are 
really the same or undistinguishable from each other, or 
that even the Astarte incrassata of the Mediterranean is 
only a variety of that polymorphous and northern species, 
A. sulcata. 

The testaceous Mollusca of our own seas have been 
separated by Forbes and Hanley mto no less than nine 
different types—viz. Lusitanian, South British, Euro- 
pean, Celtic, British, Atlantic, Oceanic, Boreal, and 
Arctic. The limits of these so-called types have not 
been defined with any degree of precision ; and, although 
the proposed division is highly ingenious, it can scarcely 
be considered as justified by the present state of our 
information on the subject. It seems to me, after a 
long and careful study of the question, that no more 
than two groups (which are apparently distinct from 
each other) can be recognized in a geographical point 
of view; and for these I would suggest the general, but 
not inappropriate, names of “Northern” or North- 
European, and “ Southern” or South-European. It is 
extremely difficult to fix the limits of even these com- 
paratively wide areas of distribution; but the “ facies ” 
of each group is manifest. to some extent in the lit- 


v.| INTRODUCTION. Ixxxvil | 


toral or shallow-water species, and especially in such 
conspicuous and striking forms as those of Trichotro- 
pis and Neera in our northern seas and Haliotis and 
Galeomma on our southern coast. Taking the wider 
basis of the European seas, I am not aware that any 
species of Conus or Ringicula is found living in the 
North, or that any species of Margarita or Lacuna in- 
habits the South. It is, however, not unlikely that when 
the sphere of our observation has been enlarged, and 
a complete concordance obtained between the species of 
Testacea from different parts of Europe, the exceptions 
from a general distribution will become fewer and at 
last disappear, and perhaps that only one common area 
may be hereafter recognized. The distribution which at 
present exists must be referred to a past state of things. 
There can be no doubt that the area of diffusion was 
formerly much more extensive than it is at present, and 
that it has been restricted by subsequent causes. 
Reverting, however, to the proposed scheme of distri- 

bution by Forbes and Hanley, as well as to the sugges- 
tion now advanced by me, our marine Testacea may be 
classed as follows :— 

1. Northern ; 

2. Southern ; 

3. Oceanic, or occasional visitants. 
The first of these divisions corresponds with the “ Arctic” 
and “ Boreal” types of Forbes and Hanley, and the 
second to their “ Atlantic” and “ Lusitanian”’ types. 
Their ‘South British,’ “European,” “Celtic,” and 
‘ British” types indicate mixed or neutral ground, and 
partake both of northern and southern characters. The 
third division answers to their “ oceanic” type,” but it 
can hardly be regarded as indigenous to the British 
seas. 


Ixxxvill INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


The same basis of classification may be adopted for our 
land and freshwater shells. These have been separated 
by Forbes and Hanley into only three types, viz. North 
European, Central European, and South European. The 
third division of the foregoing category (viz. Oceanic) is 
of course inapplicable to this group; but in other re- 
spects the principles which regulate their distribution 
are nearly the same as in the case of their marine ana- 
logues. The difference of aspect between these and 
marine species, so far as regards their distribution, is very 
noticeable, although, in this pomt of view, many of the 
land and freshwater shells exhibit a greater resem- 
blance to littoral species than to those which inhabit 
deeper water, by reason of their external conditions. 
Temperature or climate is one of the principal agents 
in regulating the diffusion of land and freshwater Mol- 
lusca; and their limits are often sharply defined by a 
strait of the sea or a mountain-range. Some conspi- 
cuous land-shells (as Heliz fruticum and H. incarnata) 
live m the North of France, although they have never 
been found in this country unless in a subfossil state 
and as the relics of a past state of things. Some of our 
common snails do not pass the Grampian Hills. In 
Zetland the Helix aspersa is a total stranger, fortunately 
for the poor gardens of the natives; and only a scanty 
remnant of the tribe have succeeded in crossing the 
Pentland Firth or maintaining their existence in these 
barren isles. Freshwater shells are not so restricted in 
their distribution, although one of our native species 
(Limnea involuta) has hitherto been discovered in only 
one locality—assuming that this species is distinct from 
L. glutinosa, which does not ‘appear to have been found 
in the same district. A table of distribution of the 
land and freshwater shells which inhabit the British 


v.] INTRODUCTION. Ixxxix 


Isles, with reference to other countries and to our upper 
tertiary deposits, will be subjoined to this volume; and 
I propose to give in the succeeding volumes similar 
tables to show also the distribution of our marine 
Testacea. 

Origin of British Mollusca.—As regards the “‘ history”’ 
or proximate origin of the British Mollusca, I fully agree 
with Forbes and Hanley, who stated in the Introduction 
to their work (vol. i. p. xxxv), that “the true source of 
our Molluscan fauna was first manifested by the assem- 
blage of Testacea preserved in the deposit called Coralline 
Crag,” although my investigation of the Crag shells has 
not led me to form the same conclusion that they did, 
viz. that most of these ancestors of our living shell-fish 
are “ of those forms which we regard as Southern types.” 

The opportunities afforded by a study of the Crag strata 
_ are far superior to any, that we at present possess, for the 
investigation of our marine Mollusca. We can explore 
the ancient sea-bottom for many miles on dry land, and 
as leisurely as if the bed of the present ocean were un- 
covered and laid dry by some violent convulsion of 
nature; and this examination can be extended not only 
superficially, but also by making sections of the bed to 
a depth of thirty feet, so as to have the whole of its con- 
tents exposed to view. In attempting a similar explora- 
tion of the present sea-bottom, we are only able, at con- 
siderable expense, with some personal discomfort, and 
in such weather as we too frequently meet with in this 
climate, to scrape up with the dredge a few bagfuls of 
sand or mud mixed with shells; nor can we hope to 
examine in this way more than a very few inches in 
depth. Many deep-burrowing shell-fish altogether escape 
our observation, or are only procured by chance. 

In order to ascertain the exact nature of the relations 


xe INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


which exist between this ancient Molluscan fauna and 
that which at present inhabits our seas and coasts, I have 
not only examined the Crag strata in company with 
Mr. Prestwich, whose experience in this important branch 
of geological science is so well known, but I have also 
carefully gone over the extensive collection of Crag shells 
made by Mr. Searles Wood and presented by him to 
the British Museum. In pursuing the latter examina- 
tion, I compared the collection with the valuable and 
elaborate work of Mr. Wood, published by the Palzeon- 
tographical Society, im which the specimens were de- 
scribed and figured, as well as with Mr. Davidson’s 
memoir on the Tertiary Brachiopoda in the same series 
of publications ; and I afterwards collated the result of 
this examination with a great many books and special 
treatises on the recent conchology of Europe and the 
Arctic regions. I likewise derived no small assistance 
in the imvestigation from the opportunity I had of 
consulting the large collection of recent shells in our 
National Museum, and for which I would here return 
my best thanks to Dr. Baird, the courteous and able 
Curator of this department. This examination has satis- 
fied me that, out of 286 species of marine shells belong- 
ing to the Coralline Crag formation, no less than 167 are 
identical with those which still live in the British seas. 
Of the remaining 119 species, 7 are said to be exclusively 
Northern, and 19 Southern forms, while 93 appear to 
be extinct or are as yet unascertained to be existing. 
This gives a proportion of very nearly 60 per cent. for 
those marine species of the Coralline Crag which at pre- 
sent inhabit our seas. Out of the 167 species which I 
have recognized as British, 27 have been described or 
recorded by different authors as Northern, and only 24 
as Southern forms,—taking the Arctic circle as the 


v.] INTRODUCTION. xCl 


southern limit of the one, and the Bay of Biscay as the 
northern limit of the other area. The greater part are 
common to the North and South. In considering the 
Crag Mollusca, the percentage of existing or recent spe- 
cies would be very much larger if we were to include 
the Red Crag and the Mammaliferous or Norwich beds, 
and especially if we were to add the pleistocene or post- 
pliocene strata which immediately overlie those beds— 
in fact the whole of our upper tertiaries. It is highly 
probable that all the Mollusca which lived during the 
periods represented by the newer strata still survive in 
some part or other of those vast tracts of sea-bed which 
lie between the North Pole and the Pillars of Hercules. 
The discovery which is continually being made of missing 
links, as well as the increase of experience which results 
from a more extensive and perfect knowledge of the Mol- 
lusca, must tend to alter the rate of percentage as between 
recent and fossil forms. I am aware that the late Pro- 
fessor D’Orbigny (in his ‘ Paléontologie Frangaise’), Pro- 
fessor Agassiz (in his ‘ Essay on Classification’), as well 
as Hall, Pictet, and others, have contended that there 
is no specific identity between any of the Tertiary and 
recent Mollusca; but the peculiar views which some of 
those naturalists entertained and advocated, as to the 
successive creation of species, may have influenced their 
judgment. At all events, he must be a bold species- 
maker who can pretend to distinguish Crag specimens of 
the common European cowry, and of many other species, 
from those which now live in the adjacent seas ; and their 
varieties and monstrosities also, both in a fossil and recent 
state, comcide in the most minute particulars, the only 
difference being that the latter are glossy and compara- 
tively transparent, while the former are dull and opaque. 
Even the Lingula of the Wenlock Silurians could not be 


xcll INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


distinguished by Mr. Davidson (who has especially and so 
thoroughly studied the fossil Brachiopoda) from a living 
species (LZ. anatina) by any characters which he could 
recognize as constituting a valid specific difference. 

These considerations, however, involve the ‘difficult 
question of the origin of species; and I will not pursue 
them further, except by suggesting the very great proba- 
bility that a// existing species have descended by modi- 
fication from primeval forms, but at the same time not 
admitting the hypothesis of Mr. Darwin that such forms 
were very few or perhaps unique. In those strata which 
contain our earliest records of the world’s history, as 
great a diversity of form is exhibited in the groups which 
we call genera and species as in the existing fauna; and 
it seems evident that the plan of the Creator, so far as 
we can comprehend it, has not been that of progressive 
development. 

Nor will I here venture to touch upon the equally 
abstruse, and more speculative, hypothesis as to the 
radiation of species from several centres of creation. 

But I am digressing. For the reasons above stated 
with regard to the connexion between the Coralline 
Crag and British shells, I am inclined to regard this 
formation as the starting-point, and as it were the 
eradle of our molluscan race. The fauna of Europe, 
Northern Asia, the Cis-Atlantic zone of Africa, and a 
great part of North America appears to have been 
closely related at a comparatively recent epoch, and 
to constitute only one area of origin. Many species of 
Mollusca once existed at both extremities of this vast 
district. Mya truncata, Cyprina Islandica, and Bucci- 
num undatum live in the Arctic and North Atlantic as 
well as in our own seas, and their remains or shells 
are found in Sicily. Cancellaria costellifera occurs in 


Vv. INTRODUCTION. x¢clll 


our Coralline Crag beds; and it survives in the North 
Atlantic under the name of C. Couthouyi. The Cardita 
senilis of the same beds is the C. sulcata of the Medi- 
terranean; and the Crag C. scalaris is the C. borealis 
of Conrad and inhabits the coast of Massachusetts and 
the Arctic Sea. Many other instances of a similar kind 
might be given. Some species appear to be more hardy 
than others and have consequently resisted considerable, 
and perhaps frequent, changes of temperature or climate. 
Littoral or shallow-water species are of course the most 
lable to be exterminated or affected by such changes, 
and the instances above given are of that kind. Many 
of the Thibetan and Algerian land-shells belong to 
European species ; and thus the chain of relationship to 
which I have referred is complete. 

Our upper Tertiary fossils offer tolerable evidence that 
the climate of this country was, previously to or at the 
time of their beng deposited, of a Glacial or Arctic 
character, as will be seen by referring to the table of 
distribution of our land and freshwater Mollusca at the 
end of this volume. Nearly all the land-shells which 
occur in the pleistocene strata, but are not now living 
in Great Britain (e. g. Helix fruticum, H. incarnata, and 
H. ruderata), are decidedly Northern species, inhabiting 
Finland and Scandinavia; and even the Alpine variety 
of H. arbustorum appears to be the only form of that 
species which has been found in our Tertiaries. Among 
the freshwater shells in this same formation, Corbicula 
(or Cyrena) fluminalis presents, however, an apparent 
but remarkable exception from the above indication of 
our ancient climate having been so severe, if the habits 
of that species have not undergone any change. The 
Corbicula is only known to live at present in Asia. But 
it may be observed that a common Kuropean freshwater 


XC1V INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


shell (Physa acuta) inhabits the West Indies, and that 
such Mollusca seem to have a greater aptitude for dif- 
fusion, or a greater capability of enduring different 
climates, than land Mollusca, being (as some naturalists 
would call it) more “‘ mundane.” 

Fossils —It is sometimes very difficult, if not impos- 
sible, to distinguish what are called “ fossil” from “ re- 
cent” shells of marine species, if they are “dead” or 
found in an empty state. When the shells in question 
belong to species which are not known to inhabit the 
locality where they occur, this difficulty may give rise to 
some interesting questions. In most cases, the nature 
of these shells is manifest from their dull appearance 
and greater opacity, contrasted with fresh shells of the 
same species; and it does not require much experience 
to determine whether single valves of Pecten Islandicus, 
which are not unfrequently taken at comparatively great 
depths in our northern seas, are fossil or recent, although 
they occasionally retain their coloured markings. This 
species is abundant in the Arctic regions, and during 
the Glacial epoch appears to have been diffused over a 
large tract of the European sea-bed; but I am not 
aware that it is now found in a living state south of the 
Bohuslan district of the Swedish coast. But a perplex- 
ing case has occurred with respect to some shells which 
were taken by the dredge in the Irish Sea off the coast 
of Antrim. The locality is a submarine deposit called 
the “Turbot bank,” lying about five miles south of 
Larne and having a depth of about 20 fathoms at low 
water. This bank was repeatedly and diligently explored 
during several successive years by Mr. Waller, Mr. 
Hyndman, and other naturalists; and I had the advan- 
tage of not only examining the produce of their labours, 
but of taking part in an expedition which was made in the 


v. | INTRODUCTION. XCV 


autumn of 1859 for the express purpose of endeavouring 
to ascertain the nature of this submarine deposit. The 
result of these researches was recorded by Mr. Hyndman 
in the ‘ Reports of the British Association’ for 1857 and 
1858; and some observations on the same subject by 
Mr. Waller will be found in the ‘ Journal of the Royal 
Dublin Society’ for 1858 (vol. 11. p. 29-34), as well as by 
myself in the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History’ 
for August 1858 and February and September 1859. The 
association or collection in the same spot of forms which 
have been usually regarded as Northern and Southern is 
one of the most peculiar features of this inquiry. Colum- 
bella Holbollu, Scalaria (?) Eschrichti, Natica clausa, 
Margarita cinerea, and Trophon Scalariformis (all of 
which are decidedly “‘ Arctic” species), Crania anomala, 
Trichotropis borealis, and Puncturella Noachina (which 
were regarded by Forbes and Hanley as “‘ boreal” types), 
Terebratula caputserpentis, Lima subauriculata, and Fis- 
surella reticulata (being, according to the same authors, 
“ Atlantic”), Argiope cistellula, Trochus Montagui, and 
Pecten tigrinus (“ British’’), Astarte sulcata, Buccinum 
undatum, and Venus Casina (“ Celtic ’’), Artemis lincta, 
Corbula nucleus,and Trochus cinerarius ( European”), 
together with Rissoa striatula (“ Lusitanian”’), all of 
them in the same fresh and apparently recent condition 
and (with the exception of those included im the first and 
last categories) in a living state, were congregated to- 
gether in this locality, as if on purpose to refute certain 
theories of geographical distribution. With respect to 
those species which were not taken there in a living 
state, it was surmised that they were fossil, or had been 
carried to the spot by marine currents. Some of the 
specimens in question I submitted to Dr. Carpenter, 
whose researches on the microscopical structure of mol- 


x¢evl INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


luscous shells entitle his opinion to the greatest possible 
weight; and he professed that he was unable to detect 
any apparent difference between the texture of these 
specimens and of others (which were unquestionably 
recent) belonging to the same species and placed with 
them for the sake of comparison. No chemical or other 
test seems to be known, by which the texture of shells 
called fossil, and certainly of very remote antiquity, can 
be distinguished from that of recent shells. The gloss 
and the greater or less transparency of the latter, con- 
trasted with the dull aspect and opacity of the former, 
afford the only criteria of distinction; but it is not 
known how far the continued submersion of shells for 
many ages in the sea, where they are placed beyond the 
reach of atmospheric influence, may have prevented any 
change in their external appearance. The shells of Mol- 
lusca would seem to be nearly indestructible by the 
ordinary action of air and water, and especially when 
their structure is crystalline and compact. The term 
“recent” is, of course, comparative in point of time. But 
a few of the shells from the Turbot bank, belonging as 
well to some of the species in question as to other species 
which are undoubtedly indigenous and exist there in a 
living state, have every sign of being fossil, and are pre- 
cisely similar in appearance to the shells which are found 
in the Clyde and other beds of a pleistocene formation. 
Some of these beds occur in the neighbourhood of the 
Turbot bank, and contain Yoldia lanceolata, Leda pyg- 
mea, Hypothyris psittacea, and other shells of a decidedly 
Arctic character ; but only one of these species (viz. Leda 
pygmea) has been observed in the Turbot-bank dredgings, 
and of this species Mr. Waller found a living specimen. 
Columbella Holbollii, Scalaria (?) Eschrichti, and Mar- 
garita cinerea (being three out of the five Arctic species 


v.| INTRODUCTION. XCVil 


which have been taken on the bank) have not, so far as 
I am aware, ever been detected in any of our Tertiary 
strata. The two other Arctic species (Natica clausa 
and Trophon Scalariformis) inhabit the upper coasts of 
Norway, as well as more northern seas. The first-named 
species has a range, according to M‘Andrew and Barrett, 
from the shore to 150 fathoms. It occurs in the Red 
Crag, as well as in almost every pleistocene bed which 
has been examined in this country; and I noticed it in 
the collection of Dr. Van Geuns at Utrecht, among some 
shells which he had found in the Subapennine deposit 
of Palermo. This species is not included in Philippi’s 
‘list of Sicilian fossils. The distribution of the other 
species appears to have been equally extensive; and I 
have a fresh specimen, recently inhabited by a hermit 
crab, which was dredged from deep water off the Aber- 
deen coast and obligingly presented to me by the late 
Professor Macgillivray. Itis quite possible that a plei- 
stocene bed may have formerly existed in the spot which 
is now occupied by the Turbot bank, and that the con- 
tents of this bed may, by the action of the tide or marine 
currents, have become mixed up with the existing pro- 
ducts of the adjacent sea-bed; and the appearance of 
some of the shells to which I have referred might 
warrant such a conclusion. But, imasmuch as many 
relics of the Glacial epoch, such as Leda pygmea and 
Arca raridentata, still survive in a few and widely sepa- 
rated parts of that extensive area which was once sub- 
ject to Arctic conditions, it will not be surprising if all 
the species I have thus mentioned as doubtful inha- 
bitants of our seas should also have lingered on in their 
old quarters and be really British. The conjecture that 
these shells may have been accidentally transported by 
submarine currents from the Arctic Sea to the Irish 
e 


xevlll INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


coast does not rest upon any foundation. I was satisfied, 
by information which I obtained on the spot and in the 
course of my dredging-operations, that no submarime 
current sets in that direction, nor any which could have 
brought the shells from a distance; and the same con- 
viction is entertained by the able and zealous naturalists 
who have so carefully and during several years in suc- 
cession explored many square leagues of this remarkable 
sea-bed. 

Gulf-stream.—This ‘ deus ex machina” seems al- 
ways to be called into requisition, in order to explain 
any apparent anomaly in the distribution of marine 
Mollusca. In the minds of many persons it ranks with: 
the comet in its mysterious effects. Itis quite true that 
the scientific world, and indeed all who take any interest 
in the works of Nature, are under the greatest obliga- 
tions to Commodore Maury for the lucid account he 
has given, in his ‘ Physical Geography of the Sea,’ of 
this really wonderful phenomenon. But with regard to 
the subject of the present inquiry, I cannot help express- 
ing a doubt whether the effects of this great “river in 
the ocean” have not been much overrated. 

The partial glimpse which we have hitherto been able 
to obtain of the results from the recent expedition of 
Otto Torell and other Swedish naturalists to Spitz- 
bergen shows that the Gulf-stream was found not to 
exert any influence on animal life in that region, it ap- 
pearing to be entirely of a glacial nature *. From careful 
inquiries which I made in several parts of the eastern 
coast of Zetland last year, I was satisfied that the Gulf- 

* While this last sheet is passing through the press (22 May, 1862), 
Professor Forchhammer has read before the Royal Society a valuable paper 
on the composition and density of sea-water. His observations as to the 


Gulf-stream tend to show that it cannot affect the distribution of animal 
life in the lower zones of the sea. 


VI. | INTRODUCTION. - XC1X 


stream does not set upon any part of that coast. All 
the driftwood that was washed ashore was of Norway 
fir, and came from the opposite coast. Dr. Lukis in- 
forms me that the Gulf-stream has now been ascer- 
tained not to impinge on any part of the Channel Isles, 
although the Sargasso weed and the seeds of tropical 
plants are occasionally thrown up on those shores, after 
having been deflected and drifted by marine currents. 
Much evidently remains to be done in defining its exact 
course in northern latitudes, and in making accurate 
observations as to its influence on the fauna and flora, 
as well as on the temperature, of different parts of 
Europe. 


C RAPT BRU 


HABITAT. 


STATIONS.—ZONES.—ABUNDANCE OF MOLLUSCAN LIFE.—GEOLOGI- 
CAL RELATIONS.—CHANNEL ISLES.—EXOTIC AND SPURIOUS SPE- 
CIES.—SEA-SIDE SKETCH. 


Stations.—The subject of this chapter is closely con- 
nected with that of the last; but it seems more conve- 
nient to divide it. Having considered the British Mol- 
lusca with reference to their European and general 
distribution, I now propose to give a short account of 
their native habitats and to take a home view of the 
matter. 

The Mollusca may be divided into land, freshwater, and 
marine. Their respiratory organization mainly results 
from the nature of their habitat, or, as botanists would 
term it, their “ station.” All land-snails breathe the free 

e2 


e INTRODUCTION, [CH. 


air, by means of lung-like cavities or pouches which they 
possess. Some kinds of freshwater snails have a similar » 
apparatus; but they are also enabled to extract occa- 
sional supplies of oxygen from the water, and are thus not 
entirely dependent on their air-pouches. Others of this 
kind are furnished only with gills, which they use like 
fishes. In the genus Valvata the gill is external and 
shaped like a feather; and the animal has also an au- 
xiliary branchial organ, which resembles another ten- 
tacle. The respiratory system of the marine Mollusca, 
with the exception of a very few littoral species, is bran- 
chial ; and in some kinds the gills are external. Bivalves 
have usually two leaf-lke gills, which are arranged sym- 
metrically, one on each side of the body. In the Bra- 
chiopoda, however, the brachial organs (according to 
Mr. Hancock) subserve the function of gills, although 
in one genus (Lingula) the lobes of the mantle may, to 
a certain extent, be considered specialized breathing- 
organs. 

There are some peculiarities with respect to habitat that 
are interesting to geologists. Some kinds of freshwater 
univalves, both those called Pulmonobranch (i.e. respiring 
by means of lung-lke pouches), and Pectinibranch (i. e. 
respiring by means of comb-like gills), have the faculty 
of enduring a partial change or difference in their usual 
habitat, which would be fatal to other kinds. The 
Swedish naturalist Nilsson relates that two species of 
Limnea described by him, as well as Neritina fluviatilis, 
hive in the Baltic, adhering to sea-weeds, and sometimes 
at a distance from the mouth of any river. With these ’ 
live certain marine Mollusca, such as the common mussel 
and cockle, Mya arenaria and Tellina Balthica (or soli- 
dula), all of which, however, are of a dwarf size. Lim: 
nea is Pulmonobranch, and Nervitina is Pectinibranch. 


VI. | INTRODUCTION. Cl 


The same peculiarity, but not of so permanent a cha- 
racter, has been observed in the case of a freshwater 
bivalve. The common pond-mussel (Anodonta cyygnea) 
is said to live in the river Trent at Bottesford in Lincoln- 
shire, which is salt at high water. The fresh water, 
being lighter, forms the upper stratum; while the sea- 
water covers the bed of the river inhabited by the Ano- 
donta. A small Pectinibranch univalve (Hydrobia ulve) 
inhabits indifferently salt and brackish water ; another 
(H. ventrosa) frequents only the latter; while a third 
(H. similis) lives, in company with Bythinia tentaculata 
and other freshwater univalves, in water which is nearly 
fresh. The usual habitat of the genus Melampus (which 
is Pulmonobranch) is the sea-shore; but one species 
occurs high up in estuaries, where the water is more 
fresh than salt. M. Marcel de Serres is of opinion that 
_ the habitat of Dreissena polymorpha (a kind of mussel 
which abounds in many of our rivers and canals) was 
originally marine, from the circumstance of the shells 
being found in tertiary strata of marie formation. The 
Russian traveller, Pallas, who first discovered or made 
known this species, described one variety of it as marine 
and the other as inhabiting fresh water. Many of the 
marine Mollusca which live on the sea-shore (some of 
them even beyond the reach of the tide) pass the greater 
part of their time out of water; and the same remark 
applies to some freshwater snails, such as Limnea 
peregra and Ancylus fluviatilis, which are as often found 
on dry land as in their natural element. Succinea putris 
(a land-snail) appears to be almost amphibious. Many 
genera of bivalve Mollusca contain certain species which 
are marine and others which have a freshwater habitat. 
Even Teredo, Pholas, and Arca are in this category. The 
smaller Crustaceans seem also to be very indifferent to the 


cll INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


nature of their habitat in this respect. Mr. Spence Bate, 
who has so diligently and successfully studied our native 
shrimps, informs me that Gammarus locusta, which only 
inhabits the sea, is scarcely distinguishable from G. flu- 
viatilis, which would be instantly killed by bemg put 
into salt water. Professor Lilljeborg has discovered in 
some of the inland freshwater lakes of Denmark several 
Arctic species of marie Crustacea, which appear to have 
survived the Glacial epoch, and to have adopted from 
necessity a new habitat, in consequence of the gradual 
elevation of the land. And the result of the researches 
made by Dr. E. von Martens on the occurrence of 
marine animal forms in fresh water, which was published 
in ‘ Wiegmann’s Archiv’ for 1857, shows that 10 out of 
44 divisions or groups of Crustacea, and 6 out of 52 
divisions of Mollusca, are common to the sea and fresh 
water. Fish have no less than 23 out of 55 divisions 
similarly circumstanced as to habitat ; but some of these 
are well known to migrate annually from the sea to 
rivers that flow into it, for the purpose of depositing 
their spawn. Such peculiarities of habitat form one of 
the stumblingblocks of geology ; and it is fortunate that 
the cultivators of this science are not obliged to place 
their sole reliance on the paleontological contents of the 
strata which they wish to investigate, as they have also 
the mineral composition, as well as the relative juxtaposi- 
tion, of those strata to guide them in the investigation. 
Zones.—It had long been known that different parts 
of the sea-bed were inhabited by special forms of animal 
life; but Risso, the celebrated naturalist of Nice, was 
the first who proposed its distribution into zones of 
depth. His theory was derived from observations on the 
Mediterranean fishes. The late Professor Edward Forbes 
added much to our knowledge of such distribution ; and 


VI. | INTRODUCTION. cll 


his valuable researches on the Invertebrata of the Mgean 
and our own Seas enabled him to define these zones 
with considerable precision. Professors Lovén and 
Sars, as well as Oersted, have made us acquainted with 
the range and limits of marine life in the Scandinavian 
seas. 

In framing any scheme for dividing the sea-bed into 
separate areas of molluscan habitability, according to 
their depth, it must be borne in mind that the extent 
and produce of these areas vary greatly, and depend upon 
the inclination and mineral nature of the coast. That 
part of our sea-bed which is circumscribed by the line 
of soundings may be divided into four distinct areas or 
zones, of different width and depth; and I will endeavour 
to define briefly their limits, nature, and contents. 

The first is the Lirrorat zone, or the shore, which 
_fringes every part of our coast and lies between tide- 
marks, being laid bare when the tide retires. Wherever 
the coast is steep and rocky, this zone is very narrow. 
Where it shelves gradually and is sandy (each of these 
conditions being probably consequent on the other), the 
strand frequently extends seaward for a mile or even 
further. Where it is composed of cliffs, such as chalk or 
boulder-clay, the beach is pebbly, and its width is 
usually intermediate between that of the two other cases 
I have mentioned. The pebbles are derived from the 
wearing-away of the cliffs, either in the course of their 
original elevation above the sea-level (which in many 
cases appears to have been slow and gradual), or else by 
the combined action of the atmosphere, rain and frost, 
or of the tide and waves. This pebbly beach is sometimes 
succeeded by a belt of larger stones or boulders, and 
that again by a strip of sand, mud, or clay, as we advance 
to meet the tide. In each of these cases the nature of 


C1V INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


the shore, strand, or beach depends on the composition 
of the strata which form that part of the land which is 
opposed to the sea. The rocks lymg between tide- 
marks are clothed with seaweed, which supports a 
numerous and peculiar group of Mollusca. “Among 
those on our own coasts may be enumerated various 
species of Littorina (or periwinkle), Lacuna, Trochus, 
Rissoa, Chiton, Patella (or limpet), Purpura lapillus (or 
dogs’-whelk), and a stunted variety or form of the com- 
mon mussel. In the small rock-pools, which are left 
by the receding tide, and are generally lined with Corai- 
lina officinalis and other small seaweeds, as well as under 
loose stones, will be found many small shells of various 
sorts, including Poronia rubra, Modiola discors, Skenea 
planorbis, Rissoa parva, Cerithium reticulatum, and the 
fry of other species. The highest part of this zone, 
which the sea does not cover for more than two or three 
hours out of every twelve, is inhabited by two kinds of 
Melampus (M. bidentatus and a variety of M. myosotis), 
Otina otis, Assiminia littorea, Truncatella truncatula, 
a variety of the common limpet, Littorina Neritoides, 
and some of the numerous varieties of L. rudis. The 
first three of the above species are Pulmonobranch. 
That part of the littoral zone which consists of sand, 
gravel, or mud is frequented by various genera of bi- 
valve Mollusca, such as Mya, Solen, Tellina, Donaz, 
Macira and Tapes, as well as by Mytilus edulis. Within 
this zone submarine peat, chalk, and trias or new red 
sandstone, harbour several kinds of Pholas; Scrobicu- 
laria piperata burrows into clay ; calcareous rocks are 
perforated by Saxicava rugosa ; and fixed wood is drilled 
in every direction by the destructive Teredines or ship- 
worms. Wherever a river or stream empties itself into 
the sea, a strong reflux is caused by the advancing tide, 


VI. | INTRODUCTION. cv 


which has the effect of casting on the shore a collection 
of spolia marina, dislodged by the ground-swell from 
considerable depths, as well as of many land and fresh- 
water shells, which have been washed down by the river 
or stream and thus become mixed with those from the 
sea. This phenomenon frequently occurs in some of our 
upper tertiary and more recent deposits, and shows the 
regularity with which such physical operations have been 
repeated during periods of the duration of which we can 
form no conception. In the same zone are also com- 
prised estuaries, which form deep but narrow indenta- 
tions of the sea-coast, and are the channels, as well as 
the outlet, of tidal rivers. The water of these estuaries 
is always more or less brackish. They are mhabited by 
peculiar Mollusca, viz. Assiminia Grayana, Melampus 
myosotis, and the several species of Hydrobia above men- 
_ tioned. The few pelagic mollusks which occasionally, but 
unwillingly, visit our seas, are also met with in the littoral 
zone, being cast on shore generally after a contimuance 
of westerly gales. These consist of species of Janthina, 
Spirula Peronii, and a few Pteropods, some of which 
have but a doubtful claim to be considered mdigenous 
productions of our seas. The present zone has been 
subdivided by Forbes and Hanley into four intermediate 
lines or strips, each of which is said to be inhabited by 
its own peculiar set of Mollusca; but the great variety 
exhibited by our seaboard, as well as its geological for- 
mation, seems scarcely to warrant such a subdivision. 
For instance, Trochus umbilicatus and T. lineatus, which 
are assigned by these authors to the fourth or lower- 
_ most line, in which they usually occur on our western 
and south-western coasts, inhabit the second line on the 
shores of the Bristol Channel, as well as those of the 
north-west of Hreland. 


evl INTRODUCTION. [CH. 


The second zone is called the Laminarian, from the 
belt of that kind of seaweed which girds all the rocky 
parts of our coast-line. It is seldom laid bare, except at 
very low spring-tides ; and it is generally much narrower 
than the littoral zone, in consequence of the rocks, to 
which the Laminaria or tangle is attached, dipping sea- 
ward and being covered with sand beyond the direct and 
more immediate influence of the tide. This zone may 
be said to extend from low-water mark to 10 fathoms. 
The mollusca which inhabit it chiefly belong to Patella, 
Acmea, Trochus, Lacuna, Rissoa, and Jeffreysia, all of 
which are phytophagous or vegetable-eaters, as well as 
the Nudibranchs or sea-slugs, which are mostly zoopha- 
gous. Where the coast is sandy, this zone is entirely 
wanting and is merged into the one above or below it, 
so far as regards its zoological contents. The extent of 
each zone mainly depends on its capability as a feeding- 
ground; and the same species are frequently common 
to every zone, when their nature is alike and they are 
not prevented by an intervening barrier of sand or rock 
from spreading from one zone to another. To this cause 
is probably owing the great variation in the depth to 
which many species attain. The common mussel, which 
is usually found within tide-marks, has been recorded by 
Dr. Walker as living in the North Sea at a depth of 
140 fathoms or 840 feet. Cyprina Islandica, which in 
most seas inhabits depths of from 30 to 140 fathoms, 
occurs on the coast of South Wales at low-water mark ; 
and our little cowry (Cyprea Europea) has a range from 
low-water mark to 100 fathoms. 

The third zone has received the name of “ CoRALLINE,”’ 
from the quantity of nullipore (Melobesia polymorpha), 
which is a stony coral-like plant, and in many places 
covers large tracts of the sea-bed. Its width varies con- 


vI.] INTRODUCTION. evi 


siderably ; but its vertical range may be stated as ex- 
tending from 10 to50 fathoms. As a general rule, rocks 
do not occur in this zone, especially in the deeper part 
of it—stones, gravel and sand (sometimes mixed with 
mud) being its chief characteristics. These mineral 
conditions to some extent regulate the nature of the 
Mollusca which are here found. The whelk-tribe, as 
well as many Nudibranchs, frequent the stony or, as it 
is called, ‘ hard” ground ; and different sorts of bivalves 
take up their quarters in the other, or “ soft,” ground. 
Seaweeds are scarce in this zone and are generally 
absent from its lower regions ; so that most of the Mol- 
lusca which inhabit it are animal-eaters,—some being 
sarcophagous, others zoophagous, and many of them 
preying on each other. 

The fourth and last is called the Drrp-sEa zone, and 
_reaches from 50 fathoms to the greatest depth comprised 
within the line of soundings. Both this and the last- 
mentioned zone contain our most productive fishing- 
banks ; and the floor of these submarine areas is exceed- 
ingly uneven, and diversified by many an unseen hill and 
dale. The deep-sea zone appears to have nearly always 
a soft bottom, consisting of a much finer sediment than 
that which covers the bed of the coralline zone. The 
only vegetable organisms which are found in it are tiny 
and almost microscopic Diatoms. It is imhabited by 
various kinds of Mollusca, all of which are, probably 
from necessity, animal-¢gaters. They appear to exceed in 
number, as well as in variety, the inhabitants of any of 
the other zones, judging from the scanty opportunities 
which occur for investigating the contents of this exten- 
sive sea-bed. The point of zero in the scale of sub- 
marine life has not yet been, and perhaps never will be, 
found. 


evill INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


Abundance of Molluscan life-—The whole surface of 
our globe teems with a mass of animal and vegetable 
life, to which the Mollusca contribute by no means an 
inconsiderable quota. Owing to the sohd and perma- 
nent nature of their shells, many fossiliferous strata 
are almost entirely composed of such exuvie; and this 
process of accumulation is still gomg on in the exist- 
ing sea-bed to an enormous extent. No one can have 
had any experience in explormg the bottom of our 
own seas, and examining our tertiary strata, with- 
out noticing how closely the contents of a well-filled 
dredge, taken from a submarine shell-bank, resemble 
the same quantity of material dug out of a crag-pit; 
and perhaps nothing can give a more striking idea of 
the incalculable lapse of time which must have taken 
place in the history of the world, than the formation of 
these strata which, after all, are only a few pages of 
the great book. We here see layer upon layer of organic 
remains heaped up and compressed, to a depth of thirty 
feet, each layer being only a few inches deep, but repre- 
senting numerous and successive’ generations that have 
long passed away. 

It has not yet been ascertained to what depths mol- 
lusean life extends. The late Sir James Clark Ross, 
in the interesting account of his Antarctic Voyage (vol. 1. 
p- 202), says, “I have no doubt that, from however 
great a depth we may be enabled to bring up the mud 
and stones of the bed of the ocean, we shall find them 
teeming with animal life; the extreme pressure at the 
greatest depth does not appear to affect these creatures. 
Hitherto we have not been able to determine this point 
beyond a thousand fathoms ; but from that depth shell- 
fish have been brought up with the mud.” Still greater 
depths have been lately reached in recovering the Me- 


vi. | INTRODUCTION. c1x 


diterranean telegraph-cable, and with the same results ; 
and the forthcoming work of Dr. Wallich on “The 
North-Atlantic: Sea-bed” will doubtless contain some 
important observations on the existence and forms of 
animal life at extreme depths in the Arctic Sea. 
Although it does not come strictly within the scope 
of the present treatise, I cannot help contrasting the 
fecundity of the sea with the comparative sterility of the 
land, as regards animal life—if we consider the countless 
shoals which swarm in every part of the ocean and 
thickly cover its bed, and that the air, even in its lower 
zones, 1s almost lifeless. The lines in the 12th Canto of 
the ‘ Faérie Queene’ seem to corroborate this idea, al- 
though not so intended by the poet :— 
“OQ what an endlesse worke have I in hand, 
To count the seas abundant progeny, 
Whose fruitfull seede farre passeth those in land, 
And also those which wonne in th’ azure sky ! 
For much more eath to tell the starres on hy, 
Albe they endless seeme in estimation, 
Then to recount the seas posterity : 
So fertile be the flouds in generation, 
So huge their numbers, and so numberlesse their nation. 
* * * * * F * * 


Witnesse th’ exceeding fry which there are fed, 
And wondrous sholes which may of none be red.” 


Geological relations.—In local lists of Mollusca, and 
even in more elaborate works on this subject, it has been 
the custom to state that the habitat of certain species is 
restricted to “ calcareous soils,’ “ oolitic formations,” 
“limestone,” “chalk,” “trap,” and other strata. I believe, 
however, that mineralogical conditions have very little 
to do with the habitat of any of the Mollusca, nor with 
their comparative abundance or scarcity in any locality, 
except so far as food, moisture, or shelter, as well as the 
secretion of their shells, is concerned. Such conditions 


ex INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


are merely what logicians call “ accidents.” All the earth 
(even granite and felspar) is said to contain calcareous 
matter, although the proportion is of course greater in 
some formations than in others. The case of two com- 
mon and conspicuous land-shells occurs to me with 
reference to this question. Helix lapicida is directed 
by Forbes and Hanley* “to be sought for m limestone 
and chalky districts.” It is common, however, in the 
trap formation of the Lower Harz, as well as in the 
molasse of Switzerland. Accordmg to Moquin-Tan- 
don the Cyclostomata “ aiment surtout les terrains cal- 
caires+;” but our only species (C. elegans) is tolerably 
abundant in Jersey, where there are no calcareous strata. 
It would be easy to adduce many similar instances to 
prove that the habitat of Mollusca is not so restricted, 
as has been stated, in their geological relations. But 
there is no doubt that, with regard to land-shells, 
both granite and peat (which are at the opposite ends 
of the geological scale) are equally unfavourable to mol- 
luscan life; because the former is not easily disinte- 
grated and converted into mould, so as to support vege- 
tation, and the latter, being chiefly composed of the bog- 
moss (or Sphagnum), is either innutritious or distasteful 
to snails. The same observation applies to fir-woods, 
which do not appear to be inhabited by the Mollusca. 
With respect to the marine Mollusca, it may be ob- 
served that the phytophagous kinds will be found in 
abundance wherever sea-weeds flourish, and that in the 
deeper zones of the sea, in which such vegetation is 
absent, an ample supply of animal food is not wanting. 
But the substance of molluscous shells undoubtedly de- 
pends on the nature of the soil; and carbonate of lime 
seems to be as necessary to most snails for the secretion 
* Brit. Moll. iv. p. 66. t Hist. Moll. Fr. t. ii. p. 492. 


VI. | INTRODUCTION. cxi 


and formation of their dwellings, as egg-shells, or lime, 
are to laymg-hens. The shells of our common garden- 
snail (H. aspersa) in Guernsey are remarkably thin, owing 
to the deficiency of calcareous material; and specimens 
of H. pomatia, from granite formations in alpine districts, 
are far inferior in weight to those from our chalk downs, 
although they do not differ in size. 

Channel Isles.—Some conchologists entertain a doubt 
whether the Mollusca of Guernsey and the other Chan- 
nel Isles ought to be included in the British fauna, 
because of their greater proximity to the French than to 
the English coast. The Sarnic fauna and flora (although 
undoubtedly peculiar) have, however, been hitherto con- 
sidered by our best naturalists as belonging to Great 
Britain; and our Continental neighbours have never 
claimed them as their own, although they have appro- 
priated Corsica, or “ annexed” it to France, in a Natural- 
history point of view. Some of the Mollusca, taken in 
that part of the English Channel which is adjacent to 
Guernsey, are peculiarly Southern forms and have not 
occurred in any other part of our seas. Nearly all of 
them are very conspicuous and handsome. They are 
Cardium papillosum, Argiope decollata, Haliotis tuber- 
culata, Murex corallinus, Triton cutaceus,-and T. nodi- 
ferus.. Of these six species only three (viz. Haliotis tuber- 
culata, Triton cutaceus, and T. nodiferus) are noticed by 
either De Gerville, or Collard des Cherres, as having been 
found on the opposite coast of Brittany ; and Bouchard- 
Chantereaux has not included any of them in his list of 
marine shells found on the coast of Normandy. Dr. 
Bowerbank has identified some of the sponges from 
Sark as northern species. In respect of geographical 
position, some of the Channel Isles are not so very much 
nearer France than England. Guernsey is distant about 


exil INTRODUCTION. [cH. 


sixty miles from the Bill of Portland, and about thirty- 
five miles from Cape Carteret on the coast of Brittany. 
All the six species which I have above mentioned are 
found on our side of the Guernsey coast. 

Exotic and spurious species.—The fauna of any par- 
ticular country (although isolated, like Great Britaim) 
cannot be satisfactorily studied by itself and without 
reference to the fauna of other parts of the same district. 
The habit of observing and comparing the Mollusca of 
different countries is of undeniable advantage; and it 
may be favourably contrasted with the tendency of local 
naturalists and collectors to exaggerate trifling differ- 
ences, which would have disappeared on a more extended 
survey. The enlargement and increase of such expe- 
rience have the same beneficial effect on a mind inclined 
to the cultivation of science, as travelling in a foreign 
land, with one’s eyes open, has in expanding the intellect 
and improving our social nature. By such means our 
notions become in each case less contracted ; and (which 
is perhaps of more importance) our ideas with regard to 
the labours of other naturalists are imbued with a spirit 
of greater liberality and charity than if we had pursued 
the selfish course of working in our own sphere without 
any intercourse or sympathy with them. 

The “index expurgatorius,” containing the species of 
Mollusca which are termed “spurious” (being those 
which have been admitted into catalogues of British 
shells, but have not been proved to be indigenous to 
this country), is now very small, owing to the labours of 
Dr. Gray in revising the list of our land and freshwater 
shells, and of the authors of the ‘ British Mollusca’ in a 
similar revision of our marine shells. The casual intro- 
duction of tropical or foreign shells by means of ship- 
wrecks or ballast is not so frequent as has been supposed, 


VI. | INTRODUCTION. Cx 


—although it sometimes occurs, and I have several times 
picked up on the sea-strand, near a port resorted to by 
foreign vessels, shells which had evidently come from 
ballast. Strangers of this kind may, however, be de- 
tected without much difficulty by the application of in- 
trinsic evidence. A much more fertile and perplexing 
source of error, as regards the introduction of spurious 
species, consists in collectors of Mediterranean, as well 
as British, shells not taking sufficient care to keep these 
collections separate; and too much praise cannot be 
given to Mr. M‘Andrew, whose labours and experience 
in the investigation of the European Mollusca are so 
well known, for his extreme accuracy in the above re- 
spect. 

Sea-side sketch.—Having offered this imperfect view of 
the British Mollusca, with regard to their structure and 
habits, and their relation to other animals and ourselves, 
as well as to their distribution, I cannnot refrain from add- 
ing another page to this unusually long mtroduction, to 
exhibit a charming and truthful picture by my lamented 
and highly gifted friend, Professor Edward Forbes :— 
“To sit down by the sea-side at the commencement of 
ebb, and watch the shore gradually uncovered by the 
retiring water, is as if a great sheet of hieroglyphics— 
strange picture-writing—were being unfolded before us. 
Each line of the rock and strand has its peculiar cha- 
racters inscribed upon it in living figures, and each figure 
is a mystery, which, though we may describe the appear- 
ance in precise and formal terms, has a meaning in its 
life and beme beyond the wisdom of man to unravel. 
How many and how curious problems concern the com- 
monest of the sea-snails creeping over the wet sea-weed ! 
In how many points of view may its history be considered ! 
There are its origm and development—the mystery of 


f 


CX1V INTRODUCTION. [CH. VI. 


its generation—the phenomena of its growth—all con- 
cerning each apparently insignificant individual ; there 
is the history of the species—the value of its distinctive 
marks—the features which lnk it with higher and lower 
ereatures—the reason why it takes its stand where we 
place it in the scale of creation—the course of its distri- 
bution—the causes of its diffusion—its antiquity or no- 
velty—the mystery (deepest of mysteries) of its first 
appearance—the changes of the outline of continents and 
of oceans which have taken place since its advent, and 
their influence on its own wanderings. Some of these 
questions may be clearly and fairly solved ; some of them 
may be theoretically or hypothetically accounted for ; 
some are beyond all the subtlety of human intellect to 
unriddle. I cannot revolve in my mind the many que- 
ries which the consideration of the most insignificant of 
organized creatures, whether animal or vegetable, sug- 
gests, without feeling that the rejection of a mystery, 
because it is a mystery, is the most besotted form of 
human pride *.” 


* Nat. Hist. Eur. Seas, p. 12. 


In his tam parvis, atque tam nullis, qu ratio! quanta vis! quam 
inextricabilis perfectio!—Puiny. 


AQUATIC. 
Class I. CONCHIFERA, or BIVALVES. 


Bopy of an oval form, and usually compressed at its sides: 
mantle divided into two lobes which correspond with the valves 
of the shell. It has no distinct head: but inside the mantle, 
and within its folds, is contained a mouth; and the edges of 
the mantle in those bivalves which have it open, or of the 
tubes which are formed by it in those which have it closed, are 
oiten fringed with short filaments, which serve the purpose of 
tentacles or feelers. Some kinds have also imperfect or rudi- 
mentary eyes, which are set in the interstices of those fila- 
ments where the mantle is open. The foot is tongue-shaped, 
and sometimes capable of considerable extension. It is used 
by the animal for creeping or attaching itself to other bodies 
by a byssus or bundle of muscular threads. Reproductive 
system similar to that of the moncecia among plants—both 
sexes being united in the same individual, which is capable of 
fertilizing itself. The whole, or most important part, of the 
body is covered by a shell, formed of two valves which are 
connected behind by a hinge or ligament. Lespiratory organs 
consisting of gills, 


Order LAMELLIBRANCHIATA*. 
Gills 4, semicircular or leaf-shaped, arranged in pairs on 
each side of the body. 
This Order comprises all the freshwater bivalves of 
Great Britain; and they are divided into three families. 


Family I. SPHA:RITD. 


Bopy subglobular : mantle open in front, and forming at the 
posterior side a cylinder, which is often divided near its open- 
ing into two tubes. The cylinder or tubes are contractile and 

* So called from the leaf-like form of the gills. 
B 


2 SPHERIIDE. 


extensile,—the longer tube (when there are two) being used 
for respiration and nutrition, and the shorter tube for excre- 
tion. The outer edges of the mantle, as well as of the cylinder 
or tubes, are simple, and not furnished with papille or fila- 
ments. The mouth consists of a slit which is placed between 
the anterior adductor muscle and the base of the foot, and it has 
two small triangular lips. Foot wedge-shaped, thin, and ca- 
pable of great extension. 


SueLt composed of two thin, oval or subtriangular valves, 
which are more or less inequilateral. The valves are of equal 
size. The outer surface of the shell is protected by a delicate 
epidermis, and the inside is slightly lied with nacre. The 
hinge is furnished with cardinal and lateral teeth, to enable the 
valves to lock more closely into each other when the shell is 
shut. The ligament is external, although it is sometimes seated 
so far within the hinge as to be scarcely visible on the outside : 
it is placed at the longer, or posterior, side of the hinge. 


The animals of this family are ovoviviparous, retaining 
the fry for some time between the mantle and gills. 
They are tolerably active in their habits, using their foot 
tor crawling like a leech; and some of them float with 
the beaks of their shell downwards, or suspend them- 
selves in that position to the under surface of the water 
by means of a very fine byssus which they secrete and 
spin with their foot. In the winter they appear to be 
torpid, and bury themselves in the mud, like other fresh- 
water bivalves. During this period they probably cannot 
procure their food, which consists of animaleula. Speci- 
mens which I had in confinement soon after Christmas 
never put out their tubes, and only used their foot to 
creep under some moss which was in the vessel. This 
they did as often as I removed them from their place of 
shelter. 

The Spheriide closely resemble their marine repre- 
sentatives, the Kelliade, which are also ovoviviparous : 
but the mantle is more open and the ligament external in 
the present family; while the ligament is internal in the 


pS) 


SPHERIIDE. 3 


» Kelliade, and the beaks of their shell are much more 
acute. This curious and distinct group of freshwater 
bivalves has been carefully investigated by our country- 
man, the Rev. Leonard Jenyns ; and his monograph on 
the British species of Cyclas and Pisidium, which was 
published in the Transactions of the Cambridge Philo- 
sophical Society for 1832, is full of valuable and inter- 
esting information. Since that time the labours of natu- 
ralists have been divided even in this humble and com- 
paratively obscure study. Several French conchologists, 
especially MM. Normand and Gassies, have separately 
devoted themselves to a critical examination of their 
native species of the above genera; and lately M. Bour- 
guignat has favoured the scientific world with an elabo- 
rate essay on the recent and fossil species of Spherium 
(or Cyclas) which have been found in France. This 
essay was published in the ‘ Mémoires de la Société des 

- Sciences physiques et naturelles de Bordeaux,’ tome i. 
1854. The only recent species described or noticed by 
him, which is not also found im this country, is the 
Cyclas solida of Normand. It appears to form an inter- 
mediate link between Spherium and Cyrena; and M. 
Bourguignat has separated it from the former under the 
generic name of Cyrenastrum. I mention this in con- 
sequence of the Cyrena (or Corbicula) fluminalis oc- 
curring so frequently as a fossil in our upper tertiary 
beds, and in the hope that the Cyrenastrum solidum may 
also turn up in the same deposits, and lead to an eluci- 
dation of the question how the limits of the true Cyrena, 
in its living state, have become so restricted since the 
glacial epoch. The only other genus of this family (Pis7- 
dium) has lately had an equal amount of laborious atten- 
tion bestowed on it by an eminent member of the French 
corps of conchologists. The ‘ Essai monographique sur 

B2 


A SPHERIIDZ. 


les Pisidies Frangaises,’ by Dr. A. Bandon of Mouy, may * 
be profitably consulted by those who take a particular 
interest in this subject. It was published at Paris im 
1857, and contains fifty-five pages, and five plates of ad- 
mirably executed figures. All the species of Pisidium 
described by Dr. Baudon, with the exception of P. co- 
nicum, appear to be also common to this country; but 
one of them (the P. Recluzianum of Bourguignat), which 
was at that time imperfectly known to the author of this 
essay, and its generic relation to Pistdium properly ques- 
tioned by him, happens to be a marine shell, viz. the 
Turtonia minuta, M. Gassies having procured specimens 
from Belfast, where it is abundant. 


Genus I. SPH A’/RIUM*, Scopoh. PI. I. f. 1, 2. 


Bopy nearly equilateral: mantle having a double tube. 


SHELL slightly inequilateral; beaks placed near the centre 
of the dorsal margin. 


This genus was founded in 1777 by Scopoli (Introd. 
ad Hist. Nat. p. 397, no. 88) in sufficiently explicit 
terms, taking the Tedlina cornea of Linné as the type ; 
but Bruguiére (who was followed by Draparnaud and 
other authors) afterwards proposed for the same genus 
the name of Cyclas, by which it has been more generally 
known. Owing, however, to the bibliographical re- 
searches of Dr. Gray, the older and equally appropriate 
name of Spherium was restored by him in 1847; and 
this latter name has been since adopted by Mérch, Bour- 
guignat, and other continental conchologists. The law 
of priority seems to require the recognition and use of | 
this name. I am aware that in thus advocating the 
substitution of another (although an older) name for that 


* From its spherical shape. 


SPH EZRIUM. 5 


of Cyclas, which has so long received the sanction of 
naturalists, the principle of usage may be to some extent 
violated, and that it may be urged, with great reason, 
that Limnea and Succinea ought to give place to Nerito- 
stoma and Auricula, which Klein had previously pro- 
posed, as well as Physa to that of Adanson’s genus 
Bulin ; but I am only in the present case following the 
lead of experienced naturalists, and the conflict of au- 
thorities ought to be determined by the strict rules of 
justice. The word being derived from o¢aspiov, it ought 
not to be spelt Sphwrium, as has been done by some 
authors. 


1. SPHZRIUM CoR NEUM®, Linné. 


Tellina cornea, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p.1120. Cyclas cornea, Forbes & 
Hanley, Brit. Moll. ii. p. 118, pl. xxvii. f.3, 4, 5, 6. 


Bopy white, greyish, brown, or yellowish: tubes rather 
long, slightly tinged with flesh-colour: foot somewhat longer 
than the shell, of a faint rosy hue towards its extremity. 


SHELL subglobular, nearly equilateral, compressed in front, 
rather thin, glossy, yellowish horn-colour, with often paler 
bands or zones which denote the periods of growth, and occa- 
sionally having faint streaks of brown which radiate from the 
beaks towards the front margin, slightly but closely striate 
transversely, and marked by obscure lines in a longitudinal 
direction, so as to give the surface a reticulated appearance 
under a high magnifying power: epidermis rather thin: beaks 
almost central : ligament short and narrow, scarcely visible on 
the outside : znside bluish-white : hinge strong, having a double 
cardinal tooth in each valve, besides two lateral teeth in the 
right, and four in the left valve; the cardinal teeth are very 
small, but distinct ; the lateral teeth form elevated ridges or 
plates, and are subtriangular at their extremities, those on the 
anterior side being the largest: muscular scars or impressions 
faint, owing to the thinness of the interior lining: pallial scar 
scarcely discernible. Length 0:35. Breadth 0-45. 


Var. 1. flavescens. Smaller and rounder; body and shell 


* Horn-colour. 


6 SPH ERIID &. 


straw-colour. C. flavescens, Macgillivray, Moll. Aberd. p. 246. 
S. citrinum, Normand, Coup d’ceil Cycl. p. 1. 


Var. 2. nucleus. Smaller and much more globular. C. nu- 
cleus, Studer, Kurz. Verzeichn. p. 93. 


Var. 3. Scaldiana. Shell more oval and of a paler colour. 
C. Scaldiana, Norm. Cycl. p. 5, f. 1, 2. 


Var. 4. Pisidioides. Shell subtriangular, and rather more 
produced at its posterior slope ; transverse (or concentric) striz 
coarser : ligament slightly perceptible on the outside. S. Pist- 
dioides, Gray in Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. July 1856, p. 25. 

Hasitat: Slow rivers, lakes, ponds and ditches, as 
well as open drains in woods, everywhere in this country ; 
and it occurs in a fossil state im the upper tertiary de- 
posits at Copford in Essex and other places. Var. 1. is 
from Cumberland (Gilbertson) ; Westmoreland (Glover) ; 
Grand Canal, Dublm (Warren) ; Aberdeenshire (Mac- 
gillivray & Taylor); im a lake near Lerwick (Norman). 
Var. 2. Crymlyn bog, near Swansea (J. G. J.) ; Barton 
run, Norfolk (Gunn); Richmond (Choules). Var. 3. 
Oxwich marsh, near Swansea, and Thames at Clifden 
Hampden (J.G.J.). The colour of the body in this variety 
is yellowish-white; tubes close together, irregularly jagged 
at their edges, but not fringed, the branchial tube being 
double the breadth of the other, which is funnel-shaped ; 
foot white and broad. Var. 4. Grand Junction Canal at 
Paddington. The shells of this remarkable variety are 
much eroded, probably on account of the water being 
charged with the refuse from manufactories or sewers. 
The result of a careful comparison of these shells with 
other varieties and the typical form, and the circum- 
stance that no other form of this variable species has 
been found associated with it, incline me to believe that 
it has not sufficient claims to rank as a distinct species. 
It closely resembles the Cyclas rivalis of Dupuy (Hist. 
nat. Moll. terr. et fluv. France, p. 668, tab. 29. f. 5), 


SPH ERIUM. 7 


which is another variety of the present species. Dr. 
Baudon and M. Bourguignat both agree with me in the 
above opinion. This species is widely distributed in 
Europe; its northern limit being (according to Von 
Wallenberg) Lapland, and its southern limit being (ac- 
cording to Philippi) Sicily. Young shells are extremely 
flat, and might be easily mistaken for a different species. 
This common species was first made known by our 
countryman, the celebrated Dr. Lister, in his Treatises 
on the history of English animals, in 1678. It is the 
Tellina rwals of O. F. Miller, and the Cyclas rivalis of 
Draparnaud, who evidently described and figured the 
next species (S. rivicola) as the Tellina cornea of Linné. 


2. 8. rrvi'cota*, Leach. 


Cyclas rivicola, (Leach) Lamarck, An. sans Vert. vi, p. 267; F. & H. ii. 
p. 111, pl. xxvii. f. 1, 2, and (animal) pl. Q. f. 1. 


Bopy yellowish-grey, or hight brown: tubes short, white, 
and nearly of equal length: foot thick, and capable of great 
extension, greyish-white: gills sometimes slightly tinged with 
red. 

SHELL oval, ventricose, nearly equilateral, much compressed 
in front, rather solid, glossy, yellowish horn-colour, or olive- 
green, with often darker bands or zones, deeply ridged con- 
centrically, especially towards the lower or front margin, the 
ridges being crossed by obscure lines which radiate from the 
beaks: epidermis rather thick: anterior side rounded: pos- 
terior side more produced and subtruncate: beaks central, 
small, and flattened: ligament short, prominent, and distinctly 
visible on the outside: inside white and nacreous, with some- 
times a yellowish tinge: hinge and teeth stronger than in SN. 
corneum, but nearly of the same form: muscular and pallial 
scars distinct. L. 0-7. B. 0:9. 


Hasrtat: Slowrivers and canals in the metropolitan, 
midland, and northern counties of England, as well as 


* Inhabiting brooks. 


8 SPH ERIID. 


near Dublin ; and it is one of our upper tertiary fossils. 
It is a local species. On the continent it ranges from 


Holland to Italy. 

This fine species may be distinguished from S. corneum 
by its much greater size, its form being oval instead of 
globular, the strong transverse ridges, and the con- 
spicuous ligament. The young of this are also much 
flatter in proportion to their size. Both species occur 
together. S. rivicola was first indicated by Lister as 
having been found at Doncaster. 


3. S. ova'Le*, Férussac. 


Cyclas ovalis, Fér. in Ess. Méth. 1807, pp. 128, 186. 8S. pallidwm, Gray 
in Ann. N. H. ser. 2. xvii. p. 465, woodcut. 


Bopy milk-white: tuwhes long, united nearly all the way: 
foot tongue-shaped, very extensile and flexible: gills of a 
faint blush-colour. 


Suet oblong, somewhat compressed, not so equilateral as 
the two preceding species, owing to the greater development of 
the posterior side, thin, semitransparent, not very glossy, 
yellowish, with sometimes a brown tint and darker zones of 
growth, with occasionally some faint rays in the direction of 
the lower margin, finely striate concentrically : epidermis thin : 
anterior side rounded: posterior side truncate, and sloping 
towards the lower margin, which is curved and sharp: beaks 
small, nearly central, and slightly prominent: ligament long 
and narrow, distinctly visible on the outside: inside ashy- 
white: hinge straight on the posterior side, and incurved on 
the other side; cardinal and lateral teeth arranged as in S. 
corneum, Dut the former are exceedingly small and difficult to 
distinguish: muscular and pallial scars very faint. L. 0-4. 
B. O76; 


Hasrrar: Exmouth (Clark); Paddington Canal (J.G.J.); 
canals and ponds in Lancashire (Darbishire). A speci- 
men also exists in the late Dr. Turton’s collection of 
British shells, but without any note of the locality. 


* Egg-shaped. 


*7 
“#) 


SPH ERIUM. ) 


Mr. Daniel says that he found this species in the Grand 
Surrey Canal some years before it was noticed by Dr. 
Gray, but that he then considered it to be a variety of 
C. rivicola. It is found in company with all the other 
species of Spherium. A living specimen, which had been 
taken early in February, and kept in a vessel by itself, 
gave birth about three weeks afterwards to some young 
ones at intervals of two or three days. Immediately on 
beimg excluded, they were very active, and used their long 
foot as an organ of progression, by extending it to its full 
length ; and, after attaching its pomt to the bottom of 
the vessel, like a leech, they drew up their shell to it; and 
by repeating this several times they contrived to travel 
along for some little distance. They seemed to be fond 
of nestling under their mother for the sake of shelter or 
shade. 

There cannot be much doubt that this elegant and 
very distinct species is the same as that which Drapar- 
naud, in his ‘ Histoire naturelle des Mollusques ter- 
restres et fluviatiles de la France’ (p. 180, pl. x. f. 6, 7), 
described and figured under the name of Cyclas lacustris. 
He distinguished it from S. corneum and 8S. rivicola by 
its being “ plus mince, plus transparente, plus pale et 
beaucoup plus aplatie.” His description of the beaks 
and hinge also exactly agrees with that of our species ; 
and the very different terms in which he characterized 
his C. caliculata preclude our supposing that this accu- 
rate naturalist could have taken for it a variety of the 
last-named species. Férussac, being aware of the error 
which Draparnaud had committed in referring the spe- 
cies in question to the Tellina lacustris of Miller, gave 
it the appropriate name which I have now adopted. The 
species appears, however, to have been lost in France ; 
and all the continental conchologists have applied the 

BO 


10 SPH ERIIDA. 


name given by Draparnaud to some one of the nume- 
rous varieties of either Miiller’s species or S. corneum. 
The Cyclas rhomboidea of Say, to which Dr. Gray sup- 
posed our shell to be allied, is only a fourth of an inch 
long, and, according to Gould, is an obscure or doubtful 
species. Its nearest congener in this country appears 
to be S. rivicola; but it may be readily distimguished 
from that species by its oblong and subangular shape, 
thinner texture, much paler colour and fainter striz, 
and especially by its straight hinge-lme. The Devon- 
shire and Lancashire specimens are of a darker colour 
than those from the Paddington Canal. The young 
exhibit the same form as the adult; and, like the other 
species, their shells are slightly iridescent. 


4. S. Lacus’tRE*, Miller. 


Tellina lacustris, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 204.  Cyclas caliculata, 
F. & H. ii. p. 115, pl. xxxvii. f. 7 (as C. lacustris), and (animal) pl. O. 
tt 


Bopy whitish, slightly tinged with grey or rose-colour : 
tubes long; the branchial one cylindrical and truncate at its 
orifice, which is large; the other rather conical, and having 
a smaller opening: foot nearly twice the length of the shell, 
obtuse at its extremity: mantle fringed with grey. 


SHELL nearly round, or subrhombic, equilateral, compressed, 
especially towards the lower and side margins, extremely thin, 
glossy and semitransparent, light horn-colour, or greyish, 
with sometimes a few darker zones and an iridescent hue, 
very faintly striated concentrically : epidermis very thin: an- 
terior and posterior sides cut off and sloping from shoulders on 
the upper or dorsal side towards the front margin, which is 
slightly curved and has sharp edges: beaks central, very pro- 
minent, and capped with the fry or nucleus of the shell, which 
is more globular than in the subsequent stages of growth: 
ligament narrow, thin, and just discernible on the outside: 
emside bluish-white, with very little nacre, owing to the thin 
texture of the shell: hinge rather strong; teeth arranged as 


* Inhabiting lakes. 


SPH ERIUM. ql] 


in the other species, but the cardinal teeth are smaller and the 
lateral ones shorter -in proportion: muscular and pallial scars 
scarcely perceptible. L. 0:3. B. 0-4. 


Var.1. Brochoniana. Shell much larger and flatter ; beaks 
smaller and less prominent. /S. Brochonianwm, Bourguignat, 
Monogr. p. 20, pl. 3.f. 1, 2, 3. 


Var. 2. rotunda. Shell rounder and flatter ; epidermis yel- 
lowish-green. 


Var. 3. Ryckholtii. Shell small, triangular, and globular ; 
beaks very prominent. C. Ryckholtvi, Norm. Cyel. p. 7, f. 5, 6. 

Hasitat: Lakes, ponds, and canals, and stagnant 
water everywhere in England, Wales, and Ireland; but 
I have not observed it in Scotland, nor seen any notice 
of its having been found there. Var. 1. Clumber lake, 
Notts (J. G. J.).. This considerably exceeds the usual 
form in size, being in length 0°45, and in breadth 0°6, 
although its depth or thickness is only 0°25. Var. 2. 
Singleton, near Swansea (J. G.J.).. Var.3. Marsh be- 
- tween Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton (J.G.J.). In 
another piece of stagnant water near Exmouth a small 
globular variety occurs, in which the beaks are not pro- 
minent. A monstrosity is also sometimes met with, in 
which the lower or front margin is constricted or divided 
by a groove. Mr. Kenyon found it in the North of Eng- 
land; and I have also taken it in Crymlyn bog, near 
Swansea. Some shells, which Mr. Choules has found 
near Richmond, partake of the characters both of this 
species and S. ovale, and apparently form an interme- 
diate link between them. According to Middendorff this 
species inhabits Siberia; and Philippi and Terver have 
recorded it from Sicily and North Africa. It has also a 
wide range in the intermediate parts of Europe. It 
often occurs in company with S. corneum; and I have 
found it alive in the hardened mud of a pond which 
had been drained and its bed so completely dried up 


12 SPHERIIDA. 


by the sun as scarcely to show the marks of any foot- 
steps on it. 

This differs from all the other species of Spherium in 
the shell being rounder and of a subquadrate form, its 
ereat tenuity, and especially m the singular caps or ca- 
lyces which surmount the beaks. 

I cannot agree with the learned authors of the ‘ Bri- 
tish Mollusca’ in preferrmg Draparnaud’s name of 
caliculata to that which had been long before assigned 
to this species by Miller. The description given by the 
illustrious Danish naturalist does not appear to me at all 
deficient in that accuracy and precision which characterize 
all his writings ; and if some continental authors have 
erroneously confounded this species with the Cyclas la- 
custris of Draparnaud, this cannot be a sufficient reason 
for continuing the mistake. At any rate, the best French 
authorities (including Férussac, Blamville, and Moquin- 
Tandon), as well as nearly all the conchologists of our 
own country, have adopted Miuller’s name in preference 
to that of Draparnaud. 

Although Mr. Jenyns has, m his excellent Mono- 
graph, given an interesting notice of the habits of this 
mollusk in a state of confinement, some further details, 
which have been communicated to me by my friend 
Dr. Lukis, of Guernsey, of its natatory, spinning, and 
other performances, may not be unacceptable. In one 
of his letters to me he says, “I placed a number 
in a smali fish-globe in clear water taken from the 
sluggish stream in which they were captured. In a 
short time they commenced crawling about and actually 
ascending the slippery concave glass. In a few days a 
considerable number of the fry had been cast, which 
proved far more active than their parents, readily climb- 
mg the sides of the globe, and rarely missing their foot- 


SPHERIUM. 13 


ing, while the adults made many ineffectual attempts ; 
but both fry and adults, when they reach the edge of the 
water, take to the surface easily, and creep along slowly, 
and apparently with caution, as if im search of some 
floating substance, near which they will rest for hours. 
The exserted foot moves, during this under-surface pro- 
gression, by a gentle vermicular action, the siphons bemg 
at the same time protruded. The foot durmg repose 
is usually retracted, and does not seem necessary for 
mere floating-purposes.’” And he adds, “ An inter- 
esting little scene occurred in the globe the other even- 
ing. Several individuals had reached a few leaves and 
hanging roots of minute water-plants which floated in 
the centre of the globe, down the stems of which three 
or four had crept to a depth of about an inch and a half. 
There they reposed: but they were not absolutely mo- 
tionless ; for, to my surprise, the whole group, plants and 
all, were dreamingly enjoying the delights of a slow but 
long-continued rotation. At first I thought some mi- 
nute water-insect had found its way unbidden into the 
globe, and was thus illustrating, ike some learned lec- 
turer to his sleepy audience, the laws of planetary mo- 
tions. But no such lecturer was there: yet, as the 
revolution brought two of the little mollusks closer under 
inspection, I observed their siphons to be curved exactly 
in the opposite direction to the line of motion. Here 
was a solution at once of the nymph-like ozpoGiros, 
which was evidently due to the recoil consequent upon 
the circulation and expulsion of the water through the 
siphons. The fortuitous position of the two individuals 
and the combined action of their expulsive tubes may 
not occur again; but the whole incident was so inter- 
esting and remarkable that I could not help recording 
it. The fry are growing rapidly; and I opme the 


14 SPHAERIID. 


amount of exercise they indulge in is conducive to their 
health. I have observed the Hulima distorta, Rissoa 
parva and cingillus, as well as the Odostomie and Jef- 
freysia, ascend to the edge of a basin and creep along 
the under-surface of the water, in the same manner as 
the Lymneade. But it is singular that bivalves should 
imitate their less unwieldy molluscan brethren im this 
seemingly unsuitable mode of progression.” In another 
letter he says, ‘‘ Sometimes a single individual will sus- 
pend itself to a little bit of the stem of a Lemna, and whirl 
quite alone for hours, even rapidly—say fifteen to twenty 
revolutions in a minute.” And in a subsequent letter 
he goes on to say, “The young are far more active than 
the parents. I do not perceive their siphons to be ever 
exserted, while this is almost constantly the habit of the 
older ones. They all continue to climb the glass globe, 
and rather more so in the evening, probably preferring 
to roam in the dark. I have had a fresh supply of about 
half a dozen, which, soon after being immersed, began 
an inspection of their new domain, and continued for a 
day or two more restless than the others. On climbing 
the glass, the front margin of the valves is applied to it, 
and at the same time both the foot and the siphons are 
exserted. The foot being extended to its full length, its 
extremity is cautiously pressed against the glass, and 
after a short pause the upward movement of the body 
commences, which is the work of a second of time; 
then another short pause, after which the front margin 
of the valves and the point of the foot are again applied 
cautiously to the glass, and the foot is again protruded 
to repeat the same process. When the edge of the water 
is reached the pauses are longer, and it is necessary for 
the creature to be doubly cautious, for here is the point 
of greatest difficulty. However, the foot is conveyed 


SPH ERIUM. 15 


horizontally along the surface of the water, which ap- 
pears to recede partially from it. On examining it with 
a lens, the foot is distinctly seen to have an undulating 
action on the surface, as well as an irregular and im- 
perfect contraction and elongation along its whole ex- 
tent ; but it is never quite retracted, excepting when its 
base and the front margin of the valves are in contact 
with some floating weed which is capable of supporting 
the whole. Thus this elegant shell traverses the still 
surface. But it is most curious to see it descending the 
thread-like stems of the Lemna, or some assemblage of 
these delicate fibres: even a single stem is quite suffi- 
cient ; and if the shell is free from any other contact, it 
immediately begins its rotatory movement. A single 
shell, thus suspended, revolves upon its axis in a direc- 
tion which is most frequently from right to left of the 

observer, or in the opposite direction from that of a 
- teetotum when made to spin by the fingers of the right 
hand. I have suspended single threads to circular pieces 
of cork in the water; but the stems of the Lemna are 
preferred. Cyclas cornea is much less active or inclined 
to ascend the glass; in fact, I have not yet seen it ac- 
complish the feat of its congener. Several of the C. caly- 
culata (Spherium lacustre) will remain among the stems 
of the duckweed for hours perfectly mactive, with closed 
valves, as if sleeping or resting after their previous 
fatigue. When the valves are pressed against the glass 
while ascending, there seems to be a fulness about the 
base of the foot, as if the mantle served for adhesion to 
the glass.” Dr. Lukis afterwards informed me that he 
had detected the byssal filament in S. dacustre. He 
says, “I have this morning watched one, which had 
reached the surface, spin its filament, and descend to 


16 SPH ERIID. 


half an inch below the surface, where it remained sus- 
pended for some time. It occupied three hours in 
spinning this short thread. I think it consists of more 
than a single filament ; for some minute particles, which 
were floating in the water, became entangled in it. The 
surface of the water was again depressed or cupped.” 
And he concluded by saying that he found the number 
of filaments to vary from one to at least four, which in 
one instance were far apart, the siphons or tubes and 
foot being at the same time exposed; and that the 
animal had the power of raising itself by means of this 
byssus again to the surface, after having been suspended 
for some time below it. The filaments appeared not to 
exceed half an inch in length; and rarely could more | 
than a single thread be seen. M. Bouchard-Chante- 
reaux has likewise, in his extremely interesting Cata- 
logue of the Land and Freshwater Mollusks which in- 
habit the Department of the Pas-de-Calais, noticed that 
the young of S. corneum possess the same faculty of 
spinning a transparent thread and attachmmg themselves 
by means of it to water-plants. 


Genus II. PISI’DIUM *, C. Pfeiffer. Pl. I. £.3, 4. 


Bopy inequilateral: mantle having only a single tube. 


SHELL inequilateral: beaks placed near the shorter or an- 
terior end. 


This genus was established by Carl Pfeiffer in 1821, to 
separate from Spherium the smaller species which have 
only one tube or siphon, and whose shells are not so 
equilateral. This generic distinction seems to be well 
founded, in respect both of the soft parts of these mol- 


* Pea-shaped. 


PISIDIUM. 17 


lusks and of their shells; and it has received almost 
the universal assent of conchologists. The habits of the 
little Pea shells are the same as those of the larger 
members of the same family; and they inhabit nearly 
the same situations. One species (P. pusillwm) does not 
seem to require a constant, or even a frequent supply of 
water, being often found living at the roots of bog-moss 
which is dried up in the summer, and of grass in mea- 
dows which are only irrigated in the spring; and Nils- 
son noticed, in his history of the land and river mol- 
lusks of Sweden, that he had frequently found the same 
species (which he erroneously referred to the P. fontinale 
of C. Pfeiffer) living between the bark and wood of fallen 
trees in moist places. They possess the same faculty as 
the Spheria, of floating, or creeping in an inverted posi- 
tion under the surface of the water. These tiny Pea 
_ shells, or cockles, swarm in every slow river, streamlet, 
lake, pool, horse-pond, ditch, and open drain ; and they 
are greedily devoured by fish and ducks. In their turn, 
they are fond of animal food; and Dr. Baudon, in his 
admirable Monograph, says that he has often observed 
Pisidia attached to the drowned carcases of small ani- 
mals, as well as to bones which had been thrown into 
ditches and streams, and from which the muscular fibres 
had not been removed. Perhaps, however, animalcula 
fed upon the meat, and were the real objects of attrac- 
tion to the Pisidia. Thew shells are sometimes so 
thickly encrusted with a ferrugmous or mineral deposit 
from the muddy sediment of the water which they in- 
habit as to resemble small lumps of dirt. This deposit 
appears to be partly owing to a secretion of the animal, 
aided by its generally inactive habits. Water-beetles do 
not allow themselves to be clogged in the same manner. 
Whether this is one of the artifices by which animals 


18 SPH ERIIDZ. 


escape the observation of their natural enemies is a 
question which requires a molluscan mind to solve. 

The critical investigation of the different species which 
compose this genus is quite as difficult as it is with regard 
to the large freshwater mussels. Little reliance *can be 
placed on the characters afforded by an examination of 
the body, or soft parts, of the animal. The form and 
comparative length of the tube are especially hable to 
vary even in the same individual; and under the influ- 
ence of heat and lhght the most Protean changes with 
respect to this organ may be observed. The size of the 
foot 1s equally a deceptive character; and colour is al- 
ways a most uncertain test. The general shape and 
appearance of the shells, as well as the position of their 
beaks, appear to offer almost the only reliable grounds 
of distinction. Size, substance, sculpture, and lustre are 
not of much account, as they mainly depend on the 
chemical ingredients of the water inhabited by these 
mollusks, as well as on their supply of food. In making 
an investigation like the present, there appear to be four 
courses open to the naturalist. The first, which is, 
perhaps, the easiest, is to reduce all hitherto described 
species to one or two, and thus to cut the Gordian knot 
without further ceremony. The second, which has been 
pursued to such an extent on the Continent and in the 
United States of America, is to multiply the number of 
species ad infinitum. The only check which can be im- 
posed on this method of wholesale and indiscriminate 
fabrication is the bar of scientific opinion ; and in coun- 
tries where nearly all the naturalists are culprits, there 
is not much likelihood of justice being so severely admi- 
nistered as to prevent the repetition of such venial 
offences. The third course is, to adopt the labours of 
preceding writers without any inquiry. And the fourth 


PISIDIUM. 19 


is, honestly and to the best of one’s ability carefully to 
work out the subject and to submit the result to the 
free criticism of other naturalists. This last course I 
have endeavoured to pursue; and I shall not feel in the 
least degree mortified or discouraged if the conclusions I 
have arrived at, with much pains and great hesitation, 
are not accepted by all my scientific brethren. 

To give some idea of the labour involved in this in- 
vestigation, I may mention that my own cabinet con- 
tains no less than 274 parcels of Pisidia, which have 
been, in the course of the last thirty or forty years, col- 
lected from different localities and sources, and comprise 
many thousands of specimens ; that I have personally 
examined the types of those species which have been de- 
scribed by Dr. Turton, Mr. Jenyns, Mr. Alder, Dr. Bau- 
don, and other conchologists who have published on the 
subject; that I have collected these tiny shells in many 
parts of Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland, and 
Italy, for the sake of comparison with British forms; 
and that I have had to refer to numerous works in many 
languages in order to collate the descriptions of forty- 
one different species which have been proposed by Euro- 
pean writers within the last century. Of these, I cannot 
conscientiously recognize more than six as distinct. 

It will be convenient to divide the British species, 
which are five in number, according to their shape, as 
follows :— 


A. Triangular. 1. P.amnicum. 2. P. fontinale. 
B. Oval. 3. P. pusillum. 
C. Round. 4. P. nitidum. 
D. Oblong. 5. P. roseum, 


20 SPHERIIDE. 


A. Triangular. 


1. Pistprum aM Nicum*, Miller. 


Tellina amnica, Mill. Verm. Hist. p. 205. P. amnicum, ¥F.& H. ii. p. 133, 
pl. xxxvii. f. 8,9, and (animal) pl. O. f. 8. : 


Bopy greyish-white, rather transparent: tube short, sub- 
conical, obliquely truncate at its orifice: foot broad at its 
base, abruptly pointed, and very extensible: mantle bordered 
with grey. 

Suett subtriangular, rather ventricose and solid, glossy, 
strongly grooved concentrically, horn-colour or yellowish- 
grey: epidermis rather thick : anterior side abruptly truncate : - 
posterior side much produced, and sloping towards the lower 
margin, which is obliquely curved: beaks rather prominent, 
but obtuse: ligament short, conspicuous: imside bluish-white 
and nacreous : hinge strong and curved ; teeth arranged as in 
Spherium, but the lateral teeth in this and other species of 
Pisidium are exceedingly strong and developed in proportion 
to the size of their shells: muscular and pallial scars well 
marked. L. 0:3. B. 0:375. 


Varieties occur in which the striz are more numerous, 
fewer, stronger or fainter than usual. 


Hasitat: Slow rivers, lakes, canals, and streams in 
all parts of the kingdom. It is also one of our com- 
monest upper tertiary fossils. Its contimental range ex- 
tends from Siberia to Naples, and it is also found in 
Algeria. This is the largest kind of Pisidium. 


2. P. rontina’LeE +, Draparnaud. 


Cyclas fontinalis, Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 180, pl. x. f.8-12. P. Henslowi- 


aye (var. without appendages), Jenyns in Ann. Nat. Hist. Aug. 1858, 
p. 104. 


Bopy whitish or grey, rather transparent: twbe generally 
short, but capable of considerable extension and dilatation, 
conical, obliquely truncate at its orifice, where it is so flexible 
that the edges are sometimes entire and at other times jagged : 
foot long and curved: mantle bordered with grey. 


* Inhabiting rivers. t+ Inhabiting fountains. 


PISIDIUM. 21 


SHELL subtriangular, somewhat ventricose, thin, rather 
glossy, finely but irregularly striate concentrically, greyish- 
white: eprdermis very thin: anterior side abruptly truncate : 
posterior side rounded, and sloping gently towards the lower 
margin; the anterior and posterior margins are compressed, 
especially towards the beaks, on each side of which they form 
a kind of shoulder: beaks prominent and rather acute: liga- 
ment very short and scarcely perceptible: inside white and 
nacreous: hinge short, but very strong; dentition as in P. 
amnicum, except that the cardinal teeth do not assume the 
shape of an inverted V: muscular and pallial scars the same 
as in that species. L.0:15. B. 0-175. 


Var. 1. Henslowana. Kach valve furnished with a plate- 
like appendage near the beaks. Tellina Henslowana, Shep- 
pard in Linn. Trans. xiv. p.150. P. Henslowianum, F. & H. 
u. p. 131, pl. xxxvu. f. 11. 


Var. 2. pulchella. Shell more glossy, strongly and regu- 
larly grooved; beaks less acute. P. pulchellum, Jen. p. 18, 
tab. xxi. f.1-5; F. & H. un. p. 128, pl. xxxvu. f. 12, 13. 


Var. 3 pallida. Shell more ventricose, irregularly striate, 
-and of a paler colour, with occasionally a few darker rays 
which diverge from the direction of the beaks to the lower 
margin. 


Var. 4. cinerea. Shell larger and flatter, with fainter strie. 
P. cinereum, Alder, Suppl. Cat. Moll. Northumb. p.4; F. & H. 
jg Oa 23 an 0) ap. 0.0.4'5 Ban DR 


Hasirat: Slow streams and standing water every- 
where in these isles; and it is one of our upper tertiary 
fossils. It also ranges from Siberia to Sicily. Var. 1. 
occurs in many of the northern, eastern, home, and 
south-western counties of England, as well as in South 
Wales and Cork. This is also one of our tertiary fossils, 
and extends from Sweden to the South of France. 
Specimens from the Swansea Canal, near some tinworks, 
have.the beaks more or less eroded, in consequence pro- 
bably of the water containing an extremely diluted por- 
tion of sulphuric acid, which is used in that manufac- 
ture. The fact, which has been noticed and considered 


22 SPH ERIID”. 


remarkable by some authors, of the eave-like projection 
appearing in the middle of young shells, agrees with its 
position in adult shells, because this curious appendage 
is never placed close to the beak. Var. 2. More com- 
mon than the last variety, and also inhabiting Sweden 
and France. It deserves its name, being a very pretty 
object. Mr. Jenyns now considers it to be the same 
species as his P. Henslowianum. Var. 3. Marshes and 
pools near Swansea. It is probably the P. pallidum ot 
Gassies. Var. 4. Widely diffused in this country, and 
also inhabiting France and Italy. The outline of some 
specimens of this last variety is that of an equilateral 
triangle. It is the P. australe of Philippi, and the Cyclas 
lenticularis of Normand. 

This species is extremely variable, and has conse- 
quently received a great number of names. Out of the 
41 so-called species of Pistdiwm which have been de- 
scribed by European conchologists, no less than 21 belong 
to the present form. On the Continent the type is 
generally known by Poli’s name of Casertanum., 

If the diagnosis, characters, and figures given by 
Draparnaud for his Cyclas fontinals had been more 
carefully studied, it would, I think, have been obvious 
that they do not apply to the Tellina pusilla of Gmelin, 
with which this species has been generally (but with 
doubt) allocated by so many authors. The principal 
difference between these two species consists in the 
former (P. fontinale) being triangular and somewhat 
depressed, and having prominent beaks ; while the other 
(P. pusillum) is oval and ventricose, and has obtuse 
beaks. Draparnaud’s diagnosis is as follows: ‘‘ C. testa 
globosa, subdepressa, subineequilaterali; umbone sub- 
acuto.” Gmelin says his shell is “ ovata, ventricosa ;”’ 
and his description of its colour as ‘“sordide alba” is 


PISIDIUM. 23 


peculiarly appropriate to the P. pusillum of modern 
authors. C. Pfeiffer, in 1821, appears to have recog- 
nized Draparnaud’s shell by the same specific name of 
“ fontinale ;” and the only distinction which he makes 
between this species and his own P. odtusale (which I 
regard as a variety of P. pusillum) is that the former is 
described ‘‘ umbone subacuto”, and the latter ‘“‘ umbone 
obtusissimo.” 

It chiefly differs from P. amnicum in bemg very much 
smaller (although the variety cinerea is nearly as large), 
in the shell bemg thinner, the posterior margin much 
less produced, the beaks being more prominent, and the 
ligament scarcely conspicuous. The cardinal teeth are 
also more separate, and do not diverge from a common 
base or root as in that species and Spherium. 


B. Oval. 
3. P. pusiL’LuM*, Gmelin. 


Tellina pusilla, Gmelin, Syst. Nat. p.3231.  P. pusillum, F. & H. ii. 
p- 123, pl. xxxvii. f. 10, and (animal) pl. O. f. 9. 


Bopy whitish, with occasionally a faint tinge of yellow or 
red: tube short, subconical or cylindrical, truncate, orifice 
small and its edges plain: foot longer than the shell, narrow 
and slender: mantle bordered with reddish-grey. 


SHELL oval, compressed but swollen, thin, not so glossy as 
in the other species, finely but irregularly striate concentri- 
cally, a few of the strie being larger than the others and de- 
noting the successive stages of growth, yellowish-white or 
cinereous : epidernus very thin: anterior side rounded : poste- 
rior side also rounded, and sloping very gradually below; this 
side is very little more produced than the other, which makes 
the contour of the shell more equilateral than in the foregoing 
species ; both these sides are compressed, and especially above : 
lower margin rounded: beaks not prominent, but blunt: liga- 
ment short and inconspicuous: inside greyish-white, with 


* Little. 


24. SPHAERIID. 


scarcely any nacreous lustre ; other internal characters the 
same as in P. fontinale. L. 0: 175. B. 0-2. 


Var. obtusalis. Shell smaller and much more ventricose ; 
beaks prominent, very obtuse. P. obtusale, C. Pfeiffer, Deutsch. 
Land- und Siissw.-Moll. i. p. 125, t. 5. f. 21, 22 ; F. or il. 
p. 120, pl. xxxvi. f. 1. 

Hasirat: Mossy swamps, shallow ditches, drains, 
grassy pools, and similar situations throughout all the 
country ; and it is one of our upper tertiary fossils. It 
ranges from Lapland to Corsica, and is generally diffused 
in Europe. Dr. Baudon says that it is the same species 
as the P. ventricosum of Prime; so that it appears to be 
also a native of the United States of America. The 
variety obtusalis occurs in similar situations with the 
typical form ; but it is more local and not so abundant. 
The intermediate gradation between the two forms is 
almost infinite ; but the essential and common character 
of both is the same, viz. the beaks being nearly central 
and obtuse. 

Having carefully studied the description and figure 
given by Poli of his Cardium Casertanum, I have not 
been able to arrive at the same conclusion which Moquin- 
Tandon and other French conchologists have formed, 
that this species is the type of the one which I have de- 
scribed as P. fontinale; and I consider that it ought 
more properly to be referred to the present species. Poli 
says his shell is “ subrotunda ;” and his figure shows 
that it is much more equilateral than P. fontinale. He 
also remarked the irregularity of the strie arising from 
the marks of growth, which appears to be more cha- 
racteristic of this than of the other species. As, how- 
ever, he did not notice any other species, it is of course 
very difficult to say precisely which species he meant ; 
and under these circumstances I think it is preferable 
not to revive an obscure and doubtful species, indicated 


PISIDIUM. 25 


by a local name, when we have at least equally good 
reasons and authority for adopting a name bestowed by 
an earlier writer, and which, besides, is not liable to the 
same objection. This species differs from P. fontinale 
in its shape being oval instead of triangular, and in its 
beaks being more central, and blunt or compressed. Its 
colour is also yellowish-white instead of grey ; and it has 
much less lustre. It is the Cyclas fontinalis of Nilsson. 


C. Round. 
4, P. nr'tipum*, Jenyns. 
P. nitidum, Jen. p. 16, tab. xx. f.7,8; F.& H. it. p. 126, pl. xxxvii. f. 14. 


Bopy whitish, with sometimes a faint tinge of yellow, caused 
by the colour of the liver: ¢whe short, funnel-shaped ; orifice 
wide, and its edges notched or puckered: foot rather long, 
thin, slender, and finely pointed: mantle bordered with grey. 


SHELL suborbicular, compressed except in the upper part 
where it is rather ventricose, thin, extremely glossy, iridescent 
(especially in the young state and near the beaks), finely and 
regularly striated or ribbed concentrically, with from 3 to 5 
separate and deeper grooves which encircle the umbonal region, 
the striae or ribs being rather broad ; yellowish-white or light 
horn-colour: epidermis a mere film: anterior side somewhat 
truncate, but rounded: posterior side slightly produced and 
sloping abruptly below: lower margin rounded: beaks nearly 
central, rather prominent, but obtuse: ligament very short, 
and scarcely discernible: enside whitish, and plainly showing 
the scars of the adductor muscles and mantle: hinge and teeth 
as in the two last species. L. 0:15. B. 0°15. 


Var. splendens. Shell of a lemon-colour, nearly half as 
large again as that of the ordinary form, stronger, less glossy, 
rather more oblique, and less deeply striated, with the beaks 
more swollen and the ligament stronger and perceptible. 


Hasitat: Lakes, ponds, and standing water in all 


parts of the kingdom from Zetland to the Channel 
Isles. Malm has described and figured it as a Swedish 


* Glossy. 


26 SPHERIIDA. 


species ; and Moquin-Tandon has noticed it as Corsican. 
I have found it also on all parts of the Continent. The 
- variety splendens of Baudon occurs in lakes near Lerwick, 
and at Balmacarra in West Ross. A monstrosity or 
distortion of this species, as well as of P. fontinale (var. 
Henslowana), is sometimes met with, which has the 
valves constricted or divided by a longitudinal groove. 
This accidental phenomenon in the typical form of P. 
fontinale induced M. Bourguignat to consider it a distinct 
species, and to give it the name of P. sinuatum. It is 
eaused by a laceration or injury of the front margin of 
the mantle. 

‘This may be distinguished from all the preceding spe- 
cies by its rounded outline, much more glossy and iri- 
descent appearance, and by a few separate and deeper 
grooves or lines which encircle the beak and are espe- 
cially perceptible in young shells. This is also the only 
kind of Pisidium which has the tube funnel-shaped and 
its outer margin crenulated or plaited. For the dis- 
covery of this species science is indebted to Mr. Jenyns. 


D. Oblong. 
5. P. ro’ srum*, Scholtz. 


P. roseum, Scholtz, Schlesien’s L.- und W.-Moll. p. 140; Jeffr. in Ann. 
Nat. Hist. s.3. vol. iii. p. 38, pl. ii. f.3. 


Bopy opaline white, orange-yellow, red, or rose-colour in 
the upper part: tube long, slender, subconical, and truncate at 
its orifice: foot long, semitransparent. 


SHELL subrhombic, ventricose, thin, very glossy, deeply and 
regularly striated concentrically ; yellowish-white or light 
horn-colour: epidermis extremely thin: anterior side truncate 
and sloping abruptly below: posterior side much produced and 
rounded: lower margin nearly straight: beaks placed con- 
siderably on one side, rather prominent, but obtuse: ligament 


* Rose-colour. 


PISIDIUM. oF 


inconspicuous: inside nacreous-white: hinge-line nearly 
straight ; cardinal teeth very minute and almost impercep- 
tible; lateral teeth not well developed, except towards their 
outer edges, which are strong and sharp: muscular and pallial 
scars scarcely visible. L. 0:1. B. 0:15. 

Hasitat: Marshes, ponds, ditches, and stagnant water 
from Zetland to Guernsey. It also occurs in Silesia, 
Sweden, and France ; and I have found it in Prussia. 
It has probably escaped notice in other parts of the Con- 
tinent. 

This species differs from allits congeners in its oblong 
or rhomboid shape, which is principally owing to the 
greater extension of the posterior side, and to the beaks 
being consequently placed so much out of the centre, as 
well as to the compression and nearly straight outline of 
the lower or front margin. It is considerably more 
ventricose than P. nitidum, which it resembles in its 
gloss and sculpture. The umbonal striz are, besides, 
not perceptible in the species under consideration ; and 
the tube does not appear to have the margin of its 
orifice plaited. The body has usually a rosy or reddish 
hue in the upper part, which is discernible in the dried 
animal. 

It was not without much hesitation that I adopted the 
name given by Scholtz for this species, because in a 
Supplement to the second edition of his work he con- 
sidered it to be a variety of P. fontinale ; but the colour 
of the animal, which at first induced him to propose 
this as a distinct species, appears to form a good and 
constant mark of distinction, and one of the epithets 
which he applied to the shell (“langlichrundlich ”’) is 
very appropriate. The only other species of Pis¢dium 
besides this, which Scholtz has noticed, are fontinale, 
amnicum, and obtusale. Whether it may ultimately be 
united with nitidum is, however, a question which I, for 

C2 


28 UNIONID. 


one, shall not consider unreasonable, although my pre- 
sent impression is that they are distinct species. The 
variation of form and sculpture is undeniably very great 
in all freshwater shells ; and this is probably caused not 
only by the greater or less supply of food procurable 
by these mollusks, but also by the chemical ingredients 
of the water from which their materials are secreted or 
extracted. Development of size, and of particular por- 
tions of the shell (by which its shape is determined), 
seems to depend on the former condition, while its 
solidity and sculpture are affected by the nature of the 
fluid which these mollusks inhabit. The present species 
is the P. tetragonum of Normand and the P. arceforme 
of Malm. | 

As some test of specific distinction, I would remark 
that the following species of Pisidium are often found 
living together: viz., amnicum and fontinale (var. Hens- 
lowana) ; fontinale and pusillum; and fontinale (var. 
pallida), nitidum, and roseum. Hach of the above is also 
sometimes found solitary, or in company with various 
species of Spherium. 


Family Il. UNIONID. 


Bopy oblong, compressed: mantle open on all sides except 
at the back, but forming at the posterior side two orifices, 
which correspond with the cylinder or tubes of the Spheriide. 
The smaller and upper, or excretal, orifice is separated from 
the larger and lower, or branchial, orifice by an intermediate 
fold of the mantle. The margin of the first-mentioned orifice 
is plain; but the other is fringed with several rows of cirri 
or tentacles. Mouth placed as in the last family. ot large, 
broad, and tongue-shaped. 

SHELL equivalve, oblong, inequilateral, compressed: ep?- 
dermis thick: beaks (which form the nucleus or young shell) 
plaited or wrinkled: ligament external, strong, and always 
conspicuous: inside pearly: hinge furnished with lateral teeth 


UNIONID&. 29 


only ; those on the anterior side being sometimes so much 
developed as to resemble cardinal teeth. 

Some of these mollusks, which are often called “ fresh- 
water Mussels,’ are ovoviviparous, like those of the last 
family, and retain their young within the folds of the 
mantle for some time before they are finally excluded ; 
while others are oviparous, like the majority of mollusks. 
It was for a long time supposed that they were of sepa- 
rate sexes, and Von Siebold distinguished Anodonta 
cygnea as the male, and A. Cellensis as the female, of the 
same species; but Moquin-Tandon seems to have now 
proved satisfactorily that both sexes are common to each 
individual or that they are all moneecious. They in- 
habit rivers and other large pieces of water. Their 
habits are tolerably active in the spring, or when in 
search of a suitable feeding-place ; and by means of their 
large fleshy foot they are able to traverse considerable 
distances, leaving a track or furrow in the soft mud. 
When the water is slowly drained off, or dried up by the 
heat of summer, as well as in the winter, they bury them- 
selves in the mud. Their food consists of Hntomostraca 
and other minute animals. According to Mr. Anthony, 
an American conchologist, who has especially studied 
the members of this family, some species spin a byssus. 
It is difficult to separate this family from their marine 
analogues, the true Mussels, on merely malacological 
grounds; but I believe a good conchological distinction 
(covsidering the shell to form an integral and important 
part of the animal) is maintainable in the position of the 
ligament and beaks. ‘The former is external in the 
Unionide, while it is internal in the Mytilide ; and the 
beaks are nearly terminal in the latter, but in the former 
they are seldom placed at a less distance than one-fourth 
from the anterior end. Besides these marks of distinc- 


30 UNIONIDA. 


tion, there are no lateral teeth in Mytilide, and in My- 
tilus the cardinal teeth are conspicuous. In the Unio- 
nide, on the other hand, the lateral teeth are always, 
and the cardinal teeth never, present. I am quite aware 
that this last statement will be objected to by all those 
conchologists who believe that, at all events, the shells of 
Unio are furnished with cardinal teeth. But I venture 
to submit that these teeth are lateral, and not cardinal ; 
that they are not, like the cardinal teeth in the Sphe- 
rude, placed at a right angle to the hinge-line, but that 
they are, on the contrary, parallel to it; and that they 
are always lamellar and form more or less elevated ridges, 
like the true lateral teeth in other bivalves. In the 
genus Anodonta, indeed, the lateral teeth are not so 
strongly developed as in Unio, and they may in some 
cases be considered as rudimentary; but in nearly all 
the species of Anodonta these teeth form a well-defined 
and often sharp crest, especially on the posterior or liga- 
mental side. The unusually great length and strength 
of the ligament in Anodonta seems to render the use of 
lateral teeth in supporting the hinge almost unnecessary ; 
and in this, as well as in many other cases of a similar 
kmd, the original form of such organs is retained in an 
imperfect state, although their use has ceased to exist. 
The study of the European members of this family 
has for a long time attracted the attention of continental 
naturalists ; and Carl Pfeiffer, Rossmissler, and Henri 
Drouet have especially applied themselves to this diffi- 
cult task. A valuable monograph has been published 
by the last-named naturalist, entitled “ Etudes sur les 
Naiades de la France ;”” the work bemg dedicated to the 
late King of Portugal, whose devotion to conchology 
was the more remarkable because this branch of natural 
history has not been cultivated by many crowned heads. 


UNIO. 31 


In this country very little has been done to advance our 
knowledge of the Unionide; and it would be extremely 
desirable if naturalists who reside in the country would 
carefully notice and record any instances of different 
kinds occurrimg in the same waters, and whether auy 
intermediate forms are found in such localities. 


Genus I. U’NIO*, Philippsson. PI. I. f. 5, 6. 


Bopy elongated, rather ventricose: gills nearly straight: 
labial palps ovate. 

Suet elongated, solid: lateral teeth strong: lunule or heart- 
shaped depression on the anterior side distinct. 


This genus was founded by Philippsson in 1788 in an 
inaugural Lecture entitled ‘ Dissertatio historico-natu- 
ralis sistens nova Testaceorum genera ;” but, owing to 
the circumstance of its having been delivered at a meet- 
ing of which Retz was the president, the latter has 
usually had the credit of founding the genus. From 
this genus it has been since proposed to separate the 
Pearl-Mussel, under the name of Margaritana, or Alas- 
modon, on account of the teeth being less developed ; but 
there does not appear to be sufficient reason, on con- 
chologital grounds, for this separation. The animals, or 
bodies, of these so-called genera cannot be distinguished 
from each other. All the species are, according to 
Mogquin-Tandon, oviparous. . 

Many species of Unio have been described by Conti- 
nental writers ; and even Moquin-Tandon, who is by no 
means atldicted to this kind of manufacture, has ad- 
mitted no less than eleven. Two of these (viz. U. Batavus | 
and U. rhomboideus [or littoralis|), which are widely dif. 
fused throughout France, have not yet been detected in 


* A pearl. 


32 UNIONID. 


this country, although the latter is not uncommon, in a 
fossil state, in our upper freshwater tertiary beds. 

That part of the shell which surrounds the beaks 
(called the “ umbonal region’’) is sometimes eroded or 
excoriated in these, as well as m other members of the 
family. I believe it is caused by the chemical action of 
gases which are evolved from the mud in which this por- 
tion of the shell is usually imbedded. No reliance can 
therefore be placed on such a feature as a mark of specific 
distinction. 


The word “ Unio ”’ 


is, according to Pliny, masculine. 


1. Unio tu’ mipus*, Philippsson. 
U. tumidus, Philipps. Nov. Test. Gen. p.17; F.& H. 1. p. 140, pl. xl. f. 1. 


Bopy greyish: mantle bordered with white; the excretal 
orifice being produced into a short tube, and of a brownish. 
colour with sometimes a few purplish streaks; the branchial 
orifice mottled with orange-brown: foot milk-white, with a 
pale orange tint, thick and broad: gills pale grey: labial 
palps rather broad. 

SHELL oval, very convex above, solid, rather glossy, yel- 
lowish-brown, transversely wrinkled: epidermis rather thick : 
heaks shghtly incurved, and placed at a distance of about one- 
fourth from the anterior side: wmbonal region prominent and 
strongly plaited in a wave-like manner, the folds sometimes 
rising into sharp knobs or tubercles: dunule lance-shaped and . 
narrow: ligament short, strong, and prominent: anterior side 
rounded and regularly sloping towards tne front: posterior 
side gradually sloping to a wedge-like point: lower margin 
regularly curved: imside white and nacreous, with a faint 
tinge of blue: hinge strong; the right valve having on its 
anterior side a broad, thick, and bifid tooth, which is slightly 
bent forwards, and irregularly grooved so as to make its crest 
notched, and having on its posterior side a long and deep 
ehannel or groove, formed by a double plate, to receive the 
corresponding tooth of the other valve; left valve furnished 
at its anterior side with a single wedge-shaped and strong 


* Swollen. 


UNIO. oo 


tooth, which is also grooved and notched like the double tooth 
of the right valve into which it locks; this valve has also a 
long, sharp and crest-like plate on the posterior side which is 
morticed into the channel or groove above mentioned: muscular 
and pallial scars very deep and distinct. L. 1:5. B. 3. 


Var. 1. radiata. Shell thinner: epidermis green, marked 
with divergent yellow rays, which are interrupted by trans- 
verse narrow zones of the latter colour: posterior side more 
compressed above: hinge-line nearly straight, especially in 
half-grown specimens. 

Var. 2. ovals. Shell triangular-oval, or wedge-shaped, 
compressed and somewhat incurved in the middle, rather 
inequivalve in consequence of the right valve slightly over- 
lapping the other, dark olive-brown: anterior side much 
broader and abruptly truncate: dunule very broad, deep, and 
oblique. Mya ovalis, Montagu, Test. Brit. pp. 34 & 563. 


Hasirat: Rivers, canals, and ponds in England as 
far north as the Went in Yorkshire, and also in South 
Wales ; and it is one of our upper tertiary fossils. Its 
range extends northwards as far as Finland; but it does 
not appear to have been met with south of the Rhone. 
Var. 1. R. Avon, near Bath (Clark) ; Railway lake near 
Oxford (Whiteaves). Var. 2. R. Avon, Wilts (Montagu); 
R. Brent (Metcalfe); and from Mrs. Loscombe’s col- 
lection of British shells. The late Mr. Clark also found 
this variety near Bath, having a green epidermis which 
is marked longitudinally with yellow rays, and trans- 
versely with alternate zones of green and yellow. My 
cabinet contains a specimen of the last variety, which 
was sent by Col. Montagu to my late friend Mr. Dillwyn, 
and by the latter presented to me with a few other 
typical specimens from that excellent British zoologist. 
The inside of each valve bears, in his well-known hand- 
writing, the words “Mya ovalis, Wiltshire.” This, there- 
fore, shows what Montagu’s species really was; and it 
is the more interesting because the authors of the ‘ British 

CO 


34 UNIONID. 


Mollusca’ referred it both to U. tumidus and U. picto- 
rum, while Moquin-Tandon considered it to be a variety 
of U. Batavus. It is more strictly a monstrosity, or 
abnormal form, than a variety. 

This species sometimes occurs in company with the 
next. The Rev. A. M. Norman has recorded in the 
‘Zoologist’ for 1857 having taken specimens at Fleck- 
ney and Wistow in Leicestershire of the extraordinary 
dimensions of nearly 44 inches in breadth and more 
than 2 inches in length, the weight being over 3 ounces. 
Beneath the epidermis the colour of the shell in this and 
the next species is cream-white. A single individual of 
U. tumidus has been known to lay 1500 eggs in two or 
three days. They are deposited in small clusters, each 
of which contains about 100 eggs. 


2. U. picro’Rum*, Linné. 


Mya pictorum, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p.1112. U. pietorum, F. & H. 
li. p. 142, pl. xxxix. f.1, and (animal) pl. Q. f. 2. 


Bopy clear red, with a more or less greyish tint: mantle 
bordered with brown ; orifices of the same form and colour as 
in the last species: foot reddish or yellowish-white, large and 
tongue-shaped : gills grey : labial palps oval. | 

SHELL oblong, compressed, not so solid as the last species, 
glossy, yellow, with narrow zones of brown which denote 
the marks of growth, transversely wrinkled, with stronger 
furrows on the posterior side: epidermis rather thin: beaks 
very little incurved, and placed at a distance of between one- 
fourth and one-fifth from the anterior side: umbonal region 
not so prominent nor so strongly wrinkled as in the preceding 
species: dunule long and narrow: ligament longer than in U. 
tumidus : upper margin or hinge-line nearly straight : anterior 
side rounded : posterior side very gradually sloping and rounded 
at its extremity, compressed or pinched-up above: lower margin 
nearly straight: inside cream-white or salmon-colour, highly 
macreous : hinge not so strong as in the last species; the teeth 


* Painters’. 


UNIO. 35 


similarly arranged, but they are finer, sharper, and more erect : 
muscular scars distinct : pallial scar faint, owing to the greater 
thickness of the nacreous lining. L. 1:33. B. 3. © 


Var. 1. radiata. Shell having faint and narrow rays of 
green which diverge from the beak. 


Var. 2. curvirostris. Shell smaller, shorter, and flatter: 
epidermis yellowish-green, with brown zones: posterior siule 
curved and wedge-shaped. U. curvirostris, Normand. 

Var. 3. latior. Shell broader and shorter, yellowish-brown. 


Var. 4. compressa. Shell very broad and flat ; upper margin 
raised and curved: posterior side greatly compressed and at- 
tenuated, assuming a beak-like form, and having a double 
ridge and furrow which runs from the beak in the younger 
state of growth : lower margin straight : lunule broad, and ex- 
tending between the beaks, so as to separate them from each 
other. 

Hasitat: Rivers, ponds, and canals throughout En- 
gland; but it does not appear to have been found north 
of Yorkshire. It is also one of our upper tertiary fossils. 
It ranges from Finland to Algeria and Sicily. Var. 1. 
R. Avon, Bath (Clark). Var. 2. From Clark’s and 
Mrs. Loscombe’s collections of British shells, but with- 
out any indication of locality. Var. 3. Canal near 
Oxford (Whiteaves). Var. 4. Norwich (Bridgman). 
This remarkable form might easily be raised to the 
rank of a distinct species; but I can only regard it as 
abnormal, and analogous to the variety ovalis of U. tu- 
midus. 

This species was confounded by Lister, Linné, Miiller, 
Draparnaud, and all the older writers with U. tumidus. 
It differs from that species in the form of the shell, which 
is oblong instead of oval; in its much greater propor- 
tionate breadth ; its thinner texture; in the upper and 
lower margins being nearly straight and parallel, instead 
of being curved and wedge-shaped; in the umbonal 
region being much less prominent and swollen; and in 


36 UNIONIDA. 


the hinge not being so strong, nor the teeth so thick, 
as in U. tumidus. It has been noticed by Mr. Norman 
to attam, in ponds at Fleckney and Wistow in Leices- 
tershire, the great size of 4.7, inches in breadth and 2+ 
in length, and to weigh 2 oz. 6 dr. 

It is, however, by no means easy to draw a satis- 
factory line of separation between this and the last 
species, which are connected by several intermediate 
forms, and especially by the U. Philippi of Dupuy. The 
fact of their inhabiting the same spot shows, at all 
events, that one of them is not a local variety of the 
other; and this ought, I think, to weigh in the scale of 
specific distinction. Whether one, or both, of these now 
reputed species have become in course of time permanent 
varieties or “races ”’ of the same or some other species, 
may be regarded as an antiquarian (although interesting) 
question, which does not properly belong to the province 
of the zoologist. 

Both of these species produce pearls, though of very 
small size and inferior lustre. A consolidated mass of 
pearly secretion is sometimes formed inside the right 
valve near the margin of the posterior side. The shells 
were used by Dutch painters (from which the specific 
name of pictorum originated) for holding their colours ; 
and they are still to be had of any artists’-colourman in 
this country, containing a preparation of ground gold 
and silver leaf, for illuminating work, the other purpose 
having been superseded by palettes. Bouchard-Chan- 
tereaux calculated that each individual of U. pictorum 
produced, in the breeding-season of May, June, and 
July, no less than 220,000 eggs. 

The variety curvirostris bears a strong resemblance to 
some of the varieties of U. Batavus; but there is no 
satisfactory proof of that species having been found in 


UNIO. 37 


Great Britain. A specimen named Unio Batavus in 
Dr. Turton’s collection of British shells is clearly a dwarf 
variety of that species, and is the Unio nana of Lamarck, 
U. amnicus of Ziegler, U. Batavus var. ¢. pusillus of Ross- 
miassler, and U. nanus of Dupuy. This specimen does 
not at all agree with the description or figure given 
by Turton of his Mysca Batava im his ‘ Manual’ ; and it 
was not accompanied by any note of the locality. I do 
not, however, despair of this species, as well as of U. 
rhomboideus (or littoralis), bemg discovered in this 
country. Both of them inhabit the North of France ; 
and the latter once lived in our eastern counties. 


3. U. marcari'trrer*, Linné. 


Mya margaritifera, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p.1112. U. margaritiferus, 
F. & H. ii. p. 146, pl. xxxviii (as Alasmodonta margaritifera). 


Bopy dirty grey, with sometimes a tint of flesh-colour : 
mantle bordered below with brown, and above with white; 
cirri oblong and dark brown: foot large, tongue-shaped, grey- 
ish-yellow, or dirty red: gills greyish-brown, with whitish 
streaks: labial palps broader than long, and united for two- 
thirds of their length. 


Suet oblong, much compressed, solid, having a dull surface, 
dark brown, or nearly black, transversely and irregularly 
wrinkled, especially on the posterior side, with very fine but 
obscure longitudinal strive, which are interrupted by the lines 
of growth: epidermis thick: beaks incurved, and placed at a 
distance of about one-fourth from the anterior side: wmbonal 
region not prominent, always decorticated or eroded, and to 
such an extent as to expose several of the inner layers : lunule 
narrow and indistinct : ligament very long, and extending to the 
anterior side: hinge-line curved: anterior side rounded: pos- 
terior side very gradually sloping and rounded at its extremity, 
pinched-up above into a blunt keel or ridge: lower margin 
straight: iside pearly-white, with a tint of flesh-colour and 
blotches of olive-green in the region of the adductor muscles, 
pitted in the middle by tubercular folds of the mantle: hinge 


* Pearl-bearer. 


38 UNIONIDE. 


strong ; the right valve having on its anterior side a very broad, 
thick, and blunt double tooth, the erest of which is irregularly 
tubercled, and on its posterior side a blunt and obscure ridge- 
like plate, which in young specimens is grooved or double ; 
left valve furnished at its anterior side with a single, conical, 
strong and blunt tooth which locks into the double tooth, the 
posterior tooth in this valve being similar to the corresponding 
one in the right valve: muscular and pallial scars very deep 
and distinct. L. 2-4. B. 5. 


Var. 1. sinuata. Shell rather broader in proportion to its 
length than in the type, yellowish-brown : lower margin in- 
curved towards the middle. JU. sinuata, Lam. Hist. An. s. 
v. Vi. pt. ip. 70. 

Var. 2. Roissyi. Shell proportionably longer : lower margin 
eonvex, or rounded. U. Roissyi, Michaud, Compl. p. 112. 
Dl, AVL. to 27; 20. 


Hasitat: Mountain rivers and streams throughout 
the British Isles. It is found in several parts of the 
Swansea Canal where the bottom is gravelly, having 
been carried in by the water-courses which supply it. 
It also ranges through the mountainous and hilly parts 
of the Continent from Lapland to the Pyrenees. Var. 1. 
West of Scotland (Bedford and J. G. J.); West of 
Ireland (Humphreys and Barlee). A specimen of this 
form from Co. Kerry measures nearly 6 imches in 
breadth or width. Var. 2. Yorkshire (Sowerby). A 
monstrosity also occurs having a longitudinal ridge in 
the middle of the shell. 

This species differs from all the others in its shell 
being much longer (measured from the beak to the lower 
or front margin) as well as more depressed, in its dull 
aspect and much darker colour, the extensive erosion of 
its umbonal region, and especially in the posterior teeth 
being scarcely developed. 

The liming of mother-of-pearl is equal to half the 
entire thickness of the shell, as may be seen by grinding 


ANODONTA. 39 


and polishing one of the valves. The surface of the shell 
is of a dull white beneath the epidermis. Pearls ob- 
tained from this kind of Mussel are mostly white ; but 
they are sometimes green or brown, and occasionally 
(but very seldom) they are met with of a lovely pink 
colour and worth being set in a brooch or ring. 

In Forbes and Hanley’s work will be found a full and 
interesting account of the freshwater pearl fisheries, 
which have been for so many centuries, though with 
little success, prosecuted in these Islands. But to amuse 
my readers, and to give some idea of the state of Natural 
History in Camden’s time, I will add the following 
extract from his ‘ Britannia,’ under the head of “ Cum- 
berland.” 

“ Wigher up, the little river Irt runs into the sea, 
in which the shell-fish having by a kind of: irregular 
motion (oscitatione) taken in the dew, which they are 
extremely fond of, are impregnated, and produce pearls, 
or to use the Poet’s phrase, bacce conchee, shell-berries, 
which the inhabitants, when the tide is out, search for, 
and our Jewellers buy of the poor for a trifle, and sell 
again at a very great price. Of these and the like Mar- 
modeus seems to speak in that line, 

‘‘ Gignis et insignes, antiqua Britannia, baccas.” 

It seems that Marmodeus wrote a Latin poem on 
jewels and precious stones, which was published at 
Cologne in 15389. 


- Genus II. ANODON’TA®*, Lamarck. PI. II. f. 1, 2. 


Bopy oblong-oval, compressed :_ gills flexuous: labial palps 
lanceolate. 


SHELL oblong-oval, thin: hinge haying only rudimentary 
teeth: dunule slight and indistinct. 


* Toothless. 


4.0 UNIONID&. 


The habits of the Anodonte are the same as those of 
the Uniones ; but they differ, according to Moquin-Tan- 
don, in being ovoviviparous. 

It is by no means an easy task to distinguish some of 
the species of Unio; but the difficulty is much greater 
in attempting to separate the various forms of Anodonta. 
Even the great Danish naturalist, Miller, entertained 
grave doubts, nearly a century ago, whether there ex- 
isted more than one Scandinavian species ; although his 
hesitation was not participated in by Nilsson and subse- 
quent writers on the Mollusca of that country. In other 
parts of the Continent, the long array of specific names, 
which have been recorded by H. Drouet, shows that the 
tendency of modern conchologists has been vastly to 
increase the number of European species. In this 
country, Montagu, with all his powers of discrimination, 
evidently entertained considerable doubt as to the spe- 
cific difference between A. cygnea and A. anatina ; and 
Turton, more than thirty years ago, expressed his opinion 
“that all our supposed species of this genus may be 
justly resolved into one, varying in their outline, con- 
sistence, and colour, from age and local circumstances.” 
This view has been adopted by Dr. Gray and the authors 
of the ‘ British Mollusca.’ However, as long as any di- 
stinction of species is recognized, we must endeavour to 
deduce from the observation of natural phenomena any 
facts which may facilitate such investigation. One of 
these facts seems to consist in ascertaining whether any 
different forms inhabit together the same spot and under 
exactly similar conditions, without any appearance of an 
intermediate link or gradation. Montagu has recorded 
such a fact with respect to his Mytilus avonensis and 
M. anatinus ; Drouct has given other instances of the 
collocation of several species of Anodonta in French 


ANODONTA. | 


waters ; and Baudon has also noticed the same circum- 
stance in the Département de l’Oise. All these cases 
would lead us to infer that there exist at least two 
distinct species of Anodonta in the North of Europe ; 
and I am only at present prepared to go to this extent. 
At the same time, I do not dispute the claims of other 
forms to specific rank. It would be unseemly, as well 
as unjust, thus to depreciate the labours of those 
naturalists who have so ably and carefully endeavoured 
to solve this perplexing problem ; and there is quite as 
good reason for believing that their views as to the ex- 
tension, are as correct as ours as to the reduction, of the 
specific lime. Although, therefore, I only propose to 
admit two old Linnean species (4. cygnea and A. ana- 
tina), some at least of the varieties hereafter indicated 
may be considered distinct species by those of my readers 
who from experience or choice may be inclined to take 
another view of the case. 


1. ANoponTA cyG NEA *, Linné. 


Mytilus cygneus, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1158. 4. eygnea (partly), 
F. &H. 1. p. 155, pl. xl. f. 2,5, & xli, and (animal) pl. Q. f. 5. 


Bopy grey, with a yellowish or reddish tint: mantle bor- 
dered with tawny-brown : foot large, broad, dirty-yellow, with 
a tinge of orange orred: gills grey, with occasionally a reddish 
hue, of a gauze-like texture: labial palps broadly triangular. 

SHELL oblong, rather ventricose, thin, moderately glossy, 
yellowish-green or brown, transversely and irregularly grooved 
by the lines of growth, and wrinkled in the same direction on 
the posterior and lower sides: epidermis thin: beaks straight, 
placed at a distance of about one-fourth from the anterior ex- 
tremity : wmbonal region compressed, strongly plaited: liga- 
ment rather long, strong, partly concealed within the over- 
lapping edges of the upper margin or hinge-line, which is 
straight: anterior side not gaping, rounded, and abruptly 


* Belonging to (e.g. food for) swans. 


4.2 UNIONIDZ. 


sloping below: posterior side gradually sloping and com- 
pressed above, produced into a rounded wedge-like point, and 
gaping: lower margin nearly straight : imside pearl-white and 
highly iridescent: hinge slight, having a rather sharp ridge- 
like plate on the posterior side in each valve: muscular and 
pallial scars very slight and indistinct. L. 2°75. B. 5:35. 


Var. 1. radiata. Shell larger, yellowish-green, beautifully 
marked with longitudinal rays or streaks of the same colour, 
which are sometimes alternate: beaks placed at a distance of 
only one-third from the anterior side. Mytilus radiatus, Mull. 
Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 209. 


Var. 2. incrassata. Shell more swollen and solid, olive- 
brown: upper margin, or hinge-line, rather curved on the 
posterior side. Mytilus incrassatus, Shepp. in Linn. Trans. 
xiii. p. 85, pl. 5. f. 4. 


Var. 3. Zellensis. Shell broader, yellowish-brown, having 
the upper and lower sides nearly parallel; posterior side much 
produced. Mytilus Zellensis, Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 3262. 


Var. 4. pallida. Shell light yellow or fawn-colour : hinge- 
line rather curved, and raised on the posterior side, which is 
produced to a long wedge-like point : lower margin rounded. 


Var. 5. rostrata. Shell oblong-oval, somewhat resembling 
in shape Modiola vulgaris: upper margin forming a dorsal 
erest, which is slightly raised and curved: anterior side 
rounded: posterior side attenuated, and ending in a long 
curved wedge-like point: lower margin nearly straight. A. 
rostrata, (Kokeil) Rossmiissler, Iconogr. iv. p. 25, f. 284. 

Hasirar: Slow rivers, lakes, canals, and ponds 
throughout the kingdom as far north as Banffshire ; and 
it is one of our upper tertiary fossils. It ranges from 
Siberia to the Pyrenees. Var. 1. Bog of Allen, Ireland 
(Turton) ; Clumber lake, Notts (J. G.J.). This variety 
is the Mytilus stagnalis of Gmelin, the M. dentatus of 
Turton’s Conchological Dictionary, and the M. paludosus 
of his work on the British Bivalves. Specimens of this 
variety measure upwards of 6 inches in breadth. Dr. 
Turton’s type (of which only one valve remains) has a 
small pearly tubercle on the ridge of the laminar tooth ; 


ANODONTA. 43 


and I suspect that the Doctor mistook this excrescence 
for a cardinal tooth, and therefore appled the specific 
epithet “ dentatus.” He omitted any mention of this 
character in his Dithyra, when he changed the name to 
* paludosus.”* Var. 2. Scarborough (Bean); Otters 
pool, Lancaster (Tyler); Oxwich marsh, near Swansea 
(J.G.J.). This is the A. ponderosa of C. Pfeiffer. 
Var. 3. Bog of Allen, Ireland (Humphreys) ; Clumber 
lake, Notts (J. G. J.). Itis the A. Cellensis of C. Pfeiffer. 
Var. 4. West of Ireland (Humphreys). Var. 5. R. 
Corfe, Dorset (J. G. J.) ; ponds at Wistow in Leicester- 
shire, Wynyard Park, Co. Durham, and Oxford (Nor- 
man). This appears to be the Mytilus Avonensis of 
Montagu (Test. Brit. p. 172), judging from his descrip- 
tion and the figure of that species which is given by 
Maton and Rackett in the ‘ Linnean Transactions,’ vol. 
vi. pl. 3. A. f.4. The shell of this species is also hable 
to be distorted; and I have a specimen in which the 
lower part of the left valve is deeply notched opposite 
the beak, owing to an injury of the mantle on that side, 
the other valve being entire. 

The fry have triangular and pearly shells, which might 
easily be mistaken for the valves of a Cypris or smaller 
Entomostracan. The epidermis only is coloured in this, 
as well as in the other species: the surface of the shell 
itself, under the epidermis, is white or colourless. 


2. A. anati'na *, Linné. 


Mytilus anatinus, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p.1158. 4. cygnea (partly), 
F. & H. ii. p. 155, pl. xxxix. f. 3. 


Bopy grey, of different shades of intensity : mantle bordered 
with dark brown: foot yellowish-grey, or red: gills greyish- 
brown. 

* Belonging to (e. g. food for) ducks, 


4A UNIONID&. 


SHELL oval, rather compressed, not so thin as in the usual 
or typical form of the last species, olive-green or brown, with 
darker transverse bands denoting the lines of growth, and 
irregularly wrinkled in the same direction: epidermis rather 
thicker than in A. cygnea: beaks straight, placed at a distance 
of about one-third from the anterior end: umbonal, region 
compressed, closely plaited: ligament short and prominent: 
upper margin or hinge-line raised into a kind of crest, and 
curved: anterior side rounded and gaping below, with an 
oblique slope towards the lower edge: posterior side curved 
and abruptly sloping to a wedge-like point: lower margin 
gently curved: inside and hinge as in A. cygnea; but the 
lining is much thicker in the present species, and the muscular 
impressions are consequently much more deep and distinct. 
Tage; Ineo". 


Var. 1. radiata. Shell (or rather the epidermis) marked 
with green and yellow rays. 


Var, 2. ventricosa. Shell larger, more solid, exceedingly 
tumid, especially in the middle and towards the umbonal 
region, also marked with green and yellow rays. A. ventri- 
cosa, C. Pfeiffer, ii. p. 30, pl. i. 


Var. 3. complanata. Shell oval, greatly compressed, brown: 
beaks placed close to the anterior margin : upper margin raised 
and curved: anterior side abruptly truncate. A. complanata, 
(Ziegler) Rossmiissler, iv. p. 24, f. 283. 

Hasitar: Same as that of A. cygnea; but it ranges 
further to the south, bemg a Sicilian species. It has 
not been noticed in this country as a tertiary fossil. 
Var. 1. The rayed markings form scarcely a varietal 
character, being common to half-grown individuals of the 
last, as well as of this, species. Var. 2. R. Exe (Clark). 
This variety has been referred by Moquin-Tandon 
to A. cygnea; but it evidently belongs to the short 
form, or what is generally called A. anatina. None of 
my specimens (of which I possess a series) are as broad 
as the one represented by Pfeiffer in his figure 4. This 
variety attains a larger size than the typical form, being 
more than 3 inches long, 5 wide, and 2 in depth. Var. 3. 


DREISSENID#. 2) 


Gumfrieston, near Tenby (Smith). A monstrosity, or 
distortion, of this last variety is also in my cabinet, 
which is flatter and has a rounded outline above in 
consequence of the umbonal region not projecting. A 
_ young specimen of the same variety is nearly round. 
This appears to be analogous to the variety rostrata of 
A. cygnea, and tends to confirm the idea of the two 
species being distinct. 

The chief points of difference between A. cygnea and 
A. anatina are, that the shells of the latter species are 
smaller and comparatively longer; the hinge-line or 
crest 1s raised in that species, instead of being straight 
or parallel to the lower margin ; and the posterior side 
slopes abruptly instead of (as in 4. cygnea) gradually. 


Family III. DREISSENTDE. 


Bopy nearly rhomboidal, compressed: mantle closed, except 
at the posterior side, where it is folded into two orifices, one 
for respiratory and nutritive, and the other for excretal purposes, 
besides an opening at the lower or front margin for the passage 
of the foot. The upper, or excretal, fold is the smallest, and is 
not much produced: the other fold is extended into a pyra- 
midal tube, which has a thickened or reflected margin and is 
fringed with numerous short spine-shaped cirri or tentacles: 
foot long and tongue-shaped, furnished with a byssal groove. 

SHELL equivalve, oblong, triangular, very inequilateral, 
ventricose, covered with a thick and horny epidermis: beaks 
placed at the anterior end: ligament internal: inside porcelain - 
white: hinge furnished with minute cardinal teeth, but some- 
times toothless ; below the beak in each valve is a triangular 
shelf or hollow plate (as in the marine genus Ovepidula) for the 
reception of the anterior muscle. 


These characters are also generic, as the family con- 
tains but one genus. In their general aspect the Dreis- 
senide bear a closer resemblance than the last to the 


46 DREISSENIDZ. 


Mytilide ; but the mantle of the animal in the present 
family is nearly closed, and the hinge of the shell is 
furnished inside with a transverse plate or septum, which 
is a peculiar and unmistakeable feature. Mytilus has 
also several cardinal teeth; but I have failed to detect 
any in the British species of Dreissena, although the 
authors of the ‘ British Mollusca’ and Moguin-Tandon 
mention an “ obscure apical elevation,” or “dent cardinale 
a peine saillante,” in the right valve of this species. 
However, cardinal teeth certainly do exist in three species 
of Dreissena from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, which 
have been described by Erichson in Wiegmann’s ‘ Archiv 
fir Naturgeschichte’ for 1836. The same author also 
incidentally remarks that the European species (which 
he called Tichogonia fluviatilis) has a rudimentary tooth. 
The mantle is for the most part closed and produced 
into tubes on the posterior side, instead of being open 
throughout as is the case in Mytilus. 


Genus DREISSE’NA *, Van Beneden. PI. II. f.3, 4, 5. 


Although the establishment of this genus is due to 
Van Beneden, the probability of its separation from 
Mytilus was first suggested by an equally distinguished 
zoologist of our own country, Dr. Gray. The Dreissene 
may be called “freshwater Mussels” with greater pro- 
priety than the Uniones, or Anodonte ; and the habit and 
faculty which the Dreissene possess, in common with the 
true Mussels, of mooring or attaching themselves by a 
strong byssus to extraneous substances, put us very 
much in mind of their marine analogues. They are also 
equally gregarious and capable of living for a long time 
out of water. 


* Named after M. Dreissens, a druggist at Mazeylh. 


DREISSENA. 47 
Only one species is known in Europe; and it was first 
noticed (in 1754) by the Russian traveller and natura- 
list, Pallas, in the River Wolga, as well as in the Black 
Sea. The epithets of “ fluviatilis” and ‘‘ marinus” 
which he appled to these two forms, coupled with the 
circumstance that this was antecedent to the era and 
usage of binomial appellations, have given rise to con- 
siderable controversy as to whether these forms belong 
to different species or to varieties of the same species, 
one of which has a freshwater, and the other a marine, 
habitat. The last supposition would be quite consistent 
with the fact observed by Nilsson, that several shells, 
which are usually habitants only of fresh water, live 
in the Baltic Sea together with other shells which are 
peculiarly marine. 


DREISSENA POLYMOR PHA *, Pallas. 


Mytilus polymorphus, &c., Pallas, It. Russ. i. p.478. Dreissena poly- 
morpha, ¥. & H. ii. p. 165, pl. xlii. f. 4, 5, and (animal) pl. Q. f. 4. 


Bopy dark-coloured: mantle bordered in front with greyish- 
white, at the posterior side being yellowish or fawn-colour, 
and striped like the shell with zigzag marks of reddish-brown ; 
cirri of the branchial orifice arranged in concentric rows, red- 
dish-grey, with a tint of brown at their base: foot oblong and 
cylindrical, grey, with a slight rosy hue: gills greyish: labial 
palps rather large, triangular, and lanceolate: byssus composed 
of several stout and flexible threads. 


SHELL oblong, rising into a sharp keel in the middle of each 
valve and flattened below, pointed at the end or beak, and 
gradually, but obliquely, widening towards the front, rather 
solid, but not glossy, yellowish-brown, and often marked trans- 
versely on the upper part with undulating or zigzag streaks of 
purple or dark brown, strongly but irregularly wrinkled in the 
same direction, and longitudinally but slightly puckered at 
irregular intervals: epidermis silky; beneath the epidermis 
the surface is purplish-brown: beaks small, quite terminal, and 


* Many-shaped. 


48 DREISSENID. 


much incurved: ligament long and narrow, fitting into a groove 
of the hinge in each valve: upper margin angular: anterior 
side nearly straight: posterior side curved: lower margin in- 
curved, and forming in the middle a large slit for the passage 
of the foot and byssus: inside slightly nacreous : hinge strong, 
toothless, but furnished inside each valve with a triangular 
and concave plate which is placed under the beak: muscular 
and pallial scars indistinct. L. 1-4. B. 0-6. 


Hasirat: Slow rivers, canals, and lakes in the eastern, 
home, midland, and northern counties of England, as 
well as in acanal near Worcester (Reece), Bath (Hutton), 
and at Edinburgh. In the North of France, Belgium, 
and Germany it is also common and widely diffused. 
In one respect this species may be said to be truly metro- 
politan; for it has been found in the most frequented 
streets of London, after they have been flushed with 
water from the New River, where it abounds. Mr. 
Norman informs me that he saw immense numbers of 
the Dreissena in a living state, lining some of the iron 
water-pipes which had been taken up in Oxford Street, 
and that the colouring of the shells was as vivid as if the 
animal had lived in the light of day. 

It is difficult to believe, in the absence of some proof 
to the contrary, that this species is not indigenous to 
the whole of the North of Europe, as well as to Russia. 
The circumstance of its not having been noticed in this 
country before 1824, and then only in a metropolitan 
locality, does not preclude the possibility of its having 
previously existed in some other part of Great Britain ; 
and its not having been previously recorded as British 
rather proves a want of observation or opportunity than 
its non-existence. Helix Cartusiana, H. obvoluta, and 
Clausilia Rolphii, all of which are conspicuous land shells, 
were not known to the observant Montagu, although 
they are not uncommon in some parts of this country 


DREISSENA. 49 


and are clearly indigenous species; and many other 
similar instances, both at home and abroad, might be 
cited on this point, as well as with respect to the sudden 
and unaccountable appearance and disappearance of cer- 
tain species in particular spots. With regard to the 
period at which the Dreissena first made its appearance 
or was noticed on the Continent, M. Moerch has lately 
investigated its geographical history and has ascertained 
that it was common in the interior of Germany before 
1780, and that it then inhabited streams which flowed 
into the Rhine. In a work by H. Sander of Carlsruhe, 
published in that year, and entitled “ Vaterlindische 
Bemerkungen fiir alle Theile der Naturgeschichte,” he 
described in unscientific, but intelligible, terms a fresh- 
water Mussel which was not uncommon in that district, 
and to which he gave the name of Pinna fluviatilis. This 
description clearly applies to our Dreissena. In draming 
the Haarlem See, the Dreissena was found in abundance ; 
and it appears that no communication ever existed be- 
tween that great lake and any port or harbour. It has 
also been found in an inland lake near Copenhagen. It 
was at one period thought (and even by the unimagi- 
native Linné) that the Teredo, or ship-worm, had been 
imported into Europe from India; but that idea has 
been quite dispelled, as much for the reason that some 
species of Teredo which are found in Europe also occur 
there in tertiary formations, as because they are different 
from oriental or tropical kinds. The first of these reasons 
may again, and with the hke success, be urged in favour 
of the Dreissena being a native of the North of France ; 
for, in a recent article by M. Charles D’Orbigny, pub- 
lished in the ‘ Bulletin de la Société Géologique de 
France’ (2° sér. t. xvii. p. 66), and entitled “Sur le 
diluvium a coquilles lacustres de Joinville,” Dreissena 
D. 


50 DREISSENID#. 


polymorpha is enumerated as one of the fossils. Mr. 
Prestwich informs me that this deposit was in all pro- 
bability contemporaneous with those of St. Acheul and 
Amiens, and that at all events it belongs to what is 
termed by modern geologists the upper tertiary forma- 
tion. Iam therefore not without hope that this remark- 
able shell may be discovered in the corresponding strata 
in this country. It is frequently found, in a recent or 
living state, with the Anacharis alsinastrum, an aquatic 
plant which chokes up our canals and is said to have been 
imported from NorthAmerica. Respecting the Anacharis, 
Messrs. Hooker and Arnott, im their excellent work on 
the British Flora, remark that “it seems inexplicable how 
this plant should have occurred in so many different 
places at the same time.” Perhaps if the Hriocaulon 
septangulare, or Naias flexilis, both of which are also 
North-American water-plants, and are at present con- 
fined to a very few stations in the Hebrides and West of 
Ireland, had been placed in conditions which were more 
favourable to their growth and propagation, each of them 
might have spread with as great rapidity as the Ana- 
charis. If, as I believe, the indigenousness of the 
Dreissena as regards this country should hereafter be 
established, the ingenious theories which have been pro- 
posed to account for the mode of its transport across the 
seas will not require further discussion. 


PECTINIBRANCHIATA. 5] 


Class EL. 
GASTEROPODA *, or UNIVALVES. 


Bopy of a conical shape: mantle forming a single lobe, which 
only covers the front: head usually distinct, and furnished 
with tentacles, of which the upper pair (in those kinds which 
have four), or the single pair, have in most cases two eyes, 
placed either at their tips or base, or on separate stalks: foot 
a muscular disk, by means of which the animal generally 
crawls, or sometimes floats in an inverted position on the 
under surface of the water: reproductive system various ; some 
kinds being hermaphrodite, and haying both sexes united in 
the same individual, but requiring impregnation by another 
individual; while in other kinds the sexes are separate, each 
individual being either male or female: respiratory system con- 
sisting of gills, or lung-like organs; the former, and some of 
the latter, being possessed by aquatic kinds ; while the terres- 
trial kinds are only furnished with the lung-like organ : those 
kinds which are aquatic, and have this last organ, eliminate 
oxygen from the water and also respire atmospheric air; but 
the terrestrial kinds, or Snails, breathe only the pure air, like 
vertebrated land animals. 


Suetxt usually present, conical or spiral, and covering the 
whole, or most important parts, of the body. 


The only two Orders which we have to deal with in 
this division of the subject are as follows :— 
J. PecriINIBRANCHIATA. 
II. PutMonosBRANCHIATA. 


Order I. PECTINIBRANCHIATA * 


Bopy spiral: respiratory apparatus consisting of a single 
comb-like gill, which is placed within the mantle, on the upper 
side of the head. 


SHELL external and spiral. 


* Foot forming the belly. + Having comb-like gills. 
D2 


52 NERITIDA. 


Only three families of this Order inhabit the fresh 
waters of this country. They are,— 


I. NERITIDA. 
II. PALUDINIDZ. 
III. Vatvatip#. 


All these freshwater Snails have two tentacles, and the 
same number of eyes, which are placed at the base of the 
tentacles. ‘Their shells are furnished with an epidermis 
and operculum. 


Family I. NERITIDA. 


Bopy oval, having a short spiral turn at the end: eyes 
placed outside the tentacles at their base: gill inside the 
mantle: sexes separate. 


Suet semiglobose, with an excentric spire and a-semicircu- 
lar mouth: operculum having an excentrie and short spire, 
and furnished underneath with an apophysis or projecting pro- 
cess which locks into the columellar or pillar lip. 


Although the members of this family are very 
numerous and widely dispersed beyond the limits of our 
seas, we have only a solitary representative, forming the 
single species of one genus. 


NERITI'NA*, Lamarck. Pl. III. f. 1, 2, 3, 4. 


Bopy furnished with a strong and prominent snout or 
muzzle : tentacles long: eyes placed on footstalks : foot broad. 


SHELL trianguiar-oblong : operculum calcareous and solid. 


The mollusks of this genus inhabit waters which have 
a stony or gravelly bottom. Their habits are sluggish ; 
raising their shell but little during their march, and then 
ouly showing their tentacles, eyes, and the front of their 


* Diminutive of Nerita, a genus of marine shells. 


NERITINA. 53 


mantle. They have not been observed to float, or creep 
on the under surface of the water, which may account 
for the shells beg so often found encrusted with cal- 
careous matter. ‘Their tentacles, however, appear to be 
extremely sensitive and always in motion. They are 
vegetable feeders. Their eggs are generally deposited 
and carried on the shell until they are hatched or de- 
veloped. These are rounded, of a yellow colour, and 
provided with a thick and leathery covering, which splits 
in two when the fry are excluded, the upper half being 
detached and the other part left adhering to the parent 
shell. Moquin-Tandon says the eggs are deposited in 
a cluster of from 50 to 60. 

Valuable notices of the genera Nerita and Neritina 
by M. Récluz will be found in the Ist volume of the 
‘ Journal de Conchyhilogie ;? and M. Pouchet has pub- 
lished an elaborate monograph on the Nerita fluviatilis, 
considered in an anatomical and physiological point of 
view. Neritina is very closely allied to Neriéa, and pro- 
bably only forms a section of the latter genus. There are 
marine, as well as freshwater, species of Neritina. 


NERITINA FLUVIA TILIS*, Linné. 


Nerita fluviatilis, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1253. WN. es F. & 
H. iii. p. 3, pl. lxxi. f. 1, 2, and (animal) pl. H. H. f. 1 


Bopy of a clear yellowish-grey, speckled with black above, 
white below: head and snout black: mouth very large, fur- 
nished with cartilaginous jaws and a lingual plate or riband, 
which is very complicated : tentacles clear greyish-white, darker 
at the sides, and more or less streaked with black transversely ; 
they diverge widely from their base, and are very slender, 
ending in a fine point: eyes very large and black : foot obtusely 
rounded in front, and having its extremity or tail covered by 
the operculum when the animal is crawling. 


SHELL convex above, slightly compressed towards the spire, 


* Inhabiting rivers. 


54 NERITID&. 


and almost concave below, solid, moderately glossy, yellowish 
or brown, with often brown or white zigzag streaks, spots, or 
bands, which run lengthwise or in a spiral direction, and 
marked with fine but distinct transverse striz or plaits, which 
are more conspicuous towards the suture: epidermis thin : 
whorls 3, rather convex, the last or lowermost exceeding two- 
thirds of the whole shell, increasing very rapidly and dispro- 
portionately in size: spire very short and oblique: suture 
rather deep: mouth, or aperture, semilunar: outer lip sharp: 
pillar-lip exceedingly broad, polished and flat, with a sharp 
and plain edge: operculum semilunar, glossy, of an orange or 
yellowish colour, marked spirally with two or three slight 
grooves, and transversely with numerous and flexuous strie ; 
its external edge is thin and has a border (sometimes two) of 
black or yellowish-red, both above and below; its internal 
edge is thick; the spire of the operculum is placed at the 
lower side, and formed of 14 or 2 whorls; attached to the 
under side of the opercular spire is a singular process, re- 
sembling a second but much smaller operculum, which has 
also a thickened edge on the inside, and projects obliquely so 
as to act as a bolt in fastening the operculum to the pillar-lip. 
L. 0:35. B. 0°25. 


Hasitat: Slow rivers, streams, and lakes through or 
into which water flows, or having a stony or gravelly 
bed, in all parts of the kingdom, from the Orkneys to 
Cornwall. It has been found in the peat-bed at New- 
bury ; but this is not, I believe, recognized as belonging 
to the upper tertiary formation. This species ranges 
from Finmark to Algeria and Sicily, where the form or 
variety called by Lamarck N. Betica prevails. A dwarf 
variety has been described by Nilsson, which inhabits the 
shores of *the Baltic Sea, adhermg to seaweeds and 
stones, sometimes at a distance from the mouth of any 
river, and ving in company with the common Mussel 
and a few other decidedly marine shells. He also noticed 
that these last are similarly dwarf forms. <A variety in 
which the shell is quite black has been found by Mr. 
North in the Ouse. Many other varieties have been 


PALUDINA. 55 


described by European authors as distinct species ; but 
they appear only to differ from the typical kind in size 
and colour, as well as in the spire being more or less 
excentric. In adult specimens, the septa or internal 
walls of the spire are wanting, and appear to have been 
absorbed, as stated by Dr. Gray. This is also the case 
in Melampus or Conovulus. 


Family I. PALUDINIDA. 


Bopy elongated, spiral, and having a prominent snout: eyes 
placed outside the tentacles at their base: gill inside the 
mantle: seaes separate. 


Suett having a long symmetrical spire and an oval mouth : 
operculum also oval, irregularly concentric or paucispiral. 

These mollusks are, as well as those of the last family, 
herbivorous; but they differ in being ovoviviparous, in- 
stead of oviparous. Their habits are much more active 
than those of the Neritide. They sometimes, but rarely, 
float. The fry are furnished with opercula before they 
are excluded by the mother. According to Bouchard- 
Chantereaux, the young remain in the ovary, to the num- 
ber of 20 or 30, for two months, at the end of which time 
only 2, 3, or 4 are born, the period of accouchement ex- 
tending over several days. 


Genus I. PALUDI'NA*, Lamarck. PI. III. f. 5, 6. 


Eyes placed on short pedicles or footstalks: operculum horny, 
irregularly concentric, and having its nucleus on the inner 
side. 


Lister and Cuvier have investigated, although at very 
distant intervals, the anatomy of these mollusks, which 


* Inhabiting marshes. 


56 PALUDINID. 


are the largest of our freshwater Pectinibranchs. Lister 
says he was indebted to Dr. Plot, the historian, for the 
discovery that they were viviparous ; and he says that the 
males are smaller than the females and their shells have 
less-swollen whorls. They inhabit slow rivers, ponds and 
canals ; and one species lives within the influx of the tide 
in the Thames. The epidermis of the last-formed whorl 
in the young shell, when it leaves its mother, has three 
transverse rows of recurved bristles, which in after-growth 
are replaced by the coloured bands that encircle adult 
shells, the formation of these bands, as well as of the 
bristles, being caused by different organs which are suc- 
cessively developed in the same part of the mantle. It | 
has been stated in that useful periodical ‘The Zoologist’ 
(p. 7402) that our native Paludine are not always vivi- 
parous, and that a specimen of P. vivipara deposited in 
an aquarium some eggs from which the fry were subse- 
quently excluded. This was in the winter, and after the 
Paludina had been kept for many months im a state of 
confinement. It is hoped that further observations will 
be made on this point, as the ovoviviparous character of 
this genus constitutes one of the grounds of distinction 
from the next genus, Bythinia. 


1. Patupina contrEc’Ta*, Millet. 


Cyclostoma contectum, Millet, Moll. Maine et Loire (1813), p.5. P. Lis- 
teri, F. & H. iii. p. 8, pl. Ixxi. f. 16. 


Bopy dark grey or brown, with yellow specks: head small, 
but globular: snout prominent and bilobed: tentacles long and 
widely spread out, blackish, with grey tips ; the right tentacle 
of the male shorter and thicker at its point than the left: eyes 
round and black: foot cloven or bilobed in front, and rounded 
behind ; its tail or extremity nearly covered by the operculum 
when the animal is crawling. 


* Covered (7.e. by the operculum). 


PALUDINA. 57 


SHELL conical, moderately solid and glossy, yellowish, with 
sometimes a green or brown tinge; the last whorl having 3, 
and each of the two preceding whorls 2, spiral brown bands, 
the uppermost of which is usually the broadest; there are also 
numerous and very fine spiral striz, besides faint and irregular 
lines of growth: epidermis rather thick: whorls 7, extremely 
convex; the last being equal to about one-half of the shell ; 
they increase gradually in size, except the two first, which 
are disproportionately small and twisted, resembling those of 
Succinea: suture remarkably deep: mouth oval, or approaching 
to a circular shape : outer lip sharp and slightly reflected : inner 
lip separate from the columella; both lips forming a complete 
peristome: wmbilicus small, oblique, but very distinct and deep, 
exposing part of the internal spire: operculum rather thin, 
compressed towards the nucleus, which causes the under side 
to project, like the boss of a shield; it is marked with nume- 
rous concentric striz and more distant lines of growth. L. 1:5. 
iB. P20, | 


# 


Hasitat: Slow rivers, canals, and large pieces of 
standing water, throughout the greater part of England, 
as far north as Yorkshire. It is, however, rather local. 
This is a Finland species, and ranges south to the 
Pyrenees. 

This mollusk, when at rest, adheres firmly to stones 
and wood ; but on being touched, it immediatelly falls off. 
It Sometimes attains to a large size, one of my specimens 
being more than 2 inches long and 1# broad. 

The Linnean description of Helix vivipara accords 
more properly with that of the next species, which has 
only an umbilical chink (“imperforata”), and is pecu- 
larly “subovata” and “obtusa.” The name given by 
Millet to the present species, which does not appear to 
have been known to the authors of the ‘ British Mollusca,’ 
must of course be adopted in preference to the very 
modern one of “ Listeri’”’? which was proposed by them. 
Miller considered this species to be that of Linné; and 
he described the other as Nerita fasciata. 


° 


DD 


58 PALUDINID&. 


2. P. vivi'para*, Linné. 


Helie vivipara, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1247. _P. vivipara, F. & H. 
iii. p. 11, pl. lxxi. f. 14, 15, and (animal) pl. H. H. f. 2. 


Bopy of a darker colour than that of P. contecta: snout 
broad: tentacles bluish-black, with bright yellow spots; the 
difference of their size in the male being very perceptible : eyes 
rather large: foot very broad, and slightly truncate in front. 

Suext oval, rather solid, but not so glossy as that of P. con- 
tecta, yellowish-green, with bands and striz as in that spe- 
cies; the surface of the two last whorls is often irregularly 
indented or pitted: epidermis rather thin: whorls 64, rather 
convex, the last exceeding one-half of the shell, gradually in- 
creasing in size, except the first, which is extremely small and 
twisted, but much less prominent than in the last species, 
making the point of the spire to appear blunt: swtwre rather 
deep: mouth oval, and less inclined to a circular shape than in 
P. contecta: outer lip rather thick and slightly reflected : tmmner 
lip united above to the columella, but both lips form a com- 
plete peristome: there is no umbilicus, but stead of it there 
is a small and narrow chink behind the inner lip: operculum 
rather thick, compressed transversely, and marked with strong 
lines of increase and finer intermediate strie. L.1:5. B. 1:2. 


Var. unicolor. Without bands. 


Haszrrar: The same as that of the last species (with 
which it is often found living), except that the Rev. Dr. 
Gordon has found it at Findhorn in the Moray Firth 
district. Sir Charles Lyell has recorded its occurrence 
in the lacustrme deposit at Mundesley in Norfolk. Its 
northern range abroad is also the same; but it extends 
southwards to Naples, and (according to Philippi) pro- 
bably also to Sicily. The variety has been found by 
Mr. Pickermg in Hertfordshire, and by myself in the 
Thames at Richmond. I have also a monstrosity in 
which the last whorl has a keel occupying the place of 
the upper band. 

This species differs from P. contecta in its shell being 


* Bringing forth its young alive and perfect. 


BYTHINIA. 59 


thicker and longer, the whorls being much less swollen, 
the suture not so deep, the apex or point of the spire 
more blunt, and the mouth being less circular. Its size 
is not quite equal to that of the other species, the largest 
British specimen which I have of this being 1? mch 
long and 14 broad. 

The animal is rather active. M. Millet counted in a 
female 82 young ones of different sizes. Mr. Clark has 
remarked that, in all the specimens which he procured 
from the River Exe, the point of the spire is eroded. 
This is probably owing to the influx and admixture of © 
sea-water in that part of the river, because there are few, | 
if any, manufactories on the banks of the Exe. In the 
Paddington Canal and parts of the Thames near London, 
the erosion is evidently owmg to the last-mentioned cause. 
Draparnaud named this species Cyclostoma achatinum. 


Genus II. BYTHI'NIA *, (Bithinia) Gray. 
Pl. IIT. f. 7, 8, 9. 


Eyes sessile: operculum testaceous and solid, irregularly 
concentric, and having its nucleus nearly in the middle. 


This was first indicated by Dr. Gray as a subgenus of 
Paludina; and the name which he proposed has been 
adopted by almost all conchologists. The chief differ- 
ence between this and Paludina consists in the animal 
of Bythinia being oviparous, instead of ovoviviparous,— 
its eyes being sessile, instead of placed on stalks or tu- 
bercles as in the other genera of this family,—and in the 
operculum being testaceous and concentric, with its 
nucleus placed almost in the middle. The tentacles of 
the male are of equal size in the present genus. Although 
the derivation of the word Bythinia would imply that 


* Inhabiting deep water. 


60 PALUDINIDE. 


these mollusks mhabit deeper water than others of the 
same family, such is not the case. They generally fre- 
quent small streams, canals, shallow ponds and ditches. 
They lay their eggs mm three long rows on stones, as well 
as on the stalks and leaves of water-plants. 


1. Byrurnia TENTACULA TA *, Linné, 


Helix tentaculata, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1249. Bithinia tentaculata, 
F. & H. iii. p. 14, pl. lexi. f. 5, 6, and (animal) pl. H. H. f. 3. 


Bopy dark brown or almost black above, dirty grey beneath, 
_ covered with small and irregular specks of yellow: head small 
and semioval: snout long and deeply cleft in front: tentacles 
very long and slender, greatly diverging: eyes large, oval, and 
black: foot much broader than the snout, rounded in front, 
with a blunt and rounded tail which is half concealed by the 
operculum when the animal is crawling. 


SHELL subconical or oval, rather solid and glossy, nearly 
opaque, of an amber colour, with often more or less of a brown- 
ish tint, very finely and closely striate in a spiral direction and 
crossed transversely by the marks of growth; the spiral stric 
are sometimes confluent and form white lines: epidermis very 
thin: whorls 6, convex; the last exceeding one-half of the 
shell, and the rest diminishing in proportion and ending in 
rather a sharp point: suéwre rather oblique and deep: mouth 
oval, angular above: outer lip thick, and sometimes strength- 


ened by a white, rather strong, internal rib, which when re- » 


peated gives the shell a slightly varicose appearance; this lip 
is very little reflected: inner lip united to the columella, but 
forming with the other lip a complete peristome: wmbilical 
chink small and narrow: operculum obliquely oval, very thick, 
angular at the top, compressed or indented in the middle of 
the upper half; it is marked with exquisitely fine concentric 
striz and a few coarser ridges, denoting the marks of periodical 
increase, which form raised platforms or layers, the smallest 
or first-formed being uppermost. L. 0:5. B. 0-25. 


Var. 1. ventricosa. Shell white: whorls more swollen. 
Paludina ventricosa, Menke. 


Var. 2, decollata. Upper whorls wanting in half-grown and 


* Having tentacles. 


rr. 


BYTHINIA. 61 


adult specimens; their place being supplied by a nearly flat 
and semispiral plate, as in Bulimus decollatus. 


Var. 3. excavata. Whorls more rounded, and sutwre much 
deeper. 

Hasitat: Slow rivers, ponds, and still waters every- 
where in England, Wales, and Ireland, as well as at 
Frazerburg in Aberdeenshire; and it is perhaps the 
most abundant fossil in the lacustrine beds of our upper 
tertiaries. _ Var. 1. Devonshire (Mus. Turton) ; Bristol 
and Wandsworth (J. G. J.) ; Richmond, Surrey (Choules). 
Var. 2. Woolwich and Cardiff (J. G. J.);. Co. Armagh 
(Waller). Var. 3. Cardiff (J. G. J.). This last variety 
seems to connect the present species with B. Leachit ; but 
it differs from the last-mentioned species in its greater 
size, as well as the oval shape of the mouth. B. tenta- 
culata ranges from Siberia to Sicily. The animal is 

sluggish, but irritable. It sometimes floats, or creeps 
on the under surface of the water. Draparnaud says 
that it feeds on animal as well as vegetable substances. 
The shell is often encrusted with a ferruginous or mineral 
deposit. From this circumstance Draparnaud derived 
the name of wmpura which he gave this species, having 
needlessly changed the prior one assigned to it by Linné. 
The epidermis in young specimens is slightly hispid and 
resembles a fine velvety pile. 

This species was first made known and admirably 
described by our countryman, Lister. 


2. B. Leacn'11*, Sheppard. 


Turbo Leachit, Shepp. in Linn. Trans. xiv. p. 152. Bithinia Leachit, F. 
& H. iii. p. 16, pl. lxxi. f. 7, 8, and (animal) pl. H. H. f. 4. 


Bony greyish-white, with black and yellow specks: tentacles 
very fiexible: foot slender. 


* Named after Dr. Leach, a celebrated English zoologist. 


62 PALUDINIDA. 


Suett conical, rather thin, glossy, and semitransparent, 
greyish horn-colour or amber, microscopically striate in a 
spiral direction, and irregularly marked by the lines of growth : 
epidermis extremely thin: whorls 5, very convex and rounded, 
but narrow, the last occupying about one-half of the shell: 
spire rather abruptly pointed: suture nearly straight, ex- 
tremely deep: mouth nearly round, very slightly angular above, 
where the outer lip meets the columella: outer lip rather thick, 
and strengthened by a slight internal rib, scarcely reflected, 
except below: inner lip forming with the other lip a com- 
plete peristome: wmbilicus small and narrow, but distinct: 
operculum almost circular and flat, otherwise like that of the 
last species. L. 0°25. B.0-2. 


Var. elongata. Shell smaller; spire more produced. 


Haxpirat: Nearly the same as that of B. tentaculata ; 
but the present species does not extend so far north, 
and it is more local and much less abundant. It is 
also equally rare as a tertiary fossil. The variety is 
from Woolwich marshes and Northampton. Malm has 
recorded this species as Swedish; and. Morelet has 
noticed it as inhabiting Algeria. 

This species is distinguishable from the last, in com- 
pany with which it is sometimes found living, by its 
much smaller size, the whorls being more swollen and 
narrower (giving the shell a scalariform appearance), the 
very deep suture and distinct umbilicus, as well as by 
the shape of the mouth and operculum. It is sometimes 
known by the specific name of ventricosa, which was origi- 
nally given to it by Dr. Gray, but without any description. 
The Cyclostoma simile of Draparnaud, to which the pre- 
sent species has been referred by some authors, is very 
different, as will be seen presently. Specimens in Dr. 
Turton’s collection, named respectively “ Paludina simi- 
lis,’ “ P. viridis,” and “ P. anatina,” all belong to B. 
Leachii, bemg merely different stages of growth. The 
late M. D’Orbigny gave me, at Rochelle, in 1830 some 


HYDROBIA. 63 


shells which he had received from Draparnaud under the 
name of “ Cyclostoma anatinum.”’ 'These appear to be 
a small variety of the present species, and are probably 
the B. humilis of M. Boubée. 


Genus III. HYDRO’BIA *, Hartmann. 
PEPE TESLOY EL 12. 


Eyes placed on tubercles: operculwm horny and thin, paua- 
spiral. 

The httle mollusks which are comprised in this genus, 
although very closely related to the true and marine 
Rissoe, appear to have as much right to be generically 
separated from the latter as Neritina has to form a 
distinct genus from Nerita. Nearly all the Hydrobie 
are inhabitants of fresh and pure water; but one of 
them (H. ventrosa) frequents estuaries, as well as pools 
and ditches close to the sea-shore which are liable to be 
occasionally overflowed by the tide, and the water of 
which is more or less brackish. Those species which 
inhabit fresh water have been arranged by Moquin- 
Tandon im a subgenus of Bythinia, named by him Bythi- 
nella. With Bythinia, as well as with Rissoa, this genus 
has undoubted relations. It differs, however, from the 
former in the eyes not being sessile, but placed on short 
tubercles, and from the latter in wanting the caudal 
filament which is appended to the foot. The shell of 
_ Hydrobia has besides an umbilical cleft which does not 
exist in Rissoa; while its operculum is decidedly not 
Bythinian, but Rissoan, or rather Littorinan. It may 
therefore be considered as in many respects forming an 
intermediate link between those two genera, but having 
a greater affinity to Rissoa. The genus Hydrobia was 


* Living in water. 


64: PALUDINIDE. 


founded by Hartmann in 1821. An objection has been 
made to the name on the ground that it had been pre- 
viously used for a genus of small water-beetles; but it 
does not seem that any confusion or inconvenience is 
likely to result from the use of the same name in such 
different departments of zoology, and precedents are not 
wanting for such a double application. We have only 
two species of Hydrobia; but on the Continent there 
are four or five times that number, including Hydrobia 
marginata which existed during the Glacial epoch in our 
eastern counties and Bedfordshire, but appears not to 
have survived that period. 

The estuarine or brackish-water species of Hydrobia 
were formed by Professor D’Orbigny into another genus, 
which he called Paludestrina; and these also constitute 
the genus Paludinella of Pfeiffer and Lovén. 


1. Hypropia si’miiis *, Draparnaud. 


Cyclostoma simile, Drap. Moll. Terr. et Fluv.Fr. p. 34, pl.i. f 15. Réssoa 
anatina, F. & H. iu. p. 134, pl. lxxxyii. f. 3, 4. 


Bopy dark grey, with a yellow or brown tint and white 
flaky specks: head rather large and prominent: snout broad, 
long, and ridged transversely: tentacles long, slender, and - 
diverging: eyes large and rather protuberant: foot short, very 
broad, and expanded on each side in front, rounded behind, 
and extending considerably beyond a operculum when the 
animal is crawling. 

Suet subconical or oval, rather thin, glossy, semitrans- 
parent, yellowish horn- colour, or sometimes clear white, -ob- 
scurely and slightly marked by the lines of growth: epidermis 
a mere film: whorls 5-6, rounded, but éompréseed ; the last 
exceeding one-half of the shell: spire rather pointed: suture 
somewhat oblique and deep, forming a narrow canal: mouth 
oval: outer lip thin, slightly reflected: inner lip united to the 
columella, but continuous with the outer lip: umbilical chink 
oblique, small, but distinct: operculum oval, obtusely angular 


* Resembling another species. 


HYDROBIA. 65 


above, thin and flat, having a lateral and indistinct spire of 
only 2 whorls, and resembling that of the marine genus Lit- 
torina; it is marked with strong, but remote, irregular and 
flexuous lines of increase. L. 0°15. B. 0-1. 


Hasrrat: Muddy ditches which are occasionally, but 
seldom, overflowed by the tide, by the side of the Thames 
from Greenwich to below Woolwich. These ditches are 
separated from the river by a high and broad embank- 
ment, which is provided at distant intervals with sluices 
to drain off the surface water. It lives there in company 
with Bythinia tentaculata and other freshwater shells, 
as well as with the more marine and peculiar mollusk, 
Assiminia Grayana; and it is gregarious. Its food 
appears to consist of decaying vegetable matter; and its 
habits are rather active, creeping and floating with tole- 
rable rapidity. Mr. Prestwich and Mr. Pickering found 
specimens of it in peat, in the main-drainage-cutting 
between Woolwich Arsenal and the exit to the Thames, 
through Plumstead Marshes ; but it can scarcely be con- 
sidered one of our upper tertiary fossils. This species is 
widely diffused in France, and extends south to Corsica. 
The Paludina meridionalis of Risso appears to be only a 
rather longer and stouter form of this species, judging 
from typical specimens in the Museum at the Jardin des 
Plantes. 

No one can, I think, take the trouble of carefully 
comparing specimens of this shell with the description 
and figure given by Draparnaud of his Cyclostoma simile, 
without being satisfied of their specific identity ; and the 
general consent of continental conchologists is in favour 
of this view. In France H. similis inhabits fresh water. 
Morelet states that im the South of Portugal it is found 
both in running water and marshes, and that the shells 
of the males have a longer spire than those of the other 


66 PALUDINID#. 


sex. British authors have referred this species to the 
Cyclostoma anatinum of Draparnaud, but, as I believe, 
erroneously. The Bulimus anatinus of Poiret, from which 
Draparnaud seems to have taken the specific name of 
his species, is in all probability the Turbo ulve of Pennant. 
That species is universally known in France by the name 
which Poiret gave. Michaud, in his Supplement to 
Draparnaud’s last work, mentions Cyclostoma anatinum 
as inhabiting “les eaux saumatres ;”’ although Drapar- 
naud gives a different habitat (‘‘ les eaux douces”’) for the 
same species. It is not impossible that the latter meant 
Bythinia Leachii. The contour of the shell of H. similis 
is not unlike that of a dwarf Bythinia Leach; but the 
channeled suture, as well as the very different operculum, 
will readily serve to distinguish them, irrespectively of 
size. 


2. H. venrro’sa *, Montagu. 


Turbo ventrosus, Mont. Test. Brit. ii. p. 517, pl.12.f.13. Rissoa ventrosa, 
F. & H. iii. p. 138, pl. lxxxvii. f. 1, 5, 6, 7. 


Bopy dark grey, almost black in front: head rather pro- 
tuberant: snout long and ridged transversely: tentacles fili- 
form, with black and grey rings: eyes on very short stalks, 
placed a little behind the outer base of the tentacles: foot 
cleft in front and rounded behind. 


Suertt forming a lengthened cone, rather thin, glossy, semi- 
transparent, yellowish horn-colour, obscurely but closely 
striate by the lines of growth ; epidermis very delicate: whorls 
6-7, rounded and swollen; the last not being equal to half 
the length of the shell: spire pointed: suture rather oblique 
and deep: mouth oval: outer lip thin, slightly reflected : inner 
lip in adult specimens separate from the columella and forming 
with the other lip a complete peristome: wmbilical chink very 
small: operculum like that of H. sumilis, but having a smaller 
spire and closer lines of increase. L. 0:2. B. 0°125. 


* Swollen. 


HYDROBIA. 67 


Var. 1. minor. Shell much smaller: spire shorter. 
Var. 2. decollata. Shell slightly eroded: spire truncate. 


Var. 3. ovata. Shell having a much shorter spire, consist- 
ing of only 4 whorls, which are more swollen than usual, and 
the last considerably exceeds one-half of the shell. 


Var. 4. elongata. Shell having its spire proportionally 
longer, with sometimes as many as 8 whorls. 


Var. 5. pellucida. Shell clear white, and nearly transpa- 
rent. 


Hasrrat: Abundantly in many estuaries and in brack- 
ish water in which the admixture of fresh predominates 
over salt, throughout England and Wales; and I have 
also taken it in Larne Lough, Ireland. It occurs in 
the upper tertiary bed at Clacton, and elsewhere in the 
estuary of the Thames. Var. 1. Burry River, South 
Wales (J.G.J.).. Var. 2. Burry River, but not in the 
_ same part of the estuary where the first variety is found, 
and Guernsey (J.G.J.).. Var. 8. Oxwich marsh, near 
Swansea (J.G.J.).. Var. 4. Arnold’s pond, Guernsey 
(J.G.J.). Var. 5. Manorbeer, Pembrokeshire (J. G. J.) ; 
Scarborough (Bean): very rare. This species inhabits 
similar situations along the sea-coasts of Sweden, France, 
and Portugal, as well as of Algeria. 

H. ventrosa is gregarious, and sometimes lives in com- 
pany with H. ulve, which however is more of a marine 
than a freshwater species. The latter is never found 
out of the reach of the tide, and inhabits the mud flats 
and ooze; while the present species usually lives in ponds 
and ditches into which the sea only flows at high water 
or in spring tides. The habits of this species are more 
active than those of H. ulve; and I have observed that 
when they are found together the latter may be seen 
crawling slowly over the mud and Ulva at the bottom of 
shallow pools, while the other seems to disport itself by 


68 PALUDINID&. 


floating with tolerable rapidity along the under surface 
of the water. The shell is often encrusted with a mineral 
deposit or covered with an algoid or confervoid growth. 
The variety 5 resembles the Cyclostoma vitreum of Dra- 
parnaud and the Paludina diaphana of Michaud. Some- 
times the shell is distorted by having the upper part of 
the spire twisted to one side, or by the last whorl having 
a few obscure spiral ridges. 

This small, but abundant, species has received a great 
number of names from modern conchologists, im conse- 
quence of their referring it to ill-defined species of ancient 
authors. I do not believe that it is the Turbo stagnorum 
of Baster, because he describes the habitat to be “in 
aquis dulcibus,”’ and the aperture or mouth to be mar- 
gined. Nor can I identify it with the Helix octona of 
Linné, which is said to have eight whorls and a round 
aperture. Nor is it, in my opinion, the Turbo thermalis 
of Gmelin, because he gives an inland habitat (Pisa) and 
says that the shell is white and has only four whorls. 
There can, however, be no doubt of its bemg the Cy- 
clostoma acutum of Draparnaud; and this specific name 
has been adopted by almost every continental naturalist. 
The Paludina muriatica of Lamarck is evidently H. ulve. 

This species differs from H. similis in its long spire, 
the suture not being channeled, and in the umbilical 
chink being very much smaller. From H. ulve it may 
be known by its being less than half the size of that 
species, its much deeper suture, the body or last whorl 
not being keeled (as is the case in H. ulve), as well as in 
the inner lip being disconnected from the columella. 

The shells which Mr. Pickering found some years ago, 
about two miles below Gravesend, together with a spe- 
cimen of Litiopa bombyx, and which Forbes and Hanley 
considered (but with some doubt) to be a variety of 


HYDROBIA. 69 


H. ventrosa, bear such a close and suspicious resem- 
blance to a Cape of Good Hope species of Hydrobia, 
that I cannot venture to include it among the British 
Mollusca. It does not appear to have been described by 
any author; but Mr. G. B. Sowerby has named it Rissoa 
castanea, on my authority, in his ‘ Tlustrations of British 
Conchology. Both Mr. Pickering and myself have 
failed to rediscover this species in the spot where he 
originally found it, although we have at different times 
carefully searched for it. The fact of Litiopa bombyz, 
which is peculiar to the Gulf-weed, having been taken 
with it, leads to the supposition that both of these shells 
might have been accidentally brought into the Thames, 
attached to the keel, rudder, or anchor of an inward- 
bound vessel, and carried by the tide into the ditch where 
they were discovered by Mr. Pickering. Many other 
_ modes of introduction will doubtless occur to my readers. 

I received some years ago from the late Mr. G.B. Sow- 
erby two specimens of Hydrobia Ferussina, which he said 
had been found in Hampshire. I do not propose to add 
this species to the British list on such slight and insuffi- 
cient grounds ; but as Helix obvoluta has only been found 
in the same county, as a British shell, and both these 
species inhabit the greater part of France, I merely call 
the attention of conchologists to the circumstance, it 
bemg not improbable that the H. Ferussina may also 
turn up in the South of England. 

The Hydrobia marginata (Paludina marginata of Mi- 
chaud) inhabited this country a long time ago, but ap- 
pears to have become extinct as a British species. Sir 
Charles Lyell first, I believe, recorded it as occurring in 
the Mundesley bed, where I have since found it; it also 
occurs in the well-known upper tertiary strata at Grays, 
Stutton, Clacton, and Cropthorn ; and I lately detected it 


70 VALVATIDZ. 


among some shells collected by Mr. Wyatt from a similar 
deposit at Biddenham near Bedford. This species now 
inhabits the South and South-west of France, as well as 
the Jura and Switzerland; and it has been found in a 
fossil state in the lacustrine beds at Amiens. 

The Natica Kingit of Forbes and Hanley (i. p. 343, 
pl. ci. f. 1, 2) belongs to this family, and not to the 
Naticide. Itis the Lithoglyphus Naticoides of Férussac, 
and inhabits the Danube. Professor King is said to 
have found the specimen (which is now in my collection) 
in the bottom of a fishing-boat at Cullercoats. How this 
Austrian and freshwater species could have got to the 
Northumberland coast, is very difficult to say. Professor 
King informs me that he never received any shells from 
the Danube, and that his statement as to the Northum- 
brian locality is perfectly correct. The question of the 
indigenousness and unaccountable habitat of this speci- 
men must therefore remain a mystery. 


Family II. VALVATIDZ. 


Bopy elongated, spiral: eyes placed within the tentacles at 
their base: gill protruding beyond the edge of the mantle, the 
respiration being aided by a tentacular filament: seves united, 
or common to each individual. 


SnetL haying a short but symmetrical spire and a circular 
mouth: operculum regularly multispiral. 


This family comprises only one genus (Valvata), which 
was founded by the Danish naturalist, Muller. It is 
remarkable for its branchial apparatus, which is external 
or protruded when the animal is moving. In this posi- 
tion it resembles a feather, and caused Geoffroy to give 
to these elegant little creatures the expressive name of 
“ norte-plumet.” Besides this branchial plume, the ani- 


VALVATIDA. v6 | 


mal has another peculiar organ to facilitate its respira- 
tion, consisting of a filament or appendage to the mantle, 
which might be mistaken for a third tentacle or a para- 
sitic worm, and is placed on the right side of the body. 
The form of the shell and operculum is very graceful, 
and is somewhat like that of Trochus or Margarita. 

The members of this family and genus are vegetable 
feeders. They are very shy. Miiller relates that he 
was tantalized by watching them for several hours, in 
the hope that they would show themselves and enable 
his draughtsman to make a sketch of the animal and 
its curious plume, but that he was disappointed. He 
appears to have consoled himself by the idea that the 
little snails acted on the proverbial principle that you 
were not to put any trust in man! The reproductive 
system of these mollusks is peculiar, and resembles 

that of Ancylus, or the freshwater Limpet. Although 
~ each individual is of both sexes, it is at first only male 
or female, and afterwards changes its sex. They are 
gregarious, and inhabit slow rivers, streams, canals, and 
nearly stagnant water. The shells may often be seen 
attached to the cases of the Phryganea, or May-fly, and 
thus collected form a very pretty object. 

The shells of some of the Valvatide closely resemble 
in shape the cases made by the larvee of certain insects ; 
and their similarity is so great that Mr. Swainson pro- 
posed a new genus of Mollusca for these insect-cases, 
under the name of Thelidomus. Such instances of mi- 
metic analogy occur in other branches of the animal king- 
dom. The valves of some Entomostraca, belonging to 
the genus Estheria, are not unlike those of a young Ano- 
donta in appearance, although their structure and compo- 
sition are very different. 


72 VALVATID. 


VALVA’TA*, Miller. Pl. TIT. f. 18, 14, 15. 


Eyes nearly sessile : operculum horny and thin. 


1. Vatyvata piscina Lis +, Miller. 


Nerita piscinalis, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p.172. V. piscinalis, F. & H. 
iii. p. 19, pl. lxxi. f. 9, 10. 


Bopy of a clear yellowish grey, with small and indistinct 
milk-white specks: snout long, narrow, and transversely 
wrinkled : tentacles long, cylindrical, rather close together, and 
slightly recurved at the point: eyes large and round, but not 
prominent: foot separate from the snout and six times as 
broad, deeply cleft in front and rounded behind; its tail 
nearly covered by the operculum: branchial plume transparent, 
bearing on each side fourteen slender offsets, which are placed 
at right angles to the stalk: branchial appendage of the same 
size and length as the tentacles. 


Suett forming a depressed cone, subglobular, rather solid 
and opaque, brownish-yellow, closely and regularly striate 
transversely, and more or less distinctly ridged in a spiral 
direction, which often gives the surface an elegantly reticu- 
lated appearance: whorls 6, rounded and convex, the last being 
rather less than one-half of the shell: spwe compressed and 
blunt: swtwre nearly straight and very deep: mouth circular : 
outer lip rather thick and reflected: inner lip quite separate 
from the columella and continuous with the outer lip, so as to 
form a complete peristome: wmbilicus round, not large, but 
very deep, exposing nearly all the interior of the spire: oper- 
culum circular, slightly compressed in the middle, forming a 
concentric spire of from 10 to 12 whorls, the outer edges of 
which are thickened and raised so as to project over and 
partly overlap the succeeding whorl of the operculum. L.0:25. 
B. 0:275. 

Var. 1. depressa. Shell having the spire more depressed and 
the umbilicus consequently larger. V. depressa, C. Pfeiffer, 
Deutsch. Moll. i. p. 100, pl. ii. f. 33. 


Var. 2. subcylindrica. Shell having the spire more produced, 
and flattened at the top: wmbilicus small. 


* Closed by a valve, or operculum. + Inhabiting fish-ponds. 


VALVATA. Vo 


Var. 3. acuminata. Shell having the spzre still more pro- 
duced, and ending in rather a sharp point. 


Hasitat: Slow and still waters throughout the Bri- 
tish Isles ; common in our upper tertiary beds. Var. 1 
occurs also in various parts of the kingdom; but it is 
more local, and not found with the typical form. The 
young of both these forms have invariably the spire pro- 
portionably more depressed than in the adult. Var. 2. 
Grassmere (J.G.J.). This somewhat resembles the well- 
known form called “ antigua” by Professor Morris, from 
the upper tertiary deposit at Grays. Var. 3. Avon R., 
Bristol (J.G. J.) ; North of Ireland (Mrs. Puxley). Spe- 
cimens of the typical form, which Mr. Bridgman pro- 
cured and kindly sent me, from brackish water at Lynn, 
are much thicker and of a darker colour than usual, and 
have stronger striz ; and the opercula have fewer whorls 
and slighter ridges. In another variety which I have 
received from my valued friend and correspondent, Mr. 
Waller, and which he found at Finnoe, Co. Tipperary, 
the shell is more conic and the spiral ridges form irre- 
gular white lines. A monstrosity has also occurred to 
me, in which the spire is twisted to one side. ‘This spe- 
cies ranges from Siberia to Naples. 

In May, June, July and August the eggs of this mol- 
lusk are deposited on various substances, and sometimes 
on the shell of a Planorbis. They are united in a gela- 
tinous mass, and enclosed in a globular capsule having a 
short stalk, by which it is attached. The eggs contained 
in each capsule number, according to Bouchard-Chante- 
reaux, from 60 to 80; but Moquin-Tandon, who appears 
to have observed many cases of such egg-laying and 
-hatching in an aquarium, states that out of 19 capsules 
the number of eggs in each varied from 4 to 24 only. 
When the eggs have come to maturity, which is about the 

E 


74 VALVATID. 


twelfth day after they have been laid, the capsule, bemg 
distended, bursts, and about two-thirds of the fry emerge 
and enter on their career of life. The capsule then re- 
sumes its former shape, and retains the rest of the fry 
for four days longer, when they are, in their turn, hatched 
or emancipated. 

Both Draparnaud and Montagu were aware that this 
species was furnished with the branchial plume ; but the 
former included it im the heterogeneous assemblage of 
species which he called Cyclostoma, assigning the next 
species to Valvata; and our countryman referred one 
species to Helix and the other to Turbo. The present 
species is the Nerita obtusa of Studer; and Draparnaud 
adopted his specific name. 


2. V. crista’ta*, Miller. 
>) 


I”. cristata, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p.198; F. & H. iii. p. 21, pl. lxxi. 
£/11,:12; 43. 


Bopy dark grey or brown, with a few small black specks on 
the upper part, slate-colour underneath: snout prominent, 
rather narrow and curved, faintly wrinkled: tentacles long, 
slender, close together but recurved at their points: eyes small 
and round : foot quite separate from the snout, and resembling, 
in proportion to its size, that of the last species: branchial 
plume transparent, bearing about 15 offsets on each side of the 
stalk : branchial appendage rather shorter than the tentacles. 


Suet forming a flat coil, concave beneath, rather solid, 
semitransparent, yellowish or greyish-horncolour, closely and 
regularly striate transversely : epidermis very thin: whorls 5, 
the last exceeding in breadth all the rest put together: spire 
flat, or slightly concave owing to the convexity of the whorls: 
mouth circular : outer lip thin and slightly reflected: inner lip 
separate from the columella and continuous with the outer lip: 
umbilicus very large and open, fully exposing the interior of 
the spire: operculum circular, concave like an inverted pot- 
lid, forming a concentric spire of about a dozen whorls, the 


* Crested ; so called from its branchial plume. 


VALVATA. 75 


outer edges of which are membranous and project in front so 
as to make slight ridges. L. 0°025, 5B. 0:125. 

Hasrirat: Lakes, canals, ponds and ditches, with the 
last species. It has an equally extensive range both 
here and abroad, except that the present species does 
not appear to have been found south of Corsica. It is 
also one of our upper tertiary fossils. A monstrosity is 
in my collection, which has the last whorl detached and 
coiled upwards, as is not unfrequently the case with 
several species of Planorbis. 

The branchial plume is not always protruded, even 
when the animal is crawling. 

Although the spire in some specimens is a trifle more 
depressed or sunk than usual, [ am not aware that the 
Valvata spirorbis of Draparnaud (which Moquin-Tandon 
regards as a variety of the present species) has ever been 
found in this country. The V. minuta of that author is 
a totally different species, having a globular shell, with a 
produced spire, and resembling a miniature V. piscinalis. 
The present species is the V. planorbis of Draparnaud. 

There is no difficulty in distinguishing V. cristata 
from the fry of V. piscinalis, much less from the adult, 
where the great difference of size afiords a sufficient 
criterion. The shell of the present species in all stages 
of growth is quite flat, and resembles that of a Planorbis, 
constituting apparently a passage into that genus; while 
the other is trochoid or subglobose, and has a prominent 
spire. Their bodies, or the soft parts of the animal, do not 
present such a decided difference. The tentacles of V. 
piscinalis are, however, rather more slender, and the 
snout is proportionably larger than in this species. 


76 PULMONOBRANCHIATA. 


Order IT. PULMONOBRANCHIATA*. 


Bony spiral: respiratory apparatus principally consisting of 
an internal cavity or sac, formed by a fold of the mantle, and 
lined with a network of vessels, which serves the purpose of 
lungs. 


Suet usually external and spiral, but sometimes internal 
and rudimentary or wanting. In the two latter cases the 
mantle is external and forms a shield on the back. 


With respect to the reproductive system of the Mol- 
lusca comprised in this Order, it may be observed that 
each individual of those kinds which do not possess an 
operculum has both sexes united in itself, but requires 
to be fertilized by another individual, while those which 
have an operculum are of different sexes. The former 
are androgynous, answering im some respects to the 
botanical term “ moneecious ;” and the latter are strictly 
“« dicecious.”” 

The Pulmonobranchs, Pulmobranchs, Pulmonifers, Pul- 
monates, or Pneumonobranchs, by all of which various 
names these mollusks have been called, on account of the 
analogy which their organ of breathmg bears to the 
lungs of vertebrate animals, respire for the most part 
atmospheric air. The aquatic kinds obtain also some air 
from the water by means of auxiliary branchial organs. 
All the land mollusks, or Snails, belong to this Order. 
The other members of it are aquatic; but none of them 
inhabit the open sea, although a few, belonging to the 
genera, Melampus or Conovulus and Otina, are amphi- 
bious. These last I propose to include in the marine 
Mollusca, as they live in the sea for many hours out of 
the twenty-four, and are only met with on dry land 


* Having a lung-like gill. 


by 


LIMNEID&. 77 


when the tide has retired. One species of Melampus is 
found in brackish, but never in fresh, water. 

In this country, about three-fourths of the Pulmono- 
branchs are terrestrial; the remaining fourth live in 
fresh and shallow water, occasionally rising to the sur- 
face or crawling out of their native element to renew 
the supply of air. They are nearly all herbivorous; but 
the Testacella, or Shell-Slug, feeds exclusively on the 
earthworm, and the Slugs and many kinds of Snail (both 
terrestrial and aquatic) eat animal as well as vegetable 
substances, and are occasionally cannibals. It has been 
proposed to call the tentacles of the aquatic kinds by 
another name (viz. vibracles), in consequence of their 
being contractile, mstead of retractile like the tentacles 
or horns of land-snails, and also because they do not 
bear the eyes on their tips or extremities, as in the last- 
mentioned kinds. This distinction seems, however, to be 
unnecessary ; and much confusion might result from such 
an innovation, as the word ‘tentacles’ has been so long 
and universally applied to the feelers of all the Gastero- 
poda or univalve Mollusca. 

They may be conveniently divided according to their 
different habitats; and the freshwater kinds will be de- 
scribed first, so as to complete this branch of the subject. 
These are all covered or protected by a shell, and are 
comprised in the undermentioned family. 


Family LIMN AID. 


Bopy generally long and spirally coiled, but in one genus 
short and hood-shaped: mantle covering the upper part in front: 
head short: tentacles 2, contractile: eyes placed on the inner 
base of the tentacles, a little towards the front: foot oval, used 
for crawling or floating. 

SHELL spiral, or hood-shaped. 


73 LIMN AIDA. 


Genus I. PLANOR’BIS*, Guettard. PI. IV. f. 1, 2, 3. 


Bopy long, twisted in a flat coil: tentacles very long and 
slender: foot short and narrow, attached to the upper part of 
the body by a stalk, which is shaped like the lower half of an 
hourglass. 

Swett quoit-shaped, or flat: whorls cylindrical : spire dex- 
tral, or turning from left to right, and visible on each side. 


This genus has some remarkable peculiarities. One 
of them consists in the habit of the animal emitting its 
purple-coloured blood, or a fluid like that which is se- 
creted by the Aplysia, on being irritated, apparently as a 
means of defence against its enemies. Another is, having 
several of its vital organs placed ou the left side of its 
body, instead of on the right (as is the case with nearly all 
the other Gasteropoda), while the spire of its body and 
shell is coiled the other way, viz. from left to right. And 
a third peculiar feature consists in the form of its shell, 
which is flat or concave on one or both of its sides, re- 
sembling that of an Ammonite. The body of these mol- 
lusks is too small for its shell ; and when crawling, the 
animal leaves part of the shell empty, putting one in 
mind of loose and ill-fittmg clothes. O. F. Miller, nearly 
a century ago, seems to have satisfactorily settled the 
question that was then raised as to whether the shells 
were right- or left-handed; but the discussion has lately 
been renewed. ‘The shell being viewed in its natural 
position, there can be no doubt of its being dextral. 
Some of the smaller species of Planorbis, inhabiting 
marshes and very shallow water which are dried up in 
summer, close the mouth of their shell with an epi- 
phragm, or filmy covering, like that of some land-snails. 
The animal then retires into the interior of its coil and 


* Flat-coil. 


|e) ih 


PLANORBIS. 29 


awaits the return of moist and more congenial weather. 
All of them frequent stagnant or slowly-running water, 
and are herbivorous. Their eggs are enclosed in a 
globular bag, which is fixed to stones and the stalks or 
leaves of submerged water-plants. Owing to the sluggish 
habits of most of the species, as well as to the nature 
of their habitat, the surface of their shells is apt to 
become encrusted with a mineral or vegetable deposit. 
The genus seems to have been originally indicated by 
Petiver in his ‘ Gazophylacion.’ 

There being several species, it may be more con- 
venient to divide them, as before, into sections. 


A. Suett glossy ; last whorl very large in proportion to the 
rest, and partly covering the preceding one. 


1. PLanorsBis LINEA TUSs*, Walker. 


Helix lineata, Walker, Test. Min. Rar. p.8, pl. 1.f. 28. P. lacustris, F. & H. 
iv. p. 162, pl. exxviii. f. 1-3. 


Bopy reddish-brown, tinged with violet, dark purple in 
front with a few black specks: head strongly bilobed: ten- 
tacles filiform, diverging at their base: eyes small, but distinct, 
scarcely prominent: foot broad and rounded in front, gradu- 
ally narrowing and pointed behind. 

SHELL quoit-shaped, the upper being rather more convex 
than the lower side, both sides depressed or almost concave in 
the middle, rather thin, very glossy, semitransparent, reddish 
or yellowish-horncolour, or grey, closely striate in a trans- 
verse direction, the striz becoming curved towards the mouth : 
epidermis very slight: periphery (or circumference of the 
outer whorl) bluntly keeled: whorls 4, compressed on all 
sides; the last exceeding in size the rest of the shell, and con- 
cealing nearly two-thirds of the preceding whorl in its clasp : 
suture distinct, but not deep: mouth obliquely heart-shaped : 
outer lip thin and flexuous, obtusely angulated above: wum- 
bilicus small and rather deep: inside the last whorl are from 


* Streaked. 


80 LIMN EID. 


2 to 5 rows of curved plates, which are arranged on each side 
across the spire, opposite to each other and at nearly equi- 
distant intervals. L. 0:065. B. 0-2. 


Hasirat: Slow streams and ditches in the home and 
eastern counties, as well as in Guernsey (Lukis), Notts 
(Lowe), and Co. Tipperary (Humphreys); but it is a 
local species. It is found in our upper tertiary strata. 
According to Malm it occurs in Sweden; and it appears 
to have a wide range over the more temperate parts of 
Europe, as far south as Toulouse. 

This pretty and curious little mollusk is rather active, 
and is usually found on duck-weed and other aquatic 
plants. It lays only from 3 to 8 eggs, which come to 
maturity in ten or twelve days. The internal plates, 
which are observable outside the last whorl of the shell, 
form half-closed chambers; and the animal retreats into 
the front one for safety. These plates appear to answer 
the same purpose as the teeth or folds which barricade 
the apertures of many of the small land-snails. They are 
also only formed in adult individuals. The peculiarity 
of this structure induced one of its earliest discoverers, 
Lightfoot, to call the present shell a Nautilus; and the 
late Professor Fleming proposed for it on the same grounds 
a new genus (Segmentina), which has been adopted by 
Capt. Brown and Dr. Gray ; but, even as a test of concho- 
logical distinction, this character does not seem to be of 
any value. Miller noticed, in his description of the next 
species, that a few of the specimens which he had exa- 
mined had two streaks, like ligaments, in the upper part 
of the last whorl, apparently indicating the marks of 
fracture and mending of the shell, by which he may 
possibly have meant this species ; but he only described 
one species of this form, which still bears the name he 
gave it, Planorbis nitidus. The present species was first 


PLANORBIS. roll 


made known by Mr. Walker, an intelligent bookseller at 
Faversham in Kent, the description of it having been 
supplied to him by Mr. Jacob. The only share which 
Mr. Boys appears to have had in the discovery is his 
having sent parcels of shell-sand to Walker; but the credit 
of the publication entirely belongs to the latter. Two 
years afterwards Lightfoot described and published this 
species in the ‘ Philosophical Transactions,’ under the 
name of Nautilus lacustris. 


2. P. nr tT1pus*, Miiller. 


P. nitidus, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt.u. p. 163; F. & H. iv. p.161, pl. exxvii. 
IB BIDS 


Bopy reddish-grey, with sometimes a yellowish tinge, and 
marked with extremely fine dark-grey specks: tentacles very 
long and slender: eyes rather large: foot short, very broad in 
front, and slightly narrowing behind to an abrupt but not a 
fine point. 

Suet shaped like the last, but flatter and with much more 
of the spire visible above, in consequence of the last whorl 
not clasping such a large part of the preceding one, very thin, 
glossy and prismatic, light-yellowish-horncolour or grey, with 
sometimes a reddish tinge, faintly striate by the lines of growth, 
with occasionally a few spiral microscopical lines, which are 
more distinct on the under side, giving an appearance of the 
sculpture peculiar to the shells of Limnea: epidermis ex- 
tremely delicate : periphery rather sharply keeled: whorls 4-5, 
the last covering about one-half of the preceding whorl: sw- 
ture rather deep: mouth and outer lip formed as in P. lineatus, 
but larger: umbilicus small, not deep. L. 0:06. B. 0°225. 


Hasirat: Ponds, marshes, and stagnant water through- 
out Great Britain, from the Moray Firth district south- 
wards. It is also one of our upper tertiary fossils. 
Middendorff has included it in his list of Siberian shells ; 
and it is extensively distributed over the European con- 
tinent, having apparently its most southern limit in 


* Shining. 


EO 


82 LIMNEID. 


Corsica. Although it is much less local than the last spe- 
cies, [am not aware of their having been found together. 

Its habits are slower and more timid than those of P. 
lineatus ; and it is not so fertile, never laying more than 6 
eggs. The shell is often infested by the minute egg-cases 
of a water-insect, or coated with the spores of Conferve. 

The shell differs chiefly from that of the last species in 
being of a lighter colour, flatter, and thinner, m the 
whorls being more visible above, the keel bemg much 
sharper, and especially in the absence of the internal 
septa or partitions. 


B. Whorls few. 
3. P. Nauti’Levus*, Linné. 


Turbo Nautileus, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p.1241. P. Nautileds, F.& H. 
iv. p. 152, pl. exxvi. f. 6, 7. 


Bopy greyish-brown, with sometimes a faint reddish tinge, 
minutely speckled with black: head very large and thick: 
tentacles long and cylindrical, greatly diverging : eyes distinct, 
scarcely prominent: foot broad, rounded in front, and ending 
in a blunt point behind. 


SHELL quoit-shaped, having the upper side flat and the 
lower side rather convex, thin, not glossy, light-brown or grey, 
sometimes white, closely striate by the lines of growth, which 
at distant but regular intervals form strong curved ridges and 
frequently rise into projections like the rowels of a spur on the 
outside: epidermis rather thick: periphery bluntly and in- 
distinctly keeled: whorls 3, depressed above, the last exceed- 
ing in size the rest of the shell: sutwre rather deep: mouth 
oblique, and either oval or nearly circular, according to the 
greater or less depression of the whorls: outer lip thin, form- 
ing with the inner lip in the adult a complete peristome: wm- 
bilicus very large and exposing all the spire. L. 0°035. B. 0-1. 


Var. cristata. Shell having the transverse ridges stronger, 
and the periphery deeply notched or crested by them. P. eris- 
tatus, Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 44, pl. i. f. 1-3. 


* Shaped like a Nautilus. 


PLANORBIS. 83 


Hasitat: On aquatic plants in marshes, lakes, ponds, 
and ditches, from the northernmost extremity of Zetland 
to the Channel Isles. It is also one of our upper tertiary 
fossils. The variety is not uncommon, and merges in- 
sensibly into the ordinary form. The degree of sculpture 
appears to depend much on age, as it is usually stronger 
in half-grown individuals and disappears in the adult. 
A monstrosity also occurs in which the whorls are more 
or less twisted and separate from each other, sometimes 
being raised like a snake lying on its coil. The range of 
this species abroad extends from Finland to the Pyre- 
nees and even to Algeria. 

This pretty little mollusk is slow in its movements, 
and may be noticed feeding on the decaying leaves of the 
Tris pseudacorus and water-plants. According to Bou- 
chard -Chantereaux, it lays only from 3 to 6 eggs, which 
leave the capsule in ten or twelve days. The sculpture 
of the shell is extremely elegant; and it is by far the 
smallest of its kind. The minuteness of its size, dull 
appearance, and comparatively large umbilicus will at 
once serve to distinguish it from either of the foregoing 

species. If the rimgs which encircle each whorl are 
marks of annual growth, it must attain a very respectable 
old age for a mollusk, as I have counted as many as 20 
Tings in one specimen. In all probability, however, these 
marks do not indicate the annual, but only the periodical 
growth, several of them being formed in the first year. 


4, P. at’pus*, Miller. 
P. albus, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 164; F. & H. iv. p. 149, pl. exxvi. 


. 9 ° 


Bopy grey or dirty-brown, sometimes inclined to a reddish 
hue, with fine but indistinct black specks: head thick, rounded 


* White. 


$4 LIMNAEXIDZ. 


in front: tentacles widely spread at their base, long, slender, 
and pointed: eyes small and rather of an oval shape: foot 
narrow, rounded in front and narrowing gradually behind to 
a blunt point. 


Suet flat above, with a depression in the centre, slightly 
concave below, rather thin, not glossy, greyish-white, closely 
striate in the line of growth, and more strongly striate or 
ridged spirally: epidermis thick, sometimes hispid or bristly : 
periphery slightly compressed on each side, but not keeled: 
whorls 5, the last exceeding the rest in size: sutwre rather 
deep: mouth obliquely oval: outer lip slightly reflected; the 
upper part projecting considerably: inner lip spread on the 
columella, but continuous with the outer hp: wmbilicus very 
large, but not deep. L. 0:08. B. 0-275. 


Var. Draparnaldi. Shell more closely and sharply striate 
in the line of growth: periphery distinctly keeled : wmbilicus 
deeper. LP. spirorbis, Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 45, pl. un. f. 8-10. 
Helix Draparnaudi, Sheppard, in Linn. Tr. xiv. p. 158. P. 
Draparnaldi, Jeffr. in Linn. Tr. xvi. p. 386. 


Hasrrat: Same as that of the last species, but more 
generally diffused. The most northern limit in these 
islands appears to be Aberdeenshire. It is also an upper 
tertiary fossil. The variety has been found at Holbrook 
in Suffolk (Sheppard); Cardiff, Bristol, and Church 
Stretton in Shropshire (J. G. J.). It has been referred 
by the authors of the ‘ British Mollusca’ to the P. margi- 
natus of Draparnaud. This common species ranges from 
Siberia to Portugal and Algeria. 

The spire is often twisted or distorted in this, as well 
as in the other species of Planorbis. The spiral striz 
are always visible, even in dead and water-worn speci- 
mens which have lost their epidermis. The finest spe- 
cimens I have seen were kindly sent to me by my friend 
Mr. Norman, who found them at Kibworth, Co. Durham, 
their diameter being rather more than a third of an 
inch. 

In all probability this was the Helix spirorbis of Linné. 


~~ 


PLANORBIS. 85 


The description of its colour (“ alba’’), as well as all the 
other characters given of this species in the ‘ Fauna 
Suecica,’ are peculiarly appropriate to P. albus. The 
present species being common in Sweden, and not likely 
to be confounded with any other, could scarcely have 
escaped the keen observation of the great naturalist ; 
and it was not otherwise noticed by him. However, as 
the confusion has already been too great in the specific 
names of this genus, I will not venture to increase it by 
restoring Linné’s name. 


5. P. era’per*, Jeffreys. 
P. glaber, Setfr. in Linn. Tr. xvi. p. 387 ; F. & H. iv. p. 150, pl. exxvi. £.8,9. 


Bopy yellowish-grey : tentacles rather short, cylindrical, and 
ending in a blunt point: foot rather broad, especially in front, 
with a yellowish edge. 

SHELL rather convex above and depressed in the centre, 
concave below, rather thin, glossy and sometimes iridescent, 
greyish-horncolour and occasionally marked with white curved 
streaks in the line of growth, finely but irregularly striate 
transversely, and very faintly and obscurely striate in the op- 
posite or spiral direction ; the spiral striz are only visible in 
some lights and by the aid of a strong magnifying power : 
epidermis thin and smooth ; periphery rounded : whorls 5, con- 
vex, but somewhat angular, the last scarcely exceeding one- 
half of the shell: sutwre very deep: mouth rather more circular 
than oval: outer lip slightly reflected, the upper edge project- 
ing a little beyond the lower one : inner lip united to the colu- 
mella, but continuous with the outer lip: umbilicus large and 
rather deep. L. 0:05. B. 0-15. 


Hasirar: On aquatic plants in marshes, lakes, and 
ponds, from Burra fiord in Unst to Penzance ; but it is 
not generally diffused. It is an upper tertiary fossil. I 
only know of about twenty localities. The largest speci- 
mens I have seen were found by Mr. Bridgman near 


* Polished. 


86 LIMN XID. 


Norwich, and measure nearly a quarter of an inch in 
diameter. It is distributed throughout the greater part 
of the Continent, and ranges from Sweden to Corsica 
and Algeria. According to the Rev. R. T. Lowe, it also 
inhabits Madeira. 

This species differs from P. albus in its smaller size 
and glossy aspect ; in the upper side being rather convex, 
instead of flat (owing to the rotundity of the whorls) ; 
in its deeper suture and umbilicus; in the upper part of 
the outer lip not projecting so much, in consequence of 
which the mouth appears to be more circular; and, 
especially, in not having the strong and regular spiral 
strize which characterize the last species. The mouth is 
also not nearly so large; and the periphery is never keeled. 
or compressed. 'The present species is equally abundant 
where it occurs; but I am not aware that both species 
have been found living together. 

It is the P. levis of Alder, and probably also the 
P. cornu of Ehrenberg from the Nile. The P. Ross- 
messlert of Auerswald appears to be only a large variety 
of the same species, having the peristome thickened by 
an inner rib (as in the next species), judging from Ross- 
miassler’s description and figure, as well as from an ex- 
amination of typical specimens in the Museum at the 
Jardin des Plantes. Von Martens has published, in the 
‘Malakozoologische Blatter’ for 1859, some excellent 
dissertations on the synonymy of a few of the European 
land and freshwater shells, and is of opinion that this 
species 1s also the P. gyrorbis of v. Seckendorf and has 
five other aliases. 


am. 


PLANORBIS. $7 


C. Whorls many, keeled. 


6. P. sptror’pis*, Miller. 


P. spirorbis, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt.ii. p.161; F.& H. iv. p. 159, pl. exxvii. 
£79; 10: 


Bopy purplish-grey or reddish-brown, with minute black 
specks on the foot: tentacles rather long, slender and pointed : 
foot short and narrow, obtusely rounded in front and angular 
behind. — 

Suett slightly concave above and flat below, or vice versa, 
slightly wider at the base, rather solid, glossy, brownish horn- 
colour, closely striate in the line of growth, and marked spirally 
with very faint and minute strize: epidermis thin: periphery 
angular, and sometimes bluntly keeled on the lower side: 
whorls 5-6, gradually increasing in size, the last not exceeding 
in diameter one-sixth of the whole spire; they are rounded, 
but angular; suture deep: mouth nearly circular, often thick- 
ened or strengthened inside by a rib: outer lip very slightly 
reflected : iner lip continuous with the other lip, but spread 
over the columella: wmbilicus very large and shallow. L. 0-04. 
B. 0°25. 

Var. ecarinata. Shell smaller, ight grey, having one whorl 
less than usual and no trace of a keel. P. spitrorbis, Moq.- 
Tand. Hist. Moll. Fr. p. 437, pl. xxxi. f. 1-5. 


Hasrtrat: On plants and grass in shallow and stag- 
nant water everywhere from the Moray Firth district to 
the Channel Isles. It is also a fossil of our upper ter- 
tiary beds. The variety appears to be very rare in this 
country. Ihave only found it once; and that was in 
Oxwich marsh, near Swansea. A monstrosity not un- 
frequently occurs, in which the whorls are more or less 
twisted and separated. Some specimens which my late 
friend Mr. Barlee found at Penzance resemble a minute 
corkscrew; and in another form of the same kind of 
distortion which I found in Bishopston Valley, near 


* Round-spired. 


88 LIMN XID. 


Swansea, the last whorl only is separated from the rest 
and curled upwards. In the last-mentioned locality 
there was a great deal of mud which had been brought 
down by a stream and deposited in the grassy pool where 
I found the shells. This mud must have inconvenienced 
the mollusk and prevented its completing the spire of 
its shell on the usual plane; so that it gave the last whorl 
an outward twist, apparently in order to get clear of the 
incumbrance. When the drains and splashy pools in 
which this kind of Planorbis lives are dried up by the 
heat of summer, it retires far within its shell and closes 
the mouth or opening with a yellowish-white and rather 
solid lid, patiently waiting for the next shower of rain 
and fasting in the mean time. This species inhabits 
Siberia, and ranges as far south as Algeria and Sicily. 

It differs from P. glaber in the whorls being much 
narrower and consequently more compact, and in usually 
having a blunt keel on the periphery. 

The typical or ordinary form is the P. rotundatus of 
Poiret, P. vortex var. 8. of Draparnaud, and P. leuco- 
stoma of Michaud, besides having other specific names 
for several of the varieties. 


7. P. von tex*, Linné. 


Helix vortex, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1243. P. vortex, F. & H. iv. p.157, 
pl. exxvii. f. 6-8. 


Bopy reddish-brown, with a slight tint of violet, rather 
distinetly marked with minute black specks: tentacles very 
long, slender and finely pointed: foot evenly rounded in front 
and keeled behind. 

SHELL much compressed, concave above and flat below, thin, 
glossy, yellowish or greyish-horncolour, finely and closely 
striate in the line of growth, and occasionally having a few 
obscure and extremely minute spiral strie: epidermis thin: 


* Whirlpool. 


7 


PLANORBIS. 89 


periphery slightly keeled towards the lower side, and always 
angular in consequence of the outward compression of the 
shell: whorls 6-8, gradually enlarging, the last not exceeding 
in diameter one-fifth of the whole spire, angular on both sides 
and sloping gently towards the outer edge: suture well de- 
fined, but not deep: mouth obliquely oval, ending above in 
rather an acute angle, and having the inside sometimes thick- 
ened by a slight rib: outer lip not reflected: inner Lp much 
spread on the columella, but continuous with the outer lip: 
umbilicus very large and shallow. L. 0:05. B. 0-3. 


Var. compressa. Shell thinner and much flatter, with the 
keel more distinct and sharp and placed nearly in the middle 
of the periphery. P. compressus, Mich. Compl. p. 81, pl. xvi. 
f. 6-8. 

Hasitat: The same as that of P. spirorbis, and having 
a similar range at home and abroad as far southward as 
Algeria. It is, however, not so generally diffused as 
that species. They are sometimes found together. The 
_ present species is also one of our upper tertiary fossils. 
The variety is not uncommon. I have a distortion from 
Clumber lake, Notts, in which the spire is displaced on 
the lower side, and the first whorls are set at an acute 
angle to those which succeed. 3 

This mollusk is sluggish, but fond of floating. It lays 
from 10 to 12 eggs. The epiphragm is thin and mem- 
branous. 

The shell differs from that of P. spirorbis in being 
thinner, flatter, and rather longer, and in having a distinct 
and prominent keel. .This species was first described 


and figured by Lister. 


8. P. carina’ tus *, Miiller. 


 P. carinatus, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt.u. p.175; F. & H. iv. p. 153, pl. exxvii. 
f. 4, Ds 


Bopy deep-reddish brown with a yellowish tint, and of a 


* Keeled. 


90 LIMNAID&. 


lighter colour underneath, finely and rather distinctly marked 
with black specks: tentacles long, slender, bluntly pointed : 
foot acutely rounded in front and obtusely so behind. 


SHELL compressed, concave above and flat or very slightly 
convex below, rather thin and glossy, yellowish-horncolour, 
finely and closely striate in the line of growth, with a few 
slight spiral strive: epidermis thin: periphery strongly keeled 
towards the middle : whorls 5-6, the diameter of the last being 
rather less than a third of the whole spire, moderately con- 
vex above, but much less so beneath, sloping gradually on 
both sides to the periphery: sutwre deep: mouth obliquely 
oval, sharply angulated above, the inside sometimes thickened: 
outer lip slightly reflected: inner lip continuous with it, much 
spread on the columella: wmbilicus very indistinct, owing to 
the lower side being nearly flat. L.0-1. B.0°5. 


Var. disciformis. Shell flatter and thinner, of a yellowish 
colour, having the last whorl larger in proportion to the others, 
and the keel more prominent and sharp and placed exactly in 
the middle. P. lutescens (afterwards altered to disciformis), 
Jeffr. in Linn. Tr. xvi. pp. 385 & 521. 


Hasitat: Marshes and stagnant water in our home 
and eastern counties, as well as in those of Dorset, Somer- 
set, Northampton, York, Glamorgan, and many parts of 
Ireland. Dr. Leach says that it also occurs near Edin- 
burgh. It is, however, local, and never plentiful. It is 
an upper tertiary fossil. The variety is found in Bucks, 
Oxford, Cambridge, Glamorgan, Cork, and Tipperary, and 
is somewhat rare. This variety bears the same relation 
to the typical form as the P. compressus of Michaud does 
to P. vortex. The monstrosity, so common in this genus, 
in which the last whorl is disjomed from the rest, also 
occurs, but very seldom. It is a Swedish species, and 
ranges southward to Portugal and Corsica. 

This mollusk is very slow in its movements, but ap- 
pears to be fond of floating. It lays from 10 to 20 eggs, 
which quit the capsule in from ten to fifteen days. It is 
occasionally met with in company with the next species. 


PLANORBIS. 91 


This is in all probability the Helix planorbis of the 
‘Fauna Succica,’ which is described as “plana” and 
‘‘margine prominulo ;””. but as the description and figure 
given by Lister, to which Linné there refers, apply to the 
Helix complanata of the latter, more confusion will be 
avoided by the adoption of Miiller’s name. 


9. P. compLana tus*, Linné. 


Helix complanata, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. x. p. 769. P. marginatus, F. & H. 
iv. p. 155, pl. exxvii. f. 1-3. 


Bopy of a deep violet-red, with very fine black specks, espe- 
cially on the edges of the foot: tentacles very long and slender, 
bluntly pointed: foot rounded in front, convex behind, and 
ending in an obtuse tail. 


SHELL concave above and slightly convex below, rather 
solid and opaque, not glossy, yellowish-horncolour with some- 
times a tinge of brown, closely but irregularly striate in the 
line of growth and more or less distinctly striate in a spiral 
direction: epidermis rather thick: periphery strongly keeled 
on the under side: whorls 6, the diameter of the last being 
about one-fourth of the whole spire, convex above and slightly 
so beneath, sloping abruptly on the upper, and gradually on 
the lower side to the periphery: suwtwre moderately deep: 
mouth roundish-oval, slightly angulated above by the keel, the 
inside being sometimes strengthened by a rib: outer lip a little 
reflected: anner lip continuous with it and affixed throughout 
to the columella: wnbilicus broad and very shallow. L. 0-125. 
B. 0°6. 


Var. 1. rhombea. Shell smaller, more solid, rather more 
convex above and deeply umbilicated below; keel blunt and 
almost obsolete. Helix rhombea, Turton, Conch. Dict. p. 47. 


Var. 2. albida. Shell whitish or colourless. 


Hasitat: Marshes, ponds, canals, ditches and stand- 
ing water everywhere in England, Wales, and Ireland ; 
but I am not aware of any Scotch locality. It is one of 
our upper tertiary fossils. The variety 1. is from Dublin 


* Flattened. 


92 LIMNAID®. 


and the South of Ireland; and the other variety has 
been found by Mr. Choules at Eltham in Surrey. A 
monstrosity, having the whorls dislocated and more or 
less separate from each other, sometimes corkscrew- 
shape, has been found by Mr. Bean near Scarborough, 
and by myself on Crymlyn Burrows, near Swansea. It 
is the Helix Cochlea of Brown (Mem. Wern. Soc. pl. xxiv. 
f.10) and H. terebra of Turton’s ‘ Conchological Dictio- 
nary.’ This common species is widely distributed in Ku- 
rope from Finland (according to Nordenskidld and Ny- 
lander) to Algeria and Sicily. 

It is a sluggish and slimy as well as a very irritable 
mollusk, and often indulges itself in floating lazily along 
the under surface of the water. It lays from 8 to 10 
capsules, each of which contains from 6 to 21 eggs; so 
that it appears to be more prolific than many of its con- 
geners. 

Its shell may be distinguished from that of P. cari- 
natus by its narrower and more rounded whorls, as well 
as by the keel being placed below, instead of in or to- 
wards the middle of, the periphery. It is usually larger 
and thicker than that species and is much more gene- 
rally diffused and plentiful. | 

There can be no doubt that this is the Helix compla- 
nata of Linné, whose epithet “deorsum carinata” is 
peculiarly appropriate; but both Miller and Drapar- 
naud have substituted other names (viz. wmbilicatus and 
marginatus) on what I cannot help considering as very 
insufficient grounds. If Linné’s name was prior to what 
is termed “ the binomial epoch,” and therefore inadmis- 
sible (which is a very questionable objection), still Gme- 
lin’s adoption of that name, as well as Miiller’s, take 
precedence of the one proposed by Draparnaud. It must 
also be borne in mind that this species and P. carinatus 


PLANORBIS. 93 


are connected together through the P. submarginatus of 
Cristofori and Jan, alias the P. intermedius of Char- 
pentier. Some of the aberrant forms are as difficult to 
separate as those of P. spirorbis and P. vortex. The 
present species was first made known by Lister. 

The P. turgidus described by me in the ‘ Linnean 
Transactions’ is not a British species ; and I was mis- 
informed as to the locality. Its nearest ally is, as I 
stated, P..corneus ; but it has been erroneously referred 
by subsequent writers to the present species. 


D. Whorls rounded and not keeled. 


10. P. cor’NEus*, Linné. 


Helix cornea, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1243. —P. corneus, F. & H. iv. 
p. 147, pl. exxvii. f. 1-3. 


Bopy dark red or nearly black, of a greyish hue beneath, 
with black and grey specks on the upper part: tentacles long 
and curved, with rather blunt tips: eyes of a moderate size 
and not prominent: foot slightly tubercled, narrow and angu- 
lated in front, rounded and convex behind. 


SHELL rather deeply concave above and nearly flat below, 
somewhat solid and opaque, glossy, whitish-horncolour with 
a reddish-brown tinge, closely but irregularly striate by the 
curved lines of growth and marked with fine and close-set 
spiral strize, which are more perceptible in the first whorls ; 
the upper surface is also sometimes pitted or impressed in an 
irregularly quadrangular form like cut-glass: epidermis rather 
thin: periphery rounded and quite destitute of any keel or 
angularity : whorls 5-6, more perceptible on the umbilical or 
lower side, in consequence of that part of the spire being 
intorted; diameter of the last whorl rather less than a third 
of the whole shell; they are very convex above and rather 
compressed beneath: sutwre deep: mouth forming a segment of 
two-thirds of a circle: outer lip a little reflected, the upper 
side not projecting much beyond the lower one: cmner lip con- 


* Horn-coloured. 


94. LIMNAID. 


tinuous, but closely attached to the columella and widely 
spread on it: umbilicus broad and shallow. L. 0-35. B. 1. 


Var. albina. Shell perfectly white. 


Hasrrat: Marshes, ponds, and ditches in many parts 
of England and Ireland ; but, although gregarious, it is 
very local. It occurs in a fossil state in the mammalian 
crag of Suffolk, as well as in the upper tertiary beds of 
Suffolk, Essex, and Worcestershire. The variety 1s found 
in Surrey. Itis a Siberian species, and diffused over the 
Continent as far south as Corsica. M. Terver has found 
a thin variety of it in Algeria. 

This far exceeds in size any other European species of 
Planorbis. Its anatomy, embryology, and habits were 
accurately described by Lister nearly two centuries ago ; 
and he seems to have made several experiments, but in 
vain, with the hope of being able to fix and render useful 
the purple dye which this mollusk so plentifully yields. 
It is a sluggish and extremely sensitive animal; and 
when irritated it emits the fluid or secretion in con- 
siderable quantity from a gland at the sides of its neck. 
It may often be seen floating on a warm and still summer 
day. It lays only two or three capsules, each containing 
from 20 to 40 eggs, which are excluded at the end of 
fifteen or sixteen days. The epidermis of the young shell 
is covered with fine down, its surface resembling velvet 
pile. In this state it 1s the P. similis of Miller. 


11. P. conror’tus *, Linné. 


Helix contorta, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1244. P. contortus, F. & H. iv. 
p. 160, pl. exxvi. f. 3. 


Bopy black, with a slight tinge of red; tentacles remarkably 
slender: eyes very small: foot broad and rounded in front, 
narrowing behind to a blunt tail. 


* Twisted. 


PHYSA. 95 


SHEtt flat above, with a deep depression or concavity in the 
middle, very concave below, rather solid for its size, and opaque, 
yellowish-brown or horn-colour, closely and deeply striate in 
the line of growth, but not otherwise sculptured: epidermis 
rather thick: periphery rounded: whorls 8, extremely compact 

‘and much compressed, angular above and slightly so beneath: 

suture deep: mouth semilunar, occasionally strengthened in- 
side by a rib: outer lip not reflected, the upper side scarcely 
projecting beyond the lower one: zmner lip thin, not con- 
tinuous but attached to the columella: wmbilicus large and 
deep. L.0:075. B. 0°175. 

Var. albida. Shell nearly white. 


Hasitat: On water-plants in lakes, ponds, and ditches 
throughout the greater part of Britain, and reaching as 
far north as the Shetland Isles; but it is local. It is also 
an upper tertiary fossil. The variety was found by me 
in a lake near Lerwick, with specimens of the ordinary 
colour. The usual monstrosity occurs in which the spire 
_ is dislocated. Abroad it ranges from Siberia to Portugal 
and Corsica. 

This curious little mollusk is slow, irritable, and fond 
of floating. It is not very prolific ; for each capsule (of 
which it lays from 5 to 9 during the breeding-season) 
contains only from 6 to 8 eggs, giving an annual average 
of about 50 for an individual. 

The shell of this, as well as of the last species, is so 
different from any other which I have described, that it 
is unnecessary to make any comparison. Their forms 
are, however, represented by many analogous species in 
North America. | 


Genus IT. PHY’SA*, Lamarck. PI. IV. f. 4,5, 6, 7. 


Bopy rather long, and twisted in a spiral coil: tentacles long 
and slender: foot rather long, rounded in front and pointed 


* A bladder. 


96 LIMN EID. 


behind, attached to the upper part of the body by a very short 
and broad stalk or pedicle. 


SHELL conic-oval or oblong: spire produced, sinistral or 
turning from right to left. 


This peculiar and characteristic genus has intermediate 
relations with Planorbis and Limnea. It resembles the 
first in its long tentacles, as well as in some of the organs 
being placed on the left, instead of on the right side of 
the body; and it agrees with the latter in the form of 
its shell: but it differs from both m the spire being 
sinistral, although that is not a very important cha- 
racter. The shells of Physa have a remarkably polished 
appearance, caused in some cases by their bemg more 
or less enveloped by an expansion or jobe of the mantle, 
the lubricating friction of which always keeps the surface 
smooth and bright. These little mollusks frequent shal- 
low, and generally clear water, and are gregarious. Their 
eggs are deposited in strips of a gelatinous consistency, 
which are fixed to submerged stones as well as to the 
stalks and leaves of aquatic plants. 


A. Mantle having plain edges and not expanded over the shell, 
which is covered with an epidermis and has a long spire. 


1. Puysa nypno’ruM*, Linné. 


Bulla hypnorwn, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1182. P. hypnorum, F. & H. 
iv. p. 143, pl. cxxii. f. 6, 7. 


Bopy lustrous, dark grey, dusky brown, or almost black, with 
sometimes a faint tint of blue, covered with very minute black 
or dark-grey specks: tentacles long, slender, and pointed, di- 
verging considerably at their base: eyes very small and not 
very distinct : foot lance-shaped, narrow, blunt and truncate in 
front, compressed and rather pointed behind. 


SHELL oblong, spindle-shaped, thin, highly polished, semi- 


* Frequenting the Hypnwm, a kind of moss. 


PHYSA. 97 


transparent, yellowish or reddish-horncolour, faintly striate by 
the lines of growth, and marked spirally with a few very in- 
distinct strie, which are only perceptible by means of a high 
magnifying power: epidermis very thin: whorls 6—7, convex, 
but slightly compressed at the sides, the last exceeding in size 
all the rest put together: spire tapering, but blunt at its ex- 
tremity : suture distinct, though not deep: mouth oval, con- 
tracted on the inner side by the periphery of the penultimate 
whorl, acutely angulated above and rounded below: outer lip 
thin and flexuous: cnner lip spread on the columella, which 
has a strong and broad fold on its lower side. L. 0°5, B. 0:2. 

Hasirat: Ponds, ditches, and among grass in pools 
which are quite dried up in summer, throughout these 
isles from the Moray Firth district to Guernsey ; but 
it is rather local. It is also an upper tertiary fossil. 
A variety occurs in which the shell is smaller and of a 
dark copper-colour; and I also possess a specimen in 
which the spire is eroded and truncate, the opening 
having been filled up bya shelly plate. Muller recorded 
a specimen which had only the right eye, the other being 
wanting. It isa native of Siberia, and ranges southward 
to Nice and the Eastern Pyrenees. According to Gould 
and Philippi, it is the same species as the P. elongata of 
Say, which inhabits the northern and western parts of 
the United States. 

This mollusk is rather active in its habits, and may be 
seen in fine weather floating with tolerable rapidity. It 
is rather prolific ; and the young attain their full size at 
the end of the second year. The largest specimens I 
have ever seen of this species were found by me more 
than a quarter of a century ago, in fish-ponds at Fre- 
mington, in the north of Devon, some of which are 
three-quarters of an inch in length. 

Gmelin supposed that the Bulla hypnorum of Linné 
might be a variety of the next species ; and Miller, for 
nearly the same reasons, called the present species Plan- 

E 


98 LIMNZIDZ. 


orbis turritus. But the Linnean epithets “spira pro- 
minente” and “ spira obsoleta” appear unmistakeably 
to distinguish the two species; and, at all events, it 
would now be very inconvenient to make any change of 
name by adopting that given by Miller, instead of the 
one by which this species is so universally known. The 
late Dr. Fleming proposed to separate it generically from 
the next under the name of Aplexa; but this separation 
has only been adopted by a very few conchologists. A 
well-known European species, P. acuta, seems to con- 
nect the two British forms, both as regards the soft parts 
of the animal and the shell. 


B. Mantle having lobes or digitated processes which expand 
over the shell; the latter being destitute of an epidermis 
and having a short spire. 


2. P. rontina Lis*, Linné. 


Bulla fontinalis, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1185. P. fontinalis, F. & H. 
iv. p. 140, pl. exxii. f. 8, 9. 


Bopy lustrous, dark grey with sometimes a slight tint of 
yellow or violet: mantle fringed with about a dozen lobes or 
digitations of unequal size: tentacles rather slender, light grey : 
eyes conspicuous: foot obtusely rounded in front, and con- 
tracted behind to a somewhat fine point. 

SHeELt oval, extremely thin, glossy, semitransparent, greyish- 
horncolour with a slight tinge of yellow or brown, faintly 
striate by the lines of growth and microscopically striate in a 
spiral direction: whorls 4-5, swollen, the last occupying con-~ 
siderably more than three-fourths of the shell: spzre not much 
produced, blunt at its point: swtwre moderately deep: mouth 
nearly of the same form as that of the preceding species, but 
much larger and wider in proportion: outer hp very thin and 
flexuous : ¢nner lip much spread on the columella, which has a 
slight and narrow fold on its lower side. L. 0°35. B. 0-25. 


Var. 1. inflata. Shelli half as large again as the usual size: 


* Frequenting fountains. 


PHYSA. 99 


whorls angular towards the suture, the middle one rather 
more prominent than the penultimate whorl, causing the 
summit of the spire to appear abruptly terminated. 


Var. 2. curta. Spire extremely short. Bulla fluviatilis, 
Turt. Conch. Dict. p. 27. 


Var. 3. oblonga. Spire considerably produced. 
Var. 4. albina. Shell of a milk-white colour. 


Hasitar: On water-cresses and other aquatic plants 
in running brooks, as well as in slow rivers, canals, and 
ditches everywhere in Great Britain, as far north as 
Aberdeenshire. Var. 1. Dublin (Humphreys and War- 
ren). Var. 2. Clonoony Barracks, Ireland (Brown) ; 
Bramerton, Norfolk (J. G.J.). Var. 3. Anglesea, on 
Chara aspera (J. de C. Sowerby) ; Naas, Ireland (Hum- 
phreys). Var. 4. Birkenhead (Webster). This species 
is widely diffused on the Continent, and ranges from 
Finland to Sicily. 

This common and pretty little mollusk is rather lively, 
creeping and floating by jerks. <A considerable por- 
tion of the shell (especially the back of the spire) in its 
living state is often covered with the spores of Con- 
fervee or some of the freshwater Algze, which shows 
that the mantle does not envelope all the surface. When 
the fry are excluded from their gelatinous case, they are 
about the size of a pin’s head, and are very active. The 
jerking motion which this animal has, is said to be owing 
to its being infested by a small kind of parasitic worm 
which causes it some uneasiness. I should rather be in- 
clined to attribute this motion to the length and narrow- 
ness of the foot, which has to support a comparatively 
bulky shell. According to Montagu, the P. fontinalis 
spins a filament by which it lets itself down to the bottom 
after floating, if there is no leaf or stalk near it. Leach 
says that when it is annoyed by the approach of wander- 

F2 


oe 


100 LIMN EID. 


ing animals, it repulses them with repeated blows, in- 
flicted by a rapid movement of the shell ; the foot being 
the point of fixture. This species was first described 
and figured by Lister. 

The shell is more ventricose than that of the last spe- 
cies; and it has a much shorter spire and a larger 
mouth. 

The Bulla rivalis of Maton and Rackett, which was 
supposed to have been found in Hampshire, is a common 
West-Indian species, which now bears that name. It is 
the P. Sowerbyana of D’Orbigny. 

Mr. Choules has described in the ‘ Zoologist’ a species 
of Physa which he found in a water-tank in Kew Gar- 
dens, and which Mr. Norman (being misinformed as to 
the precise locality) has proposed to admit into our 
native Fauna. It appears to be a variety of the P. acuta 
of Draparnaud, but it is undistinguishable from speci- 
mens in the British Museum which were collected in 
Cuba, St. Thomas, and St. Croix; and it has probably 
been introduced with some aquatic tropical plant. Dr. 
Hooker informs me that many West-Indian plants have 
been imported and cultivated in the Gardens. P. acuta 
has never (so far as I am aware) been found in this 
country; and although it is abundant in the middle 
and South of France, it has not been recorded as inha- 
biting any of the northern Departments. The P. sub- 
opaca of Lamarck is a variety of that species. 

The P. alba of Turton, who stated that he had received 
it from Capt. Blomer as a native of Towyn in North 
Wales, is the P. contorta of Michaud, and is only known 


to inhabit the Eastern Pyrenees, Corsica, Sicily, and 
Algeria. 


LIMN@A. 101 


Genus III. LIMN ©’A *, (Lymnea) Bruguiére. 
PIOEV: £°S5 O10} 


Bopy rather long and twisted in a spiral coil: head pro- 
minent: tentacles short, triangular and flattened: foot oblong, 
bilobed or notched in front and obtusely rounded behind, at- 
tached to the upper part of the body as in Physa. 


SHELL conic-oval or elongated: spire usually produced, 
dextral or turning from the left to right. 


As in Physa, some of the species of Limnea, which 
appear to form a transitional link between the two 
genera, have their shells enveloped by an outer fold or 
lobe of the mantle. These species have been generically 
separated by some authors under the several names of 
Amphipeplea, Lutea, and Myxas. The difference be- 
tween such and the typical species is, however, not greater 
than between the two forms of Physa which I have above 
noticed. All the species of Limnea frequent shallow 
and still waters; and they are very prolific and grega- 
rious. Their mode of propagation is very singular—three 
or more individuals being united in a chain for that 
purpose. Leach has remarked that, in consequence of 
the sexual parts being distant from each other, one in- 
dividual is able, at the same time, to perform the function 
of each sex with two others, as was first observed by 
Geoffroy about the middle of the last century. The 
spawn resembles that of the last genus. 

The generic name has been spelt by authors in no less 
than nine different ways ; but the correct orthography is 
undoubtedly Limnea (from pvaios), as proposed by 
Rang. 


* Tnhabiting marshes. 


102 LIMNZIDZ. 


A. Shell extremely thin and fragile, and almost enveloped by 
an outer lobe or membranous expansion of the mantle: 
spire very short. 


1. Limn#A GLuTINO sA*, Miiller. 


Buccinum glutinosum, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 129. Limneus glutt- 
nosus, F', & H. iv. p. 182, pl. cxxiv. f. 6, 7. 


Bopy dark grey, with a greenish-yellow tinge and bright- 
yellow or whitish specks : tentacles very short, rather triangular, 
with blunt tips: eyes placed on tubercles on the inner side of 
the tentacles, very black and distinct: foot exceedingly large, 
broad in front and obtusely rounded before and behind. 

SHELL globosely-oval, so excessively thin as to be almost 
membranous, highly polished, transparent, yellowish or greyish- 
horncolour, with a few indistinct darker spiral zones, remotely 
and irregularly striate by the lines of growth, which are stronger 
towards the suture, and closely but microscopically striate in 
a spiral direction: epidermis extremely thin: whorls 3-4, 
globular, the last forming nearly the whole of the shell: spzre 
slightly produced: suture rather deep: mouth oval, a little con- 
tracted above by the projection of the penultimate whorl: 
outer lip very thin: inner lip much spread on the columella 
and thickened at its edges: columellar fold (forming the lower 
part of the pillar of the spire) curved aud sharp. L. 0:55. 
B. 0:45, 


Var. mucronata. Shell not quite so globular: spire more 
produced. 


Hasitar: Lakes and ponds in the home and eastern ~ 
counties, as well as in a ditch near Dunster Castle in 
Somersetshire (Leach); Bala Lake (Gibbs) and a pond 
near Windermere (Bulwer); but it is a local species, 
although abundant where it occurs. Its periodical re- 
appearance in the same spots has been remarked both 
by Mr. Bridgman and Mr. Whiteaves to be very uncer- 
tain and unaccountable. Specimens have been kindly 
sent to me by Mr. Bridgman, in which the spire is more 


* Slimy. 


LIMN#A. 103 


or less intorted, resembling in this respect the form of 
L. involuta. The present species ranges from Finland, 
through Sweden, Germany, and France, as far south as 
the Pyrenees. 

It is rather an active mollusk, and nearly always in 
motion. Bouchard-Chantereaux says that each of its 
capsules contains from 30 to 40 eggs. In the young the 
shell is entirely covered by the pallial fold. 


2. L. rnvoitv'ta*, Thompson. 
) p 


Limneus involutus, (Harvey) Thomps. in Ann. Nat. Hist. v. p.22. Lem- 
neus involutus, B. & Hiv. p. 184, pl. exxi. f. 11. 


Bopy unknown as to its external parts, except that the 
greater part of the shell is covered by the mantle. 


SHELL oval, rather glossy, semitransparent, yellowish-horn- 
eolour with a tinge of brown, closely but irregularly striate by 
the lines of growth, which are stronger towards the suture, 
often impressed and sometimes constricted by a few spiral 
grooves in different parts of the shell: epidermis thin: whorls 
3—4, convex, the last covering all the rest except the point of 
the spire or nucleus: spire flat or slightly concave, with the 
point upraised and twisted: suture distinct, but not deep: 
mouth pear-shaped: outer lip thin, slightly reflected: inner lip 
much spread on the columella: fold narrow and sharp. L. 0-4. 
B. 0:275. 

Hasitat: A small mountain-lake, and a stream which 
flows into it, at Cromaglaun near Killarney ; not rare. 
In one of my specimens, which has the mouth some- 
what contracted below, a tendency to an umbilical cleft 
is observable. 

It is strange that no other locality but the one above 
mentioned has ever been discovered, here or abroad, for 
this remarkable species. It has some affinity to L. glu. 
tinosa, and may ultimately prove to be an aberrant form 
of that species, corresponding with the variety Burnetti 


* Having the spire intorted or sunk. 


104 LIMNEIDZ. 


of L. peregra. Very little is known with respect to the 
external parts of the body; but Professor Goodsir has 
given some valuable details of its internal organization, 
which are published in an appendix to Mr. Thompson’s 
paper in the ‘Annals of Natural History.’ He says, 
“Tn structure the Limneus involutus resembles the other 
species of the genus;” from which remark it might be 
inferred that the mantle has not the expanded lobe 
which is peculiar to the subgenus Amphipeplea. Dr. 
Perceval Wright, however, informs me that the greater 
part of the shell in this species is covered by the mantle, 
as in L. glutinosa. The form and substance of the shell 
are also similar in both of these species. 


B. Exterior of the shell never covered by the mantle: spire 
produced. 


3. L. per eEcRA*, Miller. 


Buccinum peregrum, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 130. Limneus pereger, 
F. & H. iv. p. 168, pl. cxxiii. f. 3-7. 


Bopy yellowish-grey, with a brown or olive-green tinge, 
mottled with black and covered with small yellow or milk- 
white, and black specks: tentacles diverging from each other 
at nearly a right angle : eyes distinct: foot oblong, very broad, 
nearly truncate in front, and obtusely rounded behind. 


SHELL obliquely ovate, thin, moderately glossy, semitrans- 
parent, yellowish-horncolour, irregularly striate by the lines 
of growth, and closely and microscopically striate in a spiral 
direction, with occasionally a few indistinct spiral ridges and 
pitmarks: epidermis rather thin: whorls 5, convex, the last 
occupying three-fourths of the shell: spire produced and 
pointed: suture rather deep: mouth large, oval, very little 
contracted above by the projection of the penultimate whorl : 
outer lip thin, slightly reflected: inner lip folded on the colu- 
mella and thickened, forming behind it a slight umbilical cleft : 
fold rather prominent and curved. L.0°75. B, 0:425. 


* Traveller. 


LIMN@A. 105 


Var. 1. Burnetti. Body a little broader than that of the 
typical form, dark olive, spotted with opaque yellow: mantle 
nearly black, with a few paler spots. Shell rather globular 
and solid, of a dull aspect, yellowish-brown, closely and 
strongly striate in the line of growth: epidermis rather thick : 
the last whorl nearly covering all the others: spire exceed- 
ingly short, nearly truncate and almost intorted. L. 0-725. 
B. 0:65. Limnea Burnetti, Alder in Ann. Nat. Hist. n.s. i. 
p. 396, pl. i, top figures. Limneus Burnetti, F. & H. iv. 
p- 172, pl. cxxiii. f. 8, 9. 


Var. 2. lacustris. Body of a darker colour than usual. 
Shell resembling that of the last variety; but it is much 
smaller and more glossy, and has strong and regular transverse 
grooves, and the spire is not quite so short nor inclined to be 
intorted. The shell is often eroded. Gulnaria lacustris, Leach, 
Moll. Brit. Syn. p. 107. 


Var. 3. lutea. Shell remarkably solid, having a very short 
spire of from 3 to 4 whorls. Helix lutea, Mont. Test. Brit. 
p. 380, tab. 16. f. 6. 


Var. 4, ovata. Body of a paler colour. Shell ampullaceous 
and rather thinner than. usual: whorls exceedingly convex, 
the last being larger in proportion to the rest: spire very 
short: sutwre deep: mouth very large. Limneus ovatus, Drap. 


Hist. Moll. p. 50, pl. ii. £30, 31. 


Var. 5. acuminata. Shell resembling the last variety in all 


respects, exceptin having a more produced spire and a smaller 
mouth. 


Var. 6. intermedia. Shell rather compressed towards the 
front margin and thinner than usual: spire more produced : 
mouth expanded. Limnea intermedia, Fér. in Lam. An. s. V. 
vi. pt. ii. p. 162. 


‘Var. 7. oblonga. Shell oblong and compressed in front. 


Var. 8. labiosa. Shell smaller, having the outer lip remark- 
ably expanded and reflected. L. 0-5. B. 0:35. 


Var. 9. picta. Shell rather smaller than the last, and, beau- 
tifully marked by alternate bands of brown and white, which 
are sometimes confluent. 


Var. 10. maritima. Shell dwarfed, rather solid: spire pro- 
duced: suture deep. L. 0-4. B. 0-225, 


F 5 


106 LIMNZIDA. 


Var. 11. Succineeformis. Shell shaped like a Succinea, and 
very thin: whorls 4: spire small and oblique. 


Var. 12. decollata. Shell more or less eroded: spire trun- 
cate, 


Var. 13. sinistrorsa. Shell resembling that of a Physa in 
having the spire sinistral or reversed, rather solid; the spiral 
ridges distinct and prominent. Limncus lineatus, Bean, MS.; 
F. & H. iv. p.168, pl. exxii. f. 7. 


Var. 14. scalarifornus. Shell oblong, with deep and regular 
transverse striz: whorls more or less disjoined: suture con- 
sequently very deep. 


Hasitat: Still and slowly running waters every- 
where. Var. 1. Loch Shene, Dumfriesshire (Burnett) ; 
Breconshire (Moggridge). Var. 2. Mountain-lakes in — 
Zetland, Scotland, Ireland, and the North of England. 
Var. 3. South Devon (Montagu) ; South Wales (J.G.J.): 
thrown up by the tide at the mouths of rivers. Var. 4. 
Lakes, canals, and large ponds; attaimimg sometimes a 
considerable size. Var.5. With the last. Var. 6. Ponds. 
Var. 7. Lewes, Suffolk ; Church Stretton, Salop ; Bear- 
haven, Co. Cork (J.G.J.). Var. 8. Appin, Argyleshire 
(Bedford). Var. 9. Ulva I., Hebrides (same). Var. 10. 
Marshes on the sea-coasts of Glamorganshire and North 
Devon (J.G.J.). Var. 11. Kensal Green (J. G. J.). 
Var. 12. Church Stretton; Oxwich, near Swansea 
(J.G.J.). Var. 13. Scarborough (Bean). Var. 14. 
Warminster (J. G.J.). This and the two last forms are 
rather monstrous than varietal. This species is fre- 
quently met with m our upper tertiary beds. The typical 
form and several of its varieties extend from Siberia to 
Sicily. It is a very ubiquitous species ; and Capt. Hut- 
ton found a variety of it in Afghanistan. 

The variability of this common and abundant species 
is equal to the extent of its geographical distribution. I 
was at first inclined to consider that the Limneus ovatus 


LIMNAA. | 107 


of Draparnaud, and its allied forms, would legitimately 
constitute a distinct species ; but, after a very careful 
and protracted comparison of many hundred specimens, 
I could not satisfactorily separate them from imterme- 
diate varieties. The difference in the colour of the body, 
as well as in the consistency and even the shape of the 
shell, appears to depend on the nature and quantity of 
the food, the chemical ingredients of the water, and the 
degree of stagnation or rapidity of its current. M. Mo- 
relet, in his description of the Portuguese land and fresh- 
water Mollusca, says, with much naiveté, of the L. inter- 
media, ‘aussi reconnaissable que puisse l’étre une espéce 
dont le caractére principal est de n’en point avoir.” The 
difficulty of admitting or rejecting such forms as specific 
is quite as great as in the case of Anodonta. I have 
merely noticed some of the more peculiar varieties of the 
present species. 

L. peregra is not very slow in its movements. It is 
nearly amphibious ; and, as its name imports, it is fond 
of wandering and seeing a little of the world, bemg 
occasionally met with at some distance from its native 
element in a damp meadow or climbing up the trunk of 
a willow-tree. This habit reminds one of the inland 
travels of the Perca scandens. An interesting account 
of the floating voyages made by our molluscan traveller 
on an old canal near Inchbroom will be found in the 
Rey. Dr. Gordon’s Contributions to the ‘ Zoologist.’ He 
says that when the shoal of L. peregra had fairly started, 
they resembled a fleet of herring-boats in miniature. 
This mollusk is very prolific and lays about 1300 eggs 
in a season, contained in clusters of from 12 to 180. It 
is zoophagous, as well as phytophagous ; and a writer in 
the ‘ Zoologist’ lately stated (p. 7400) that it ate min- 
nows when they were confined together in an aquarium. 


108 LIMNAID&. 


I have seen these pond-snails attack and devour their 
own brothers and sisters under the same circumstances, 
when they had no other supply of food; and this was 
done by piercing the spire of the shell near its point, 
which was thinner and somewhat eroded by the action 
of the water. Their shells are often coated with mud. 

It is probable that Linné considered this species to be 
a variety of his Helix auricularia. What his H. limosa 
was, it is now impossible to say with any certainty. His 
epithet “oblongiuscula” for that species appears to be 
more appropriate to L. palustris ; while the term “ovata” 
which he uses for “ auricularia” is applicable both to 
this last species and L. peregra. In the first edition of 
the ‘ Fauna Suecica,’ H. limosa is described as having an 
operculum like Paludina or Bythinia; but in the second 
edition this character is omitted. Nearly a century be- 
fore Linné’s time the present species had been distin- 
guished by Lister, although not by any specific name. 
At least 30 species have been made by Continental au- 
thors out of some of its countless varieties. 


4. L. aunicuna’Ria *, Linné. 


Helix auricularia, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1249. Limneus auricula- 
rius, F. & H. iv. p. 169, pl. exxxiii. f. 1. 


Bopy dull greenish-brown or yellow, mottled with black, 
and covered with very small bright-yellow or milk-white, and 
black specks: tentacles broad, flat and conic, diverging as in 
the last species: eyes small and indistinct: foot bordered with 
yellow, prominent and obtusely rounded in front, keeled and 
rounded behind. 

SHELL obliquely globose-oval, thin, glossy, semitransparent, 
yelowish- horncolour, deeply but irregularly striate by the 
lines of growth, with very much finer and closer intermediate 
strie, which are arranged in rows, and regularly but indi- 
stinctly ridged in a spiral direction : epidermis thin: whorls 


* Ear-shaped. 


LIMNZA. 109 


4-5, very much swollen and expanded in front, the last occu- 
pying at least five-sixths of the shell: spire oblique, exceed- 
ingly small, but produced and ending in a sharp point: suture 
very deep: mouth extremely large, roundish oval, a little con- 
tracted and nearly truncate on the inner side both by the 
penultimate whorl and the columellar fold: outer ip thin, con- 
siderably reflected: imner lip slightly thickened on the colu- 
mella and forming behind it a slight umbilical eleft: fold 
prominent, strongly curved and sharp. L. 1:125. B. 0-825. 


Var. 1. acuta. Body of a greyish colour and closely covered 
with black spots. Shell smaller than the typical form, more 
oblong, and having the last whorl and mouth proportionably 
narrower. Jimneus acutus, Jeffr. in Linn. Tr. xvi. p. 373. Lim- 
neus auricularwus, var., F. & H. iv. p.171, pl. exxii. f. 2. 


Var. 2. albida. Shell smaller and thinner, white, with a 
shorter spire and less distinct striz. lL. 0°675. B. 0°55, 


Hasirat: Lakes, marshes, slow rivers, canals, deep 
ditches and large ponds in most parts of Great Britain ; 
but it is local, and does not satisfactorily appear to have 
been found m Scotland. Var. 1. Marshes on the sea- 
coast of Glamorganshire ; Church Stretton, Salop ; Kent; 
Co. Tyrone (J. G. J.) : Yoxford, Suffolk (Barlee). This 
variety is intermediate between L. peregra and the pre- 
sent species ; but being found only with the former spe- 
cies, | am inclined to think it belongs to L. auricularia. 
A monstrosity of this form in my collection has a second 
or inner mouth formed by a plate on the columellar 
side. Var. 2. Bath (Clark); Blenheim lake (Mrs. Richard 
Smith). The variety acuta is one of our upper tertiary 
fossils. This species ranges from Siberia to Portugal. 

Its habits are inactive; and when it crawls, only the 
front edge of its mantle and the tentacles are perceptible. 
It occasionally may be seen floating on the surface of 
the water. It is apt to be infested, as well as its con- 
geners, by an annelid allied to the Nais vermicularis of 
Miiller, which usually takes up its abode between the 


110 LIMNAZIDA. 


neck and mantle and over the tentacles of the mollusk, 
incessantly vibrating, and apparently not parasitic but 
feeding on animalcules. Possibly, however, these worms 
may have the same truly parasitic propensities which are 
attributed to the Nereid, that often takes up its abode 
with the Hermit-crab in the same empty shell, and of 
which my friend Mr. Spence Bate has given in the ‘ Zoo- 
logist ? (1859, p. 6687) an amusing account, as follows : 
— The soft and serpent-like Annelide smells the repast 
that the master of the house is enjoying, and, like a wily 
guest, takes care to be present at the meal, even though 
unbidden. See! beneath the Crab the beautiful head 
glides out. While the self-confident owner is devouring 
one piece, and in his full enjoyment. looking round and, 
perhaps, admiring the submarine scenery, the worm at- 
tacks that which is in the other hand, and by little and 
little the Crab feels it gomg, and makes an effort to stop 
it on the way ; but it evidently can be seen, by his man- 
ner, that he cannot believe that any one would be so 
rude as to steal his dinner out of his very mouth, and 
does not think much about the undevoured food, but 
which, nevertheless, is slowly, gradually and surely taken 
away.” 

Draparnaud noticed, besides the parasitic worms, four 
long and very minute filaments or tubes, which he 
thought were auxiliary organs of respiration; but sub- 
sequent naturalists have not confirmed this discovery. 
Miller states that he kept a specimen of L. auricularia 
alive from June to October in the clearest water, which 
was never renewed, and that it appeared to have no 
other nourishment than Cryptogamia or Confervoid 
spores. 

This species chiefly differs from some of the varieties 
of the last, with which it is connected by the form acuta, 


LIMN A. 111 


in the shell being much more swollen, and having the 
last whorl and mouth excessively large in proportion 
and the spire consequently smaller. The rows of very 
minute longitudinal striae may also be regarded as an- 
other test of distinction. Young shells are more slender 
than those of L. peregra. The present species was first 
described by Lister. 


5. L. staena’iis*, Linné. 


Helix stagnalis, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xi. p. 1249.  Limneus stagnalis, 
F, & H. iv. p. 174, pl.-cxxiv. f. 4, 5. 


Bopy fawn-colour or yellowish-grey with a reddish tint, 
covered with very small brown and milk-white specks: ten- 
tacles rather long and pointed: foot having a narrow edge of 
yellow, very broad at its sides, swollen and keeled behind. 


Suet elongated, of a moderate thickness, semitransparent, 
yellowish-horncolour or greyish-white with sometimes a 
slight tinge of red, irregularly striate by the lines of growth, 
with extremely fine and close-set interstitial strize, which are 
curved and arranged in rows, and regularly but indistinctly 
ridged in a spiral direction, so as to form, by intersecting the 
longitudinal strie, quadrangular facets, resembling those of 
cut glass: epidermis thin: whorls 7-8, rather convex and 
bulging out in the middle, the last occupying nearly three- 
fourths of the shell: spire oblique, much produced and taper- 
ing to a fine point: sutwre moderately deep, margined above 
by a narrow white line, which is formed by the upper edge of 
the preceding whorl: mouth oval, interrupted on its inner side 
by the periphery of the penultimate whorl and the columellar 
fold: outer lip rather thin and slightly reflected: inner hp 
spread on the columella and thickened in adult specimens: 
fold prominent and very strongly curved. L. 2. B. 1. 


Var. 1. fragilis. Shell smaller, more slender and tapering. 
Helix fragilis, Linn. Fn. Suec. 2187; Mont. Test. Brit. p. 369, 
fab. 26.1. 47. 


Var. 2. albida. Shell of the last-mentioned form, but of a 
white colour. 


* TInhabiting ponds. 


112 LIMN XID Z. 


Var. 3. labiata. Shell dwarfed and more solid, with the 
outer lip much reflected and thickened. L. 0:9. B. 0°55. 


Var. 4. sinistrorsa. Spire reversed. 


Hasrirat: Slow rivers, marshes, and standing water 
throughout the kingdom; but it is more local than L. 
peregra. Var. 1. Kennet and Avon Junction Canal, 
Wilts (Montagu) ; Surrey and Croydon Canal (Leach) ; 
R. Cam at Cambridge (Granger) ; Grand Canal, Dublin 
(Warren). This variety is the Stagnicola elegans of 
Leach. Var. 2. From the last-mentioned locality. Var. 3. 
Lough Neagh, Ireland (Moggridge). Var. 4. Kenn Moor, 
Somerset (Norman). This species is one of our upper 
tertiary fossils. It ranges from Siberia to Naples. 

This mollusk is sluggish, but fond of floating. Before 
descending to the bottom it withdraws its body into the 
shell, and in so doing disengages the air from its pouch, 
which escapes with a perceptible noise. The shell is 
remarkably handsome ; but it is often disfigured by a 
coating of vegetable or calcareous matter. The outer 
lip sometimes becomes thickened in consequence of a 
temporary cessation of growth; and in such cases vari- 
cose marks are observable on the spire at intervals. 
Young shells are extremely slender, and the mouth is 
not expanded as in adult specimens. In this state they 
somewhat resemble L. glabra in form, and might be 
mistaken for a new species. Miiller tried the experi- 
ment of cutting off the heads of some of this kind of 
mollusk to see if they would be reproduced ; but he tells 
us that the poor animals did not long survive the opera- 
tion. Menke supposed that the shell of this species was 
the helmet of the Frogs in Homer’s ‘ Batrachomyo- 
machia’; but, in opposition to this ingenious idea, it may 
be remarked that the L. stagnalis does not appear to 


LIMN 4A. 1138 


have ever existed in Greece. From the description of 
the armour of the Frogs, it does not appear that any 
species in particular was intended :— 

‘‘Form’d of the varied shells the waters yield, 

Their glossy helmets glisten’d o’er the field.” 

It is not likely that Homer was a conchologist, or distin- 
guished one shell from another for poetical purposes. 
The kind of shell in question must have made cumber- 
some helmets for the valiant Frogs. 

L. stagnalis is a large and favourite object for the 
aquarium ; and Mr. Lloyd has recorded in the ‘Zoologist’ 
some interesting observations as to the mode of its 
respiration. 

The shell is so much larger and longer than that of 
any other Limnea, that it is unnecessary to make any 
further comparison between them. 


C. Sprre of the shell much produced, and whorls gradually 


enlarging. 
6. L. patus'rris*, Miller. 


Buccinum palustre, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 131. Limneus palustris, 
F. & H iv. p. 180, pl. exxiv. f. 2. 


Bopy dark grey, with a tinge of violet-brown, covered with 
fine black and yellowish-white specks: tentacles conic, curved 
and pointed: eyes placed on small tubercles: foot oblong, 
truncate and slightly notched in front, narrowing behind and 
ending in a blunt tail. 


Suez oblong, rather solid, of a somewhat dull hue, yellowish- 
brown with sometimes a violet tint, sculptured as in L. stag- 
nalis, but the spiral ridges are generally more prominent and 
numerous: epidermis rather thin: whorls 6-7, rounded and 
moderately convex, the last occupying about two-thirds of the 
shell: spire produced and tapering to a somewhat fine point: 
suture rather deep, often margined above by a narrow white 


* Tnhabiting bogs. 


114 LIMNZIDZ. 


line, which is caused by the appearance through the shell of 
the upper edge of the preceding whorl: mouth obliquely oval, 
but contracted on the inner or columellar side : outer lip rather 
thick, scarcely reflected, but expanded below: inner lip spread 
on the columella: fold extremely prominent and sharp. L. 1. 
B. 0-4. 


Var. 1. Corvus. Shell much larger and more swollen, of a 
purplish-brown colour. L. 1:35. B. 0°65. Heliw Corvus, 
Gmel. Syst. Nat. p. 3665. 


Var. 2. elongata. Spire elongated. 


Var. 3. tincta. Shell shorter and broader, light brown 
with a purplish mouth. JLimneus tinctus, Jeffr. in Linn. Tr. 
xvl. p. 378. 

Var. 4. conica. Shell conic, greyish-white, with a deep 
suture and an umbilical cleft. L.0°5. B. 0°25. 


Var. 5. roseo-labiata. Mouth of the shell furnished inside 
with a rose-coloured or white rib. 


Var. 6. decollata. Spire truncate. 


Hasirat: Marshes, ditches, and shallow pools every- 
where from Aberdeenshire to the Channel Isles. Var. 1. 
Suffolk (Barlee). Var.2. Falmouth(J.G.J.). Var. 3. 
Swansea and Dorsetshire (J. G. J.) ; Anglesea (Gibbs). 
This last variety resembles a Bulimus in form. Var. 4. 
Banks of the Thames from Hammersmith to Woolwich 
(J.G.J.); Cork(Humphreys). This is a peculiar variety; 
but as itis connected with the typical form by the variety 
tincta, and it is not found in company with any other 
form, I do not consider it to be specifically distinct. Some 
specimens have a longer spire and resemble L. truncatula. 
Var. 5. Belfast (Thompson); Cork (Humphreys). Var.6. 
Preston (Gilbertson) ; Guernsey (Lukis) ; Ballinahinch, 
Co. Galway (J.G. J.). This species is also one of our 
upper tertiary fossils. Abroad it ranges from Siberia to 
Algeria and Sicily. 

It has the character of being aslow, irritable, and very 


LIMN#A. 115 


greedy animal—none of which are amiable qualities in 
our own species! Owing to the nature of its habitat, 
the shell is apt to have a coat of hardened mud. The 
whorls are sometimes more or less distorted or scalari- 
form. Draparnaud says that the animal has only two 
aériferous tubes, instead of four as in L. auricularia ; but 
this remarkable and anomalous organization does not 
appear to have been observed by other naturalists. 

This species differs from all the preceding in the shell 
being thicker and the whorls much more narrow. It 
was first (and well) described by Lister. 

Mr. Bean was kind enough to give me specimens of 
L. cornea (a native of the North-American lakes) which 
his son was said to have collected in the West of Ireland. 
It is allied to the present species, through the variety 
tincta ; but I suspect there must have been some mistake 
as to the alleged Irish locality. 


7. L. tRuNca tuLa*, Miiller. 


Buccinum truncatulum, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt.ii. p. 130. Limneus trun- 
catulus, F. & H. iv. p. 177, pl. exxiv. f. 3. 


Bopy dark brown or grey, of a lighter colour on the lower 
side, covered with fine black specks: tentacles short, but slender, 
rounded at their tips: eyes nearly sessile: foot rather short, 
marked with milk-white spots, which are scattered and larger 
than the black specks, nearly truncate in front, gradually 
narrowing and abruptly rounded behind. 


Suett oblong-conic, turreted, rather solid for its size, 
glossy, yellowish-brown or horncolour ; sculpture the same as 
in the two last species: epidermis thin: whorls 5—6, rounded 
and convex, but compressed in the middle, so as to make the 
top of each appear somewhat truncate; the last whorl occu- 
pying about three-fifths of the shell: spire abruptly tapering 
to a rather fine point: sutwre extremely deep: mouth oval, 
scarcely contracted on the inner side: outer lip sharp: inner 
lip continuous with it and reflected on the columella, behind 


* Slightly truncate. 


116 LIMN EID. 


which is a distinct umbilical chink: fold rather slight but 
thick. L.0-4. B.0:2. 


Var. 1. major. Shell larger: whorls more swollen and the 
last considerably exceeding the usual proportion of size. 


Var. 2. elegans. Shell much larger, more solid and slender, 
greyish-white, marked with coarse spiral ridges: spire much 
produced: suéwre oblique: outer lip thickened. L. 0:6. B. 
0-225. 


Var. 3. minor. Shell much smaller, thinner and semi- 
transparent, dark horncolour, marked with stronger and closer 
longitudinal strie. L.0:285. 5B. 0-165. 


Var. 4. albida. Shell smaller, milk-white. 


Var. 5. scalariformis. Shell smaller: whorls nearly dis- 
united. 


Var. 6. microstoma. Shell smaller and narrower: whorls 
more swollen: mouth contracted. 


Hasitat: Banks of slow and muddy rivers and 
streams, marshes, ditches, grassy pools, waterfalls, and 
moist places everywhere from the northernmost point of 
Zetland to Jersey. Var. 1. Penzance (Millet and Barlee) ; 
Newton Nottage, Glamorganshire (J. G. J.) Var. 2. 
Hants (Mus. Loscombe). Var. 3. Mountainous tracts 
and sea-side marshes. Var. 4. Battersea (J. G. J.): 
Crymlin Burrows, Swansea, (Moggridge). Var. 5. War- 
minster (J. G. J.). Var. 6. Southampton (J. G. J.. 
Besides these varieties, my cabinet contains specimens 
in which the spire is more produced, or shorter with 
the whorls partly intorted, and some have interrupted 
spiral bands of white lines. This species occurs in our 
upper tertiary beds. Its foreign distribution extends 
from Siberia to Algeria and Sicily; and, according to 
Captain Hutton, it is a native of Afghanistan. 

This abundant but pretty little mollusk is nearly 
amphibious, being more frequently met with out of the 
water than init. It isalso found in very elevated spots. 


LIMNZA. 117 


Mogquin-Tandon states that he had observed it in the 
Pyrenees at a height of 1200 métres (nearly 4000 feet) ; 
and instances of its occurring at a tolerable elevation in 
this country might doubtless be also given, as I have 
found it living at the sides of all our mountain tarns, 
but no other animal in company with it. It deposits its 
spawn on the mud, which is its usual habitat, and not, 
like its congeners, on the stalks and underneath the leaves 
of water-plants. 

The form of its shell somewhat resembles that of L. 
peregra, var. maritima ; but its minute size and turricu- 
lated spire will serve to distinguish the present from 
any other species. This is the Limneus minutus of Dra- 
parnaud and Helix fossaria of Montagu. The name it 
now bears seems to have been derived, not from the 
truncature:or decollation of the spire, but from the 
truncate or turreted form of the whorls. 


8. L. era’Bra*, Miller. 


Buccinum glabrum, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 185. Limneus glaber, 
F. & H. iv. p. 178, pl. exxiv. f. 1. 


Bopy dusky-grey with a tinge of slate-colour, covered with 
minute, but distinct, black specks: tentacles rather long: eyes 
placed on prominent tubercles: foot truncate in front, from 
which it spreads a little towards the rear, ending in a thick 
and narrow tail. 

SHELL cylindrical, rather thin and glossy, greyish-horn- 
colour or brownish, sculptured as in the three preceding species : 
epidermis very thin: whorls 7-8, rounded but not very convex, 
the last occupying not much more than half the shell: spzre 
produced and ending in a somewhat blunt point: suture slight, 
but distinct, margined as in the two foregoing species: mouth 
pear-shaped, contracted above at an acute angle, and furnished 
inside with a thick broad white rib, which is placed at a little 
distance from the opening: outer lip thin, scarcely reflected : 


* Smooth. 


118 LIMNEID&. 


inner lip rather thick : fold somewhat prominent and sharp. 
L.O8G) G38.) 0°2: | 


Var. elongata. Spire more produced, so as to alter the 
relative proportions of length and breadth. 


Hasitat: Ditches and shallow pools, but sparingly 
distributed in this country. It appears, however, to have 
been found in the following counties and places,—viz. 
Northumberland, Durham, York, Salop, Norfolk, Suffolk, 
Essex, Oxon, Wilts, Dorset, Cornwall, Guernsey, Jersey, 
Cork and Belfast. Although local, it is plentiful where 
it occurs. It ranges from Scandinavia to France as far 
south as the lower Pyrenees. 

It is an exceedingly sluggish and timid mollusk, but 
ventures occasionally on a very short floating excursion. 
It often retires considerably within its shell, when it 
forms the inside lip orrib. The repetition at intervals of 
this lip, which is seen through the semitransparent shell, 
gives the latter a varicose appearance. ‘The shell is also 
lable to lose its first or apical whorls, and consequently 
to become decollated. 

This species is the Bulimus leucostoma of Poiret, Helix 
octanfracta of Montagu, and Limneus elongatus of Dra- 
parnaud., 


Genus IV. AN’CYLUS*, Geoffroy. 
PL IV. £11, 12, 13, 14. 


Bopy oval, conic, slightly twisted behind: head very large: 
tentacles short, nearly cylindrical but thicker at their base: 
foot oval, or oblong, obtusely rounded in front and behind, 
closely attached to the upper part of the body: respiratory 
pouch or sac forming a short tube. 

Snett hood-shaped, with an incomplete or rudimentary spzre, 
Which is in some species dextral and in others sinistral. 


* Hooked. 


ANCYLUS. 119 


This is in some respects an anomalous genus, although 
undoubtedly related to Limnea. Menke and other con- 
chologists have proposed to separate it from the Limneide 
and to make it a distinct family by itself. The resem- 
blance of its shell to the marme Limpet, or Patella, has 
caused this to receive the not inappropriate name of the 
“ freshwater Limpet,”’—showing that the sea and land 
have their respective representatives or analogues in the 
system of Nature. It was for a long time supposed, 
even by the great Cuvier, that the Ancyli were branchi- 
ferous ; but it has now been satisfactorily ascertained, 
by the careful investigations of Mr. Berkeley and other 
able physiologists, that they are truly pulmoniferous, 
although they are also capable (like other aquatic Pul- 
monobranchs) of extracting air from the water for the 
purpose of respiration. They inhabit both rapid and still 
waters, attached to stones and the leaves of plants. They 
are not imactive in their habits, but have never been 
observed in a floating position. One of our native species 
(A. fluviatilis) is nearly as amphibious as the Limnea 
peregra and L. truncatula; and it may often be seen on 
rocks at the side of waterfalls, having no other moisture 
than the spray which occasionally falls on it. When it 
crawls, only the tips of its tentacles, and sometimes the 
front edge of its mantle, are visible. The only two 
British species of Ancylus are apt to be infested with a 
number of quasi-parasitic worms, as is also the case with 
many kinds of Limnea. The food of the Ancyli consists 
of freshwater Algz or Confervee, as well as of decayed 
vegetable matter. They are said also to eat or swallow 
a certain quantity of very fine gravel or sand, apparently 
to assist their digestion, which is very slow. They can 
live a long time without any nourishment. 


120 LIMNAID. 


A. Body sinistral. Shell dextral. 


1. ANcyLUs FLUVIA'TILIS*, Miller. 


Ancylus fluviatilis, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. i. p. 201; F. & H. iv. p. 186, 
pl. exxii. f. 4. 


Bopy slate-colour or dark grey, with fine black specks: 
tentacles somewhat triangular at the base, becoming slender 
towards their tips, which are blunt: eyes not very prominent, 
but distinct: foot oval, nearly equal in circumference to the 
mouth of the shell. 

SHELL semi-oval, incurved towards the front like a helmet 
of the ancients, rather thin, not glossy, yellowish-grey or horn- 
colour, strongly and regularly striate longitudinally in a radi- 
ating direction from the crown to the margin or outer edge of 
the mouth (some of the strize often forming remote ridges) and 
very finely striate transversely or in the line of growth : anterior 
margin somewhat narrower than the other: epidermis rather 
thin : spire forming the beak and being equal to about half a 
whorl, with a compressed and blunt top, which turns a little 
to the right, bending down towards and nearly reaching the 
posterior margin: mouth oval: outer lip membranous, slightly 
reflected. L. 0:3. B. 0-233. 


Var. 1. Capuloides. Shell larger and higher, with the beak 
not placed so near the posterior margin. L. 0:415. B. 0:3. 
A. Capuloides, (Jan) Porro, Mal. Com. p. 87, pl. 1. f. 7. 


Var. 2. gibbosa. Shell smaller, more swollen, with the 
beak reaching or overhanging the posterior margin. A. gib- 
bosus, Bourguignat in Journ. de Conch, iii. (1853) p. 186. 


Var. 3. albida. Shell milk-white and more finely striated. 


Hasirat: Abundantly on stones and rocks in shallow 
rivers and streams everywhere from Aberdeenshire to 
the Channel Isles. I once found it of a dwarf size on 
the leaves of the white water-lily in a stagnant pond 
near Swansea, into which no stream had flowed within 
the memory of man, living in company with A. lacustris, 
and coated with a confervoid growth. Var. 1. R. Corfe, 


* Inhabiting rivers. 


ANCYLUS. 12) 


Dorset : very rare (J.G.J.). Var. 2. Sark ; Osmington 
mills, near Ringstead, Dorset ; Dunboy, near Bearhaven, 
Co. Cork (J. G. J.). This last variety is the A. deper- 
ditus of Ziegler and Dupuy; but (according to Bour- 
guignat) not of Desmarest, who first used that name 
for another species. Intermediate forms in respect of 
the position of the beak incline me to consider this only 
a variety. Var. 3. Wokey hole, near Wells (Beevor) ; 
Scarborough (Bean); near Torquay (Norman); Arish 
mill, near Lulworth, Dorset (J. G. J.). Specimens 
from different places vary in colour from white to dark- 
horncolour or reddish-brown. This species is also one 
of our upper tertiary fossils. Abroad it ranges from 
Finland to Algeria and Sicily ; and the Rey. R. T. Lowe 
has included it in his list of Madeiran land-shells. 

M. Bouchard-Chantereaux published, nearly thirty 
_ years ago, an extremely interesting account of the em- 
bryogeny of A. fluviatilis, illustrated by a plate showing 
the successive development of the spawn into the fry. 
He says, each individual lays, in the course of the breed- 
ing-season, about 80 eggs, which are enclosed in from 
7 to 10 capsules and arrive at maturity in from twenty- 
four to twenty-seven days, according to the temperature. 
The animal seems to be more fond of Fontinalis antipy- 
retica than of any other plant. 

Many species have been carved out of this variable 
kind by Continental authors. In very young shells may 
be detected faint traces of a more complete spire, which 
is intorted so as to cause a concavity in the beak, called 
by M. Bourguignat the “ dépression apicale.” This 
species was first made known by Lister, and described 
by him under the name of Patella fluviatilis, but ac- 
companied by other epithets. It has by-some authors 
been considered to be the Patella lacustris of Linné ; 

G 


122 LIMNEIDZ. 


but I will defer my remarks as to this name until I have 
to treat of the next species. 


B. Body dextral. Shell sinistral. 


2. A. Lacus’ tris *, Linné. 


Patella lacustris, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. x.i. p. 783. A. oblongus, F. & H. iv. 
p- 188, pl. exxii. f. 5. 


Bopy yellowish-grey with a greenish tinge, covered with 
minute and indistinct dark specks: tentacles thick, pointed at 
the tips: eyes as in the last species: foot truncate in front and 
very round behind, having a few yellow specks interspersed 
among the black ones. 


SHELL oblong, obliquely twisted to the left, thin, glossy 
greyish-horncolour, very finely but indistinctly striate as in 
A. fluviatilis, but without the intermediate ridges: anterior 
margin very little narrower than the other: epidermis thick : 
beak sharp and ridge-like, turning obliquely to the left, but 
placed close to the margin: mouth oblong: outer ip membra- 
nous, reflected. L. 0-25. 3B. 0-1. 


Var. 1. compressa. Shell rather larger, and considerably 
broader and fiatter, than usual. 


Var. 2. albida. Shell milk-white, with a light-grey epi- 
dermis. 

Hasirat: On the under side of the leaves of water-lilies 
and other aquatic plants, as well as on fallen leaves of 
trees, in slow rivers, lakes, canals, marshes, and ponds 
throughout the greater part of the kingdom as far north 
as Aberdeenshire. It is, however, a local species. 
Var. 1. Dunstall, Staffordshire (J. G. J.). Var. 2. 
Grand Canal, Dublin (Warren). It is also one of our 
upper tertiary fossils. Its foreign distribution is the 
same as that of the last species. 

Miller states that this is not only a freshwater but a 
marine shell, having taken it alive and adhering to marine 


* Tnhabiting lakes. 


ANCYLUS. 133 


species of Conferva, in the Baltic Sea. According to 
Mr. Whiteaves, it hibernates between the sheathing 
leaves of Sparganium ramosum. 

This species is easily recognizable from A. fluviatilis 
by its different habitat and the oblong shape of its shell, 
as well as by the form of the beak, which is twisted 
decidedly to the left, instead of being (as in the other 
species) nearly central or inclined to the right. 

It has been called by some authors A. oblongus, being 
the specific name given to it by Lightfoot under the im- 
pression that this was not the Patella lacustris of Linné. 
There can, however, be scarcely any doubt that Linné 
meant this species, and not A. fluviatilis, because in his 
‘Fauna Suecica’ he mentions its being rather common 
in lakes and attached to the submerged leaves of aquatic 
plants, especially of Stratiotes. His description of the 
shell is applicable to either species. 

Nearly half a century ago, a curious instance of false 
analogy occurred with respect to an organism which 
Draparnaud described and figured (in his admirable 
History of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of France) 
as *‘ Ancylus spina-rose,” from specimens sent him by 
Férussac. These specimens were afterwards discovered 
not to be testaceous; and many conjectures were from 
time to time made as to their nature. It was supposed 
by some that they were parts of a small pod or capsule, 
by others that they were the bracts of a flower-stalk, and 
by not a few naturalists that they were scales of a fish. 
The puzzle, however, was at last solved by the discovery 
that these nondescripts were the valves of a Cypris, and 
therefore belonged,to the Crustacea. 


G w# 


THRRESTRIAL. 


Tue Slugs and Land-Snails, which (as I before observed) 
constitute about three-fourths of the British Pulmono- 
branch Mollusca, may be conveniently divided into two 
sections. The first section agrees in all essential particu- 
lars, except that of having retractile (instead of contrac- 
tile) tentacles, with the aquatic family of Limneide, which 
have been above described. The second corresponds with 
the Pectinibranch Mollusca in having separate sexes, 
their eyes at the base of the tentacles, and univalve spiral 
shells which are furnished with opercula; and the main 
point in which it differs from that great Order consists 
in the organs of respiration, resulting from the nature 
of their respective habitats. All the land Pulmono- 
branchs are more slimy than their aquatic representa- 
tives; and they appear to be less inactive in their habits. 


The first section comprises four families, viz.,— 


* Tentacles, almost in every case,4: eyes placed on the tips of 
the upper, or single, pair: shell rudimentary, shield-like, 
or complete and spiral. 

I. Limacipa. 
II. TEstacELip2. 
Iii. Hexicipz. 


** Tentacles 2, besides rudiments of a second or lower pair : eyes 
placed at the internal base of the“developed pair: shell 
spiral, elongated. 


LTV. Carycurp2. 


LIMACID&. 135 


Family I. LIMACID 2. 


Bopy long, straight, and flexible: mantle covering only the 
upper part of the back, and forming a shield: head prominent : 
tentacles 4, cylindrical, arranged in pairs, the upper pair being 
the longest: eyes 2, placed on bulbs at the top of the upper 
tentacles : foot united to the body and coextensive with it. 


Suet either rudimentary and of an indefinite form, or 
shield-shaped, placed underneath the mantle. 


I do not propose to treat of this family and its com- 
ponent members to the same extent as my opportunities 
have enabled me to do with respect to the testaceous 
members of the same Order; and I must admit that I 
have not paid equal attention to this part of the subject. 
The aspect, and much less the handling, of these slimy 
creatures cannot be considered as especially inviting ; 
and asI believe the majority of my readers share in this 
opinion, I may with greater confidence ask their indul- 
gence for any shortcomings on this point. At the same 
time I would observe that the subject offers, to those 
who are inclined to pursue it, a wide field of research 
and a greater prospect of novelty than can be expected 
from the study of the testaceous Mollusca. The ana- 
tomy, physiology, and habits of the Slugs were described 
nearly two centuries ago by our countryman, Dr. Lister, 
in his admirable treatises on British animals; and Mr. 
Nunneley and the Rev. B. J. Clarke have lately done 
much to increase our knowledge of these mollusks. Some 
of their remains have been detected in our upper ter- 
tiary beds at Copford, as well as in similar deposits in 
the South-west of France. 


126 LIMACID. 


Genus I. ARI’ON *, Ferussac. Pl. V. f. 1, 2. 


Bopy nearly cylindrical, with a strongly wrinkled skin: 
shield oblong, shagreened: respiratory orifice placed near the 
front edge of the shield: foot furnished at its posterior extre- 
mity or tail with a mucus- or slime-gland. 


Seti amorphous, consisting of loose calcareous grains 
which are covered by the hinder part of the shield. 

The Arions, or black slugs, frequent damp and shady 
woods, as well as hedge-banks and gardens. Durmg 
the daytime they lurk under stones and logs of wood, 
or bury themselves in the earth, where they excavate a 
sort of tunnel; but at night, and after rain, they sally 
forth to feed. They are great pests in gardens, gene- 
rally selecting the best cabbages and most succulent 
vegetables. They are, however, not very particular 
about their food, and act the part of land-scavengers, 
devouring animal matter of all kinds in every state of 
decomposition, and even each other’s slime. They may 
be frequently met with in garden-walks, after a shower, 
in search of food. Durmg the season of reproduction 
they deposit their eggs, which are very numerous, sepa- 
rately underground. When at rest, they contract their 
bodies into a lump. In this state they offer a dainty 
prize to ducks. They differ from the Limaces, or com- 
mon slugs, in their respiratory orifice bemg placed in 
front, instead of near the hinder part, of the shield, 
having a slime-gland at the tail, and in the arrangement 
of the teeth. 


* The name of an ancient musician and poet: scarcely appropriate to 
this genus. 


ARION. 127 


1. ARION a’tER *, Linné. 


Limax ater, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. x. p. 652. A. Empiricorum, F. & H. iv. 
py tpl. D. Dy i-4. 


Bopy rather contracted and rounded in front, pointed behind, 
varying greatly in colour, from black to brown, red, yellow, 
greenish, and even white, with all the intermediate shades, 
covered with prominent and large tubercles: shield, or mantle, 
finely shagreened, of a lighter colour than the rest of the 
body: tentacles coarsely shagreened, much swollen at their 
tips. especially the lower pair: foot generally having a yellow 
border, which is crossed at the sides by close and curved dark 
lines: slime of a yellowish colour. L. 4. B. 0-5, 


SHELL consisting of small separate calcareous grains of 
unequal size. 


Hasrtat: Woods, hedges, fields, and all sorts of damp 
places in the country throughout these Isles. Abroad 
it ranges from Siberia to Portugal and Corsica, as well 
as to Madeira; and a variety of it was found as far north 
as Jan Mayens Isle by the naturalist who accompanied 
Prince Louis Napoleon’s expedition. | 

This species has had an infinity of names given to it, 
on account of its extreme variability of colour. It is 
the A. Empiricorum of Férussac, so called from the cal- 
careous substance which is found under the shield having 
been formerly used in the preparation of medicine. 

The A. flavus of Férussac (Limaz flavus, Miller), which 
has been found in the North of England by Mr. Alder 
and Mr. Blacklock, as well as by Mr. Norman and Mr. 
Whiteaves in Somersetshire and Oxfordshire, appears, 
according to Moquin-Tandon, to be a doubtful species. 
MM. Bouchard-Chantereaux and Normand state that 
this last-mentioned species or variety inhabits woods and 
moist places in the North of France. 


* Black. 


128 LIMACIDZ. 


9. A. HORTEN sIs*, Férussac. 


A. hortensis, Fér. Hist. Moll. p. 65, pl. ii. f. 46; F. & H. iv. p. 10, 
pee, 1. : 


Bovy longer than that of the last species in proportion to 
its size, and of nearly an equal breadth throughout, brown, 
red, yellow, grey, greenish, or black, usually more or less di- 
_ stinctly marked on the back and sides with stripes or longitu- 
dinal bands, and covered with coarse oblong tubercles: shield 
having usually a dark stripe down the middle and another on 
each side: tentacles not much swollen at their tips: foot nar- 
rowly bordered with grey, yellow, reddish, or orange: slime 
yellowish or whitish. L. 1:5. B. 0°35. 


SHELL of an irregular shape, composed of grains like those 
in the last species, but cemented together by a calcareous 
matrix, so as to resemble tiny lumps of the conglomerate 
which is called by geologists ‘‘ breveia.” 


Hasrrat: Under stones and dead leaves in gardens, 
fields, and damp spots everywhere. Its foreign distri- 
bution is also perhaps equally extensive with that of 
A. ater. 

According to Bouchard-Chantereaux, the eggs of A. 
hortensis are phosphorescent during the first fifteen days 
after they have been laid. They take from twenty to 
forty days to arrive at maturity, and the young become 
adult towards the end of the first year. 

This species differs from A. ater in being much smaller 
and more slender, as well as in usually having longitu- 
dinal lines or stripes. The substitute for a shell is also 
more compact, and making some approach to a definite 
form, in the present species. Dr. Gray describes the 
shell to be “ distinct, oval, concave ;” but this description 
does not agree with the generic character of this part of 
the animal. 

It is the A. fasciatus of Nilsson. Miiller described 


* Frequenting gardens. 


GEOMALACUS. 129 


two slugs (Limax cinctus and L. fuscus) as having longi- 
tudinal stripes; and although it is most probable that 
one or both of them may be identical with the present 
species, the name given by Férussac has been adopted 
to prevent confusion. 


Genus II. GEOMA’LACUS f+. Pl. V. f. 3. 


Bopy resembling that of Arion, but more extensile and 
keeled on the back, besides having the reproductive orifice 
placed near the base of the right lower tentacle, in which 
respect it differs both from that genus and Limaz. 


SHELL unguiform, imbedded in the shield. 


This genus, of which only one species is known, appears 
to be intermediate between Arion and Limaz. I suspect 
that the Limax anguiformis of Morelet (Moll. Part. p. 36, 
pl. ui. f. 1) also belongs to the present genus, if indeed 
it is not the same species as ours. 


GEOMALACUS MACULO SUS ft, Allman. 
3 


G. maculosus, Allm.in Ann. N. H., new series, xvii. p. 297, pl. 9; F.& H. 

iv. p. 12, pl. FF. F*. f. 5. 

No detailed account of this curious slug has been 
published ; but it is described to be an exceedingly beau- 
tiful animal, measuring, when creeping about, two inches 
in length; the colour of the shield and upper part of the 
body is black, elegantly spotted with yellow; the under 
surface of the foot light yellow, and divided into three 
nearly equal bands; the edge of the foot brown, with 
transverse sulci. A white-spotted variety also occurred. 
It can elongate itself, so as to assume the appearance of 
a worm and thus enter exceedingly small apertures. It: 
was discovered by an active and indefatigable Irish 
naturalist, Mr. William Andrews of Dublin, during the 


+ Earth-mollusk. + Spotted. 
GO 


130 LIMACIDA. 


autumn of 1842, “on rocks around Lough Carrough, 
to the south of Castlemain Bay, Co. Kerry, in the West 
of Ireland.” Mr. Andrews informs me that it is im- 
possible to appreciate the extreme beauty of this slug 
without observing it in the living state. The surmise 
offered by the authors of the ‘ British Mollusca,’ that 
this may be an Asturian, as well as an Irish, slug, is pro- 
bably well founded. Morelet’s description, in 1845, of 
his Limax anguiformis appears to have escaped their 
notice. He especially mentions the peculiar form of 
the slug and the position of the respiratory organ. 


Genus III. LI MAX*, Linné. PI. V. f. 4, 5. 


Bopy nearly cylindrical, with a wrinkled skin, and more or 
less keeled on the back: shzeld sometimes shagreened, but in 
most cases concentrically striate: respiratory orifice near the 
hinder edge of the shield: reproductive orifice close to and 
behind the right upper tentacle: foot not furnished with a 
mucus-gland. 


SHELL oval or shaped like a finger-nail, formed of concentric 
layers, and covered by the hinder part of the shield (Zimacella, 
Brard). 

The habits of this kind of slug are nearly the same as 
those of Arion; but some of them appear to like the 
company of man more than he desires, beimg often 
found in kitchens and domestic offices. They are, how- 
ever, sometimes useful in eating that kind of fungus 
which causes dry rot, and another kind which infests 
cellars and makes choice Port wine what is termed 
“corked.” Among themselves. they are also sociable, 
and are often found clustered together in the same spot. 
Gardeners have great cause to complain of their voracity, 
and especially when they see the finest strawberries have 
been selected for their supper or early repast. 

* Slug. 


LIMAX. 13] 


A. Shield shagreened. 


1. Limax caca'tEs *, Draparnaud. 
L. gagates, Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 122, tab. ix. f. 1; F.& H. iv. p. 24 
pl. D. D.D. £. 3. 


Bopy very slightly contracted and nearly cylindrical in front, 
gradually tapering to a point behind, varying from slate-colour 
to dark-red or even black, covered with small oblong inter- 
laced tubercles: shield oblong, somewhat truncate in front 
and rounded behind, apparently divided into two lobes, finely 
shagreened or grained: tentacles very short and thick, not 
much swollen at their tips: back sharply keeled its whole 
length, bordered with white or a lighter colour than the rest 
of the body: slime nearly colourless. L. 2:5. B. 0°35. 

SHELL oval, rather thick (especially in the middle), and 
slightly wrinkled. 

Hasitat: Hedges and at the roots of grass and the 
_ foot of old walls in many parts of Great Britam. from 
the Clyde district to Guernsey; but it appears to be a 
local species. It also occurs in the north, east, west, and 
south of France, ranging to Corsica and Algeria, and 
probably also to Naples. Mr. Norman has given an 
excellent description of this species in the ‘ Zoologist’ 
for 1853, and remarked that when at rest this slug as- 
sumes a more rounded form than any other British 
kind, contracting and squeezing itself into so small 
a compass that its height is but little exceeded by its 
length. Its slime is thick and glutinous, resembling 
varnish. The apparent division of the shield into two 
lobes, as noticed by Draparnaud, is owing to its being 
indented behind by the keel. 


* Jet. 


132 LIMACID. 


2. L. marcina Tus *, Miiller. 


L. marginatus, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 10. LZ. Sowerdii, F. & H. iv. 
p. 22, pl. E.E. E. f. 3. 


Bopy nearly cylindrical, truncate and slightly tumid in front, 
gradually tapering to a point behind, yellowish or reddish- 
brown speckled with black, irregularly wrinkled: shield oblong, 
obtusely rounded at both ends, wider and slightly truncate 
behind, partly bordered with a dark band on each side and 
occasionally streaked down the middle, very irregularly granu- 
lated: tentacles thick, not much swollen at their tips: back 
having a prominent keel or ridge, which extends the whole 
length from the hinder edge of the shield to the tail, and is of 
a lighter colour than the rest of the body: foot pale-margined : 
sfime colourless. Dimensions same as in the last species. 


SHELL oval, thickened, with conspicuous lines of growth: 
boss or nucleus near one end, rather prominent. L. 0:2. 
B. 0-125. 

Hasirat: Under stones, among dead leaves, and at 
the foot of old walls everywhere. The shell or Limacedla 
has been found in our upper tertiary beds. Although 
this must be a widely diffused species, it does not appear 
to have been noticed by any Continental writers except 
Muller, Moquin-Tandon, and the Abbé Stabile, accord- 
ing to whom it inhabits Denmark and the mountainous 
districts of France and Lugano. | 

This slug is inactive in its habits and secretes a thick 
and tenacious slime. Stabile says that it is much preyed 
upon by the Stlphe, Caradi, and other large carnivorous 
beetles. L. marginatus is said in its turn to attack and 
eat other animals, and especially live worms and smaller 
slugs. 

Miiller’s description seems to be sufficient for the 
identification of this species with that of Draparnaud 
and subsequent authors, who have adopted the name first 
given toit. He particularly mentions its having a white 


* Bordered. 


LIMAX. | 133 


keel, as well as marginal streaks on the shield,—although 
he says it inhabits the beech, which character is more 
applicable to L. arborum. Draparnaud doubted whether 
lis species was that of Miller because of this difference 
in the habitat. It is the LZ. Sowerbiw of Férussac and 
L. carinatus of Risso and Leach. The shell is the 
Limacella unguiculus of Brard. 

The shield in this species is much smaller in proportion 
to its body than in L. gagates ; and the respiratory orifice 
is in the last-named species placed more towards the 
middle of the shield-area. The colouring is also dif- 
ferent. 


B. Shield concentrically wrinkled. 


3. L. ria’vus *, Linné. 


L. flavus, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. x. i. p. 652; F.& H. iv. p. 19, pl. E. E. E. 
eid 


Bopy slightly contracted in front, rather broad in the middle, 
and tapering gradually to a point behind, yellowish, speckled 
with white and black so as to form a kind of network, covered 
with coarse oval tubercles: head of a bluish colour: shield 
oblong, larger and more rounded behind, elegantly grooved by 
concentric and rather undulating lines: tentacles bluish; the 
upper pair rather short, the lower ones remarkably so: foot 
keeled towards the tail, margined with yellowish-white ; sole 
milk-white: slime yellow. L. 4. B. 0°75. 

SHELL obliquely oval or quadrangular, rather concave on the 
under side, thin, crystalline and nacreous, with distinct lines 
of growth: boss slightly projecting behind: margin membra- 
nous. . 0:3... B. 0:125. 


Hasirat: Cellars, wells, sculleries, and other damp 
places, as well as in moist woods, everywhere. It is 
also common in the northern and central parts of 
urope. 


* Yellow. 


134 LIMACID#. 


This kind of slug is nocturnal, but very active. Its 
slime is abundant and stains linen of a yellow colour. 
It appears to be fond of bread, cooked vegetables, and all 
sorts of kitchen refuse. 

It is probable that the Z. flavus of Miiller: may be a 
variety of Arion ater, because he describes the shield as 
not having any concentric wrinkles, although in the 
same description he also notices a yellow slug which 
seems to belong to the present species. This is the 
L. variegatus of Draparnaud; and its shell is probably 
the Limacella concava of Brard. 


4, Li. acres'T1s *, Linné. 


L. agrestis, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. x. i. p. 652; F.& H. iv. p. 13, pl. D. D. D. 
£33. 


Bopy spindle-shaped, slender, ash-grey with a reddish or 
yellowish tinge and sometimes mottled, nearly smooth: shield 
rather large, more tumid behind, the concentric striz more 
remote and indistinct than in any of the other species: tentacles 
dark grey: back obliquely, but not strongly, keeled towards 
the tail: foot having very pale sides: slime milky. L. 1:5. 
B. 0:4. 

SELL obliquely oval or inclined to oblong, concave on the 
under side, rather thin, with indistinct lines of growth, and 
marked obliquely by exceedingly minute strize which cross 
each other: boss very small, slightly projecting behind on one 
side: margin membranous, rather broad, and obliquely striate. 


tie. B. 0-1, 

Hasrtat: Fields, gardens, and woods throughout the 
British Isles. The shell is also one of our upper tertiary 
fossils. Its foreign distribution extends from Siberia to 
Corsica and Algeria, and (according to Lowe) Madeira. 

This slug is a great pest in the kitchen garden, and 
does not even spare succulent leaves and roots of flower- 
plants. Mr. Whiteaves says that it also feeds on earth- 


* Tnhabiting fields. 


LIMAX. 135 


worms. Its slime is abundant and viscous, feeling like 
a lump of sticky fat. Miller states that when it is 
touched it draws in its horns and remains all day as if it 
were dead, but in the evening it recovers itself. It is 
extremely prolific, producing several families, averaging 
fifty each, in the course of the breeding-season, viz. from 
April to November. According to Leuch, a German 
naturalist, a pair of these slugs have been known to lay 
776 eggs. These eggs have retained their vitality and 
the young have been developed from them after having 
been dried eight times successively in a furnace. It has 
the same faculty as L. arborum of letting itself down 
from one branch of a tree to another or to the ground, 
by means of a slimy thread. Mr. Norman informs me 
that in the earlier part of the year this slug is usually 
creamy-white or light-drab; that as the summer passes 
away it assumes a darker hue, and brown flakes are 
more or less thickly scattered over the surface; and 
that during the autumn it is frequently of a rich brown 
colour. A monstrosity of L. agrestis was found by Mr. 
Gibbs, having the upper tentacles united into one. 

Lister first distinguished the field-slug from other 
kinds by its smaller size and the nature of its slime; 
and he also described its shell by appropriate characters. 
This shell is the Limacella obliqua of Brard. 


5. L. ar’ porum *, Bouchard-Chantereaux. 


L. arborum, Bouch.-Chant. Moll. Pas-de-Cal. p. 28; F. & H. iv. p. 17, 
pl. E. E. E. f. 2 (as L. arboreus). 


Bopy rather slender, gelatinous, sea-green or bluish-grey 
with irregular yellowish-white spots, indistinctly streaked with 
a darker colour down the sides, leaving a lighter stripe in the 
middle from the shield to the tail, finely wrinkled: shield 


* Inhabiting trees. 


136 LIMACID. 


rounded in front and obtusely angulated behind, the concentric 
or transverse strie rather fine, streaked lengthwise, the middle 
stripe being usually darker: tentacles. short, yellowish-grey : 
back distinctly keeled towards the tail: foot having its edges 
nearly white: slime colourless. L. 3. B. 0-4. 


Suet squarish-oval, nearly flat, very thin, glossy, and iri- 
descent, with minute nacreous tubercles ; lines of growth in- 
distinct, obliquely striate as in the last species: boss nearly 
inconspicuous and subterminal : margin broad, thin and mem- 
branous. L. 0:2. B. 0-125. 


Hasrtat: Trees (especially the beech), as well as among 
rocks and under stones, both inland and on the sea-coast, 
in most parts of Great Britain, from the north of Zetland 
to the Channel Isles. According to Von Martens, it 1s 
the L. Livonicus of Schrenck, and inhabits Russia ; it 
occurs in several parts of Norway; Bouchard-Chan- 
tereaux and Normand have instanced localities in the 
North of France, and I have found it in the Lower Harz: 
but it has not been noticed further south. It has been 
probably mistaken for the young of the next species. 

M. Bouchard-Chantereaux, who first described the 
tree-slug, says that it prefers old trees, feeding on de- 
cayed wood and not touching the leaves; and he adds 
that it is not prolific. He has often seen the young 
(which he believes to be the L. filans or spinning-slug of 
Hoy and some other English authors of the last century) 
spin its slimy thread and descend from one branch to 
another, but not plunging into air (or taking what bathers 
would call “a header”) without apparent fear and 
hesitation, the sole of its foot exhibiting durimg the 
descent a similar movement to that which is observable 
while it is crawling on the sides of a glass vessel. Ina 
remote cluster of the Shetland Isles, called the Out- 
Skerries, where I have taken this slug, with my friend 
Mr. Norman, no trees exist ; but perhaps it found de- 


LIMAX. 137 


caying seaweed to be equally palatable. Its slime is 
abundant ; and the animal, on being touched, yields a 
fluid like clear water. Professor E. Forbes found it 
plentifully, creepmg on bare stones and rocks, at an 
elevation of above 1500 feet, near Connor Cliffs, above 
Dingle, in Kerry. Mr. Lowe observes that it prefers 
walnut-trees. Mr. Daniel informs me that he has seen 
this slug in couples during the pairing-season suspended 
by slimy threads from the branch of a tree. 


6. L. max'imus*, Linné. 


L. maximus, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 108. L. cinereus, F. & H. iv. 
pote, pl. D. Det 1: 


Bopy rather slender, yellowish-grey, but varying in intensity 
of colour and being sometimes quite black, with occasionally 
streaks or spots of black or white, covered with numerous and 
_ elongated tubercles, so as to appear strongly wrinkled: shield 
oblong, very tumid, somewhat contracted or even pointed 
behind, distinctly and regularly striate: tentacles (especially 
the upper pair) long in comparison with those of other species, 
yellowish-brown : back rounded, except close to the tail, where 
there is a slight keel: foot edged with white: slime whitish. 
L. 4:5.) B. 0-75: 


SHELL squarish-oblong, rather convex above and nearly flat 
beneath, solid, irregularly crystalline, rather glossy and na- 
creous, with distinct lines of growth, obliquely striate as in 
the two last species : boss very small, placed near one end : mar- 
gim thin and membranous. L. 0:5.  B. 0:325. 


Haxsirat: Woods, gardens, hedges, under old logs of 
wood, and nearly everywhere in town and country. Its 
foreign range extends from Finland to Corsica and 
Algeria, and (according to Mr, Lowe) Madeira. 

This is the largest species of Limax, and sometimes 
exceeds six inches in length. It is inactive in its habits, 
not very prolific, and exudes a thick and glutinous slime, 


* Largest. 


138 LIMACIDZ. 


which is iridescent when dried. Its eggs are deposited 
in a cluster and slightly attached to each other. When 
alarmed, or at rest, this slug merely draws its head within 
the shield, but does not otherwise contract its body. 
When irritated, it is said to expand its shield. It is 
liable to be infested, as well as some of the other slugs, 
by a white parasitic mite, called Philodromus (or Acarus) 
limacum, which swarms about its body and, according 
to Mr. Jenyns, dwells in its respiratory cavity, but which 
does not seem to cause the slug any harm or incon- 
venience, except perhaps in feeding on its slime and 
slightly lessening the secretion. Mr. Daniel informs me 
that these slugs suspend themselves in pairs during the 
breeding-season by threads of slime, and that they always 
feed by night, but that the variety cinereo-niger of 
Nilsson prefers terra firma to mid-air and keeps much 
more respectable hours. Like all other slugs and snails, 
it will soon eat its way out of a large pill-box, or even a 
stouter one made of cardboard, if confined in it. The 
shell or ossicle which is contained under the shield was 
known to Pliny; and it was used by the ancient phy- 
sicians for the sake of its carbonate of hme. The sub- 
stratum of this shell is membranous ; and a layer of the 
same filmy material covers the upper surface, having the 
appearance and character rather of a periosteum than of 
a Molluscan epidermis. 

The young of this species may be distinguished from 
L. arborum, among other respects, by its upper tentacles 
being proportionally much longer, as well as by the pos- 
terior margin of its shell being more pointed. The shell 
of L. maximus is also longer, more convex, and thicker. 

Miiller gave this species the name of cinereus, on the 
supposition that the L. maximus of Linné might be a 
variety of Arion ater; but the diagnosis of the great 


LIMAX. 139 


Swedish naturalist is couched in the same terms as that 
of his predecessor, Lister, who accurately distinguished 
the present species from the black slug. It is the L. 
antiquorum of Férussac ; and the shell is the Limacella 
parma of Brard. 

The ZL. brunneus of Bouchard-Chantereaux (I. & H. 
iv. p. 20, pl. F. F. F. f. 4) is, according to Moquin-Tan- 
don, a doubtful species; and it is probably only one of 
the numerous varieties of L. agrestis. It is rather local, 
but appears to be widely distributed in this country, from 
Zetland to Cornwall. In France its range extends 
from Boulogne to the Pyrenees. In Dr. Gordon’s ex- 
cellent contributions to the ‘ Zoologist’ it is stated that 
this little slug, which is not uncommon in the Moray 
Firth district, is the most lively and fearless of its tribe, 
and that when disturbed, stead of contracting itself 
into a lump, like most of its congeners, it makes bold 
and repeated efforts to escape from the annoyance and 
crawl away. The only essential difference that I can 
detect between it and L. agrestis is, that this slug is 
smaller (scarcely an inch in length when crawling), and 
of a uniform brown colour; and M. Bouchard-Chan- 
tereaux admits that it is closely allied to the latter species. 
The original L. drunneus of Draparnaud differs somewhat 
in colour. The British species so called appears to be 
the L. parvulus of Normand (Descr. Lim. Valenciennes, 
p- 8), judging from his description. 

The L. tenellus of Forbes and Hanley (iv. p. 21, pl. 
F. F. F. f.3), which they refer to Miiller’s species of that 
name, can scarcely be considered as more than provi- 
sionally introduced into the list of British slugs. Moquin- 
Tandon reckons this also to be a doubtful species. 
Miiller describes his L. tenellus as being ten inches long 
(although this is evidently a typographical error) ; and 


140 TESTACELLID. 


Nilsson describes his species of the same name as being 
equal in size to L. flavus; while the authors of the 
‘British Mollusca’ state that the dimensions of their 
slug do not exceed an inch and a quarter in length. 
Miller, Draparnaud, and Nilsson also mention its 
having a greenish hue, which the British slug does 
not appear to have possessed. M. Drouet says this 
species belongs to Arion. A single specimen was found 
by Mr. Blacklock in a wood at Allansford, near Shortly 
Bridge, in Northumberland, and by him communicated 
to Mr. Alder, who published the discovery in the ‘ Trans- 
actions of the Northumberland and Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne Natural History Society.’ It may possibly have 
been the young or a variety of L. flavus. As, however, 
this tribe is gregarious or at any rate individually 
numerous, it is to be hoped that further researches will 
be made, so as to settle the question as regards not only 
the specific distinction of this slug, but also the pro- 
priety of its admission into the British fauna. 


Family Il. TESTACELLID/. 


Bopy cylindrical, exceedingly long and flexible: manile ru- 
dimentary, but capable of being occasionally expanded, gene- 
rally covered by the shell: other characters similar to those of 
Limacide, except in a few anatomical particulars. 

Suet ear-shaped, with a very small terminal spire, ex- 


ternal, and occupying the same place as the mantle in the last 
family. 


This family comprises only one genus, viz.,— 


TESTACEL’LA*, Cuvier. Pl. V. f. 6-9. 


Bopy of a firm texture, with a nearly smooth skin: tentacles 
cylindrical : labial palps extensible: foot margined. 


* Diminutive shell. 


TESTACELLA. 141 


SHELL solid: spire consisting of half a whorl: columellar fold 
internal, very broad. 

This peculiar genus appears to form a natural family 
of itself, when viewed with respect to the British Mol- 
lusca only; but it is connected with the Slugs on the 
one hand through the genus Parmacella, which has no 
representative in this country, and on the other hand 
with the Snails through the Vitrina semilimax of Fé- 
russac (also a Continental mollusk), which Oken called a 
Testacella. 'The Testacelle partake in some degree of 
the nature both of a Slug and a Snail, having a long 
naked body and a small shell placed near its tail. The 
shell serves to protect the heart, liver, and other vital 
organs. The Snail-slug was first made known by the 
celebrated Réaumur in 1740 through the Academy of 
Sciences at Paris, in consequence of a communication 
made to him by M. Dugué from Dieppe, and which con- 
tains an excellent account of the shape, habits, and mode 
of reproduction of this curious mollusk. From that 
period down to 1800, many observations were made and 
recorded in France on the same subject ; but it was only 
in the last-mentioned year that Cuvier, being struck by 
the remarkable aspect of the shell, constituted for it, in 
his ‘ Lessons on Comparative Anatomy,’ the genus Tes- 
tacella. 'This name was adopted both by Lamarck and 
Draparnaud in 1801; but in the following year it was 
erroneously altered by Faure-Biguet to Testacellus. This 
slight history of the name is given’ to prevent a con- 
tmuance of this mistake, which was adopted by Fé- 
russac, Sowerby, Gray, and other naturalists. By far 
the most complete and valuable account, considered in a 
conchological as well as a paleontological point of view, 
which has been given of this genus, is contained in a 


142 TESTACELLIDZ. 


monograph by MM. Gassies and Fischer, published at 
Paris in 1856. 

The Testacella appears to be the only land-mollusk 
which has truly predaceous habits ; its marme representa- 
tives in this respect being the Cuttle and the Whelk. It 
is scarcely inferior to the tiger, snake, or shark in its 
cunning and ferocity. Its prey chiefly consists of earth- 
worms, which it hunts underground and pursues through 
their galleries, crouching occasionally and making a 
spring on its victim. It is said that when the poor worm 
has had the start of its pursuer, the Snail-slug intercepts 
it by tunnelling across the line of its retreat. It will 
devour a lob-worm much longer than itself, seizing it in 
the middle; and when the writhings have been succeeded 
by exhaustion, it detaches and swallows one half of the 
worm; and after that has been digested, it finishes its 
long meal with the other portion. For this purpose its 
mouth is furnished with an apparatus of sharp recurved 
teeth, which enables the Testacella to retain a firm hold 
of its victim and swallow it more easily. The worm is — 
provided with some means of defence, in the rows of stiff 
bristles which encircle its rings; and by contracting its 
body a short respite is occasionally gained. But the 
chance of ultimate escape or safety is very slight. When 
the Testacella sces or scents its prey, it glides softly and 
cautiously towards it ; and, apparently without taking any 
notice of the worm, it seems to feel its way, and usually 
succeeds in fastening itself on an unprotected part of 
the body between the rigs. The attack, if unsuccessful 
at first, is renewed ; but if the worm resists too long, the 
Testacella gets impatient, and by pressing or doubling 
its victim into the earth, by which means the rings are 
forced open, its purpose is effected and the meal secured. 


TESTACELLA. 143 


Although it also feeds on slugs and snails, and even on its 
own species (the shells of which have been found in its 
stomach), it will not eat dead animals, and even refuses 
pieces of a fresh worm which has been chopped up to 
feed it. It only sallies out at night in search of its prey, 
burying itself deep in the ground during the daytime. 
After having gorged itself with a worm, it rests many 
hours in a half-torpid state until the meal has been di- 
_ gested ; and it can remain fasting a long time (as much as 
fourteen or fifteen nights) until hunger impels it to make 
a fresh hunt. It does not fear the cold, or appear to 
suffer any inconvenience from it except when the ground 
is hardened by frost ; and in this respect it resembles the 
Slugs, the Vitrine, and some of the Zonites, all of which 
are nearly as carnivorous and hardy as the Testacella. 
Gassies and Fischer are of opinion that the holes which 
_ may be sometimes remarked im the shields of the Limaz 
gagates and other Slugs have been made by the Testa- 
cella, for the sake of extracting the calcareous matter 
from the mternal shells or Limacelle of the Slugs to 
form its own more complete shell ; and they have noticed 
that the Slugs which have been thus attacked soon die. 
If the Testacella is taken fresh from the ground and kept 
a short time in the hand, the warmth seems to revive it 
and induce it to crawl away; but if its retreat is op- 
posed, it will violently bite the skin and oblige the ex- 
perimentalist to let it go, from an instinctive feeling of 
disgust. During cold northerly and easterly winds these 
creatures enclose their bodies in a kind of cocoon, like 
that of the silkworm, which is secreted from their skin 
and often mixed with earthy and extraneous particles. 
Mr. Norman has informed me that in this state their 
mantle is expanded to such an extent as to cover all the 
upper part of the body. Férussac appears to have been 


144 TESTACELLIDZ. 


mistaken in supposing that the whole of the body was 
enveloped by the mantle. If this slimy pellicle be sud- 
denly removed, the Snail-slug is liable to be attacked by 
a disease which usually ends in its death. Heavy rains 
destroy anumber of them. The average length of life in 
the Festacelle appears to be five or six years. Their 
smell is like that of worms, but even more nauseous. 
They chiefiy frequent gardens, where they are sure of 
finding their proper food; but they may occasionally be 
met with in woods near inhabited places, as well as at the 
foot of old walls. In winter they bury themselves very 
deep in the ground; and my gardener once brought me 
living specimens of 7. Maugei which he had dug up in 
trenching some celery-roots at a depth of about two feet. 
The eggs are laid separately, and are very large in pro- 
portion to the size of the body. ‘These somewhat re- 
semble hen’s eggs both in shape and consistency, and 
are covered with a rather thick and tough skin. If they 
are taken out of the earth and exposed to a cold air, they 
frequently crack and burst in pieces which fly off to some 
little distance. Faure-Biguet appears to have succeeded 
in preserving the eggs under such circumstances by 
plunging them as soon as taken into boiling water. It 
is believed that the Testacell@ never come to the surface, 
except occasionally during the breeding-season, but that 
at all other times they live underground. Their eyes, 
however, are perfect ; and their horns, or tentacles, are 
rather long and extremely sensitive. 


TESTACELLA. 145 


TestaceELLA Hatiorr’pEa*, Draparnaud. 


T. haliotidea, Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 121, tab. ix. f. 12-14. 7. haliotoidea, 
F. & H. iv. p. 26, pl. G. G. G. f. 1. 


Bopy contracted towards the front and somewhat pointed at 
the head, rather smaller in the middle, a little broader behind, 
capable of extending itself like a worm, with a thick and 
tough skin, which is smooth when the animal is crawling at its 
full length, but transversely wrinkled when it is at rest, yel- 
lowish-brown, sometimes mottled or speckled with black, red, 
or white. /ips or labial lobes flexible and extensible, resembling 
a third (but much shorter and thicker) pair of tentacles : mantle 
very small and thin, not much larger than the shell: tentacles 
rather short, smooth, brown, very little swollen at their ex- 
tremities: eyes placed on the upper side of the tentacular ex- 
tremities, but not quite at the end: back convex, divided into 
three nearly equal parts by two longitudinal grooves which 
extend on each side of it from the front edge of the shell to 
within a very short distance of the tentacles; these grooves 
have parallel offsets above and below, which are finely rami- 
‘fied: foot bordered with distinct and prominent edges. L. 3. 
B. 0-4. 


Suet oblong, compressed, especially in the middle and to- 
wards the front margin, solid, not glossy, closely striate by 
the lines of growth, and sometimes also marked by a few in- 
distinct lines which radiate from the spiral point: epidermis 
rather thick: spire terminal, sharp, and very small: anterior 
margin rounded : posterior margin obliquely truncate: lateral 
margins obtusely curved: mouth exceedingly large: pillar lip 
thickened and shghtly reflected: fold flat and sharp-edged. 
0:25. B.,O°L5: 


Var. scutulum. Body yellowish, speckled with brown. Shell 
narrower: spire more produced and pointed. Testacella scu- 
tulum, Sowerby, Gen. Sh. f. 3-6. 


Hasitat: Gardens at Norwich, Plymouth, Bideford, 
Youghal, and Bandon. The variety, which was first dis- 
covered by the late Mr. Sowerby in his garden at Lam- 
beth, is not uncommon in many parts of the metropolitan 


* Resembling a Haliofis or ear shell. 


146 TESTACELLID. 


district, as well as in Guernsey. This species has been 
noticed by Continental writers as occurring throughout 
a great part of France (principally in the South and 
South-west, but also, according to Collard des Cherres 
and De Hopital, in the Department of Finisterre and at 
Caen), Spain, Algeria, Corsica, Sicily, Madeira, and the 
Canary Isles. It has also been found in a fossil state 
near Clermont and in the South of France. 

Whether this smgular and somewhat anomalous mol- 
lusk is really indigenous to this country, or has been in- 
troduced and acclimatized, it is almost impossible to say. 
The means by which Mollusca become spread are various ; 
and Man is one of the unconscious agents of such diffu- 
sion. A usual habitat of this kind of Testacella is at the 
roots of flower-plants, or under heaps of dead leaves in 
gardens ; and if a plant were imported into this country 
from the botanic garden at Montpellier with the native 
soil or a compost made of leaf-mould, either the Snail- 
slug or its eggs would perhaps accompany it. 

The European Snail-slug is by no means prolific, lay- 
ing only 6 or 7 eggs from April to July. During this 
operation its head and tentacles are drawn in. The eggs, 
when new-laid, are pointed at each end. The young are 
excluded at the end of from twenty-five to thirty days. 
The slime is abundant and colourless. 

Mr. Tapping described in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1856 
(p. 5105) what he considered a new species of British 
Testacella, under the name of Medii-Templi. It was 
found in only one part of the Middle-Temple Gardens, 
under the shelter of a south-west wall. But his descrip- 
tion scarcely differs from that of the variety scutulum ; 
and Mr. Norman, who has examined typical specimens of 
the supposed species, informs me that they belong to 
that variety. The colour of the body, as well as the form 


TESTACELLA. 14:7 


of the shell, are exceedingly variable characters in this 
genus. 

It is the Testacella Europea of De Roissy, who pro- 
posed a change of name in consequence of Lamarck 
having, a few months previous to the publication of the 
‘Histoire’ of Draparnaud, described what was then sup- 
posed to be the same species under the somewhat similar 
name of Haliotoides; but it now appears that Lamarck’s 
species is the one which I am next about to notice. 

The 7. Maugei of Férussac was observed by the late 
Mr. J. 8. Miller, the Curator of the Philosophical Insti- 
tution of Bristol, between forty and fifty years ago, in 
the nursery-gardens of Messrs. Miller and Sweet, near 
that city, where it is still to be found in considerable 
numbers. It has been since, to a certain extent, natu- 
ralized or acclimatized in this country, having been ob- 
‘served in other parts of Somersetshire, as well as at Ply- 
mouth and Cork. I may add to this list of localities my 
own garden at Norton near Swansea, which was occa- 
sionally supplied with plants from Miller and Sweet’s 
nurseries. It was originally (in 1801) noticed as a native 
of Teneriffe; and it appears to be also indigenous to 
Madeira, the Canary Isles, Portugal, and the South-west 
of France. <A variety of it (called 7. Deshayesii or 
Alte-ripe) occurs in a fossil state at Haute-Rive in 
France. This species has a smaller head, as well as a 
much larger and more convex (almost semicylindrical) 
shell, than 7. Haliotidea. The present species is more 
prolific and gregarious than its congeners. Mr. Norman 
has kept specimens of 7. Mauget, as well as of 7. Halio- 
tidea and its variety scutulum, alive for some time, and 
has carefully watched their habits in a state of confine- 
ment. He says that the nest of earth which 7. Maugei 
makes for itself in times of drought reminded him not a 

H 2 


1438 TESTACELLID. 


little of the cocoon of the Puss-moth. Within this co- 
coon the Testacella lies encysted until moisture, working 
its way through the walls of its dwelling, rouses it again 
into activity and sends it forth in quest of food. While 
in the encysted state, a thin white membrane (a deve- 
lopment of the mantle) is extended from beneath the 
shell and stretched over the back and sides of the ani- 
mal. An admirably-designed protective shield is thus 
formed, which checks evaporation from the surface of 
the body, and enables the flow of mucus, which is so 
essential to the life of the animal, still to course along 
the lateral canals and thence be distributed through the 
branching channels over the entire surface of the body. 
When 7. Maugei is removed from its cyst and the body 
moistened with water, the extended membrane is gradu- 
ally retracted until it is entirely withdrawn beneath the 
shell. Mr. Norman also remarks that the habits of this 
species resemble in many respects those of the earth- 
worm, which (like the Testacella) may in times of drought 
be found coiled up in as compact a mass as possible 
within a chamber of the baked soil. The 7. Maugei 
has also the power of greatly elongating and extending 
the body, which very much facilitates its passage through 
the earth. The Testacella and its prey are both noc- 
turnal animals; and those who wish to procure speci- 
mens should look for them at daybreak, especially after 
a warm dewy night in the months of July and August. 
Mr. Norman has had as many as five dozen living 
T. Mauget sent to him from Clifton, which were taken 
in this way. The eggs of this species are large, oval, 
opaque, and covered with a cream-coloured tough skin. 
The shell is developed upon the young, while still in the 
embryo state. 


HELICID®. 149 


Family Hl. HELICID:. 


Bopy long and spirally coiled: mantle covering the front or 
anterior part: tentacles nearly always 4 (rarely 2 only), re- 
tractile: eyes placed on the tips of the upper or single pair : 
foot oblong, distinct from the rest of the body. 


Swett spiral, and in almost every case capable of containing 
the whole body. 


This family comprises the true Snails, and abounds in 
species as well as individuals. lL. Pfeiffer described no 
less than 1149 species of the typical genus, Helix, in 
1848, when his very serviceable Monograph on this 
family was published; and if we add to this list the re- 
sult of subsequent discoveries or reputed novelties, as 
well as all the species of Bulimus and other allied genera 
(which scarcely differ from Helix, and are only considered 
_distinet for the sake of more easy classification), we can 
form some idea how exceedingly numerous this family 
is. ‘Strictly speaking, it only consists of one genus, like 
Testacellide ; and there is rather a generic than a family 
resemblance among its members. The chief points of 
difference between the genera of the present family are, 
that in Succinea the body is ordinarily a trifle larger 
than the shell; m Vertigo the two lower or smaller ten- 
tacles are wanting ; in Clausilia the shell has a reversed 
spire, and is furnished inside with a small moveable pro- 
cess ; in Bulimus, Pupa, and Bala the spire is longer, 
and in the last-mentioned genus reversed; while in 
Cochhcopa and Achatina the spire is more produced and 
the mouth of the shell is channeled or notched at its base. 
But without some artificial classification of this kind the 
genus Heliz would be too unwieldy; and the division 
into subgenera is generally considered inconvenient, be- 
cause it occasions additional and unnecessary nomen- 


150 HELICIDA. 


clature. The genera into which this family may be 
divided, as regards the British species, are as follows :— 


* Shell oval, usually not quite covered by the body. 1. Suc- 
CINEA. 


** Shell globular or round, glassy, sometimes ‘covered in 
part by a lobe or expansion of the mantle. 2. Virria. 
3. ZONITES. 


*** Shell shaped like the last, but not glassy, nor any part of 
it covered by the mantle. 4. Hetrx. 


*#** Shell cylindrical: mouth often furnished inside with 
teeth, and in one genus also with a moveable plate. 5. Bu- 
Limus. 6. Pupa. 7. Vertiao. 8. Barra. 9. Cravsiria. 


*#*** Shell shaped like the last: mouth more or less notched 
at the base, and sometimes also toothed. 10. Cocuurcopa. 
11. AcwatTrma. 


Genus I. SUCCI’NEA*, Draparnaud. 
Pl. VI. £. 1-3. 


Bopy gelatinous, usually incapable of being quite contained 
within the shell: tentacles 4; upper pair conic, lower pair very 
short: foot large, oblong. 

SHELL oval or oblong, thin, amber-colour: spire short: 
mouth large. 

The Amber Snails are allied to the Limnee in form 
and habits, as well as in some respects to the Slugs and 
the true Snails, or Helices—showing that the order of 
Nature is not like the steps of a ladder, but bears a 
greater resemblance to chain- or net-work, every link or 
mesh of which is connected with the other. These snails 
are In a great measure amphibious. Mr. Benson men- 
tions his having found our common species (S. putris) 
creeping on stones under water in an Irish lough, in 
company with species of Planorbis, Bythinia, and Physa, 


* Amber-colour. 


SUCCINEA. 151 


although he had also observed that an Indian species of 
Succinea frequented dry places where no water ever 
lodged. Miiller says, however, that they are no more 
amphibious than Helix nemoralis, a variety of which he 
had seen living many days in a brook. Although the 
Succinee inhabit the banks of lakes and marshy places, 
and may even, after a flood of heavy or continued rain, 
be seen under water, I have noticed that they do not 
like remaining in it, but crawl out on comparatively 
dry land, or climb up the stalks of aquatic plants and 
willows. When they are under water they draw in their 
tentacles. They can float on the water in a reversed 
position ; and in dry weather they withdraw themselves 
far into the shell, covering up the mouth with a mem- 
branous epiphragm like the Planorbis spirorbis, var. leu- 
costoma. They are vegetable feeders. Their eggs are 
agglutinated together and deposited on the stalks and 
leaves of aquatic plants, as well as upon stones at the 
water’s edge. Succinee are found in all parts of the 
world ; and the extent of their variation is equally great. 
Their shells may be distinguished from those of Limnea 
by the absence of any fold on the columella or pillar. 


1. SuccinEa Pu TRIs *, Linné. 


Helix putris, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1249. 8. putris, F. & H. iv. 
p. 132, pl. cxxxi. fi 4, 5. 


Bopy rather thick, reddish-yellow, closely covered with 
small, flat and irregularly-shaped tubercles: tentacles short ; 
upper pair not much swollen at their tips, and marked with 
minute and indistinct black specks: snout, or front of the head, 
large and very tumid: foot broad, nearly truncate in front, 
triangular and slightly pointed behind. 


SHELL oval, very thin, semitransparent, glossy, of an amber- 


* Frequenting putridity. 


152 HELICID#. 


colour with often a greenish or reddish hue, finely but irregu- 
larly striate by the lines of growth, otherwise quite smooth: 
epidermis rather thick: whorls 3—4, convex, the last oecupy- 
ing at least four-fifths of the shell: spire short, abrupt and 
blunt at the point: suture rather oblique and deep: mouth 
oval: outer lip slightly thickened, contracted above, where it 
joins the columella: pillar lip sharp. L. 0-6, B, 0:3. 


Var. 1. swhglobosa. Shell shorter and broader in proportion 
to its length, usually much smaller and more solid. 


Var. 2. vitrea. Shell extremely thin: spire smaller. 
Var. 3. solidula. Shell much thicker, reddish-yellow. 


Hasitat: On water-plants and other herbage, as well 
as on mud, in all sorts of moist places, from the extreme 
north of Zetland to the Channel Isles. Var. 1. Marshes 
and by the side of lakes, on the sea-coast and mm moun- 
tainous districts. Var. 2. Carmarthenshire (J. G. J.) ; 
Cork (Humphreys). Var. 3. Deptford, Wilts (J.G. J.). 
This species is one of our upper tertiary fossils. Abroad 
it ranges from Siberia to Naples; and Captain Hutton 
has found it in Afghanistan. Probably some exotic 
species are mere varieties of this widely-diffused shell. 

It is a sluggish mollusk, and secretes a quantity of 
slime. The clusters of eggs are oblong. It hibernates 
early, and passes the winter attached to stones by means 
of its epiphragm, which resembles silver-paper. The 
shell sometimes attains the length of an inch. 

According to the strict rules of priority, Klein’s spe- 
cific name of vetula ought to be adopted ; but it is now 
obsolete. This name may possibly have been derived 
from an account which was given by Tulpius, an ancient 
and very learned physician, in his medical observations, _ 
of a wonderful cure performed on an old woman of 
eighty-nine by a dose of two of these snails pounded up 
alive ! 


SUCCINEA. 153 


2. S. B'LEGANS*, Risso. 


S. elegans, Risso, Moll. Alp. Marit. p. 59, no. 128. S. putris, var., F.& H. 
iv. p. 135, pl. exxxi. f. 1-3. 


Bopy thick, yellowish-brown, sometimes nearly black, co- 
vered with minute round tubercles and clusters of black 
specks : tentacles very short, yellowish-white and transparent, 
streaked down the middle with lines of black specks; upper 
pair rounded at their tips: snout round and somewhat tumid : 
foot broad, rounded in front and behind, narrower at the tail. 


SHELL oblong, not very thin, glossy, scarcely semitrans- 
parent, amber-colour with a brownish or reddish hue, sculp- 
tured like the last species: epidermis rather thin: whorls 3-4, 
moderately convex but compressed towards the suture, the 
last occupying about three-fourths of the shell: spzre rather 
short and pointed: sutwre remarkably oblique, not very deep : 
mouth oval: outer lip slightly thickened and considerably in- 
fiected above: pillar lip sharp. L. 0-6. B. 0-25. 


Var. 1. minor. Shell smaller and thinner, of a reddish- 
brown colour, with a shorter spive and more expanded mouth. 


Var. 2. ochracea. Shell smaller and thicker, also reddish- 
brown, with a larger spire and smaller mouth. 


Hasitat: Similar situations and as extensively distri- 
buted as S. putris. Var. 1. Falmouth; Hammersmith 
(J. G.J.). Var. 2. Scarborough (Bean); Newcastle 
(Alder) ; Tenby ; Tingwall lake, Zetland (J. G.J.). The 
last variety is often mistaken for S. oblonga. This spe- 
cies is also one of our upper tertiary fossils. Abroad it 
is found everywhere between Finland and Sicily. <Ac- 
cording to Deshayes, it inhabits the Morea; and Captain 
Hutton notices it as an Afghanistan shell. 

The present species sometimes occurs living with S. 
putris, of which, on account of the great variability of 
form which prevails in all the species of this genus, 
S. elegans has been considered by some authors as a 
variety. Each of these species has, however, its own 


* Graceful. 


Ho 


154 HELICID. 


corresponding variety ; and I am inclined to consider 
them distinct. The species now under consideration 
differs from S. putris in the darker colour of its body 
and the more slender shape of the shell, as well as in 
its longer and more pointed spire. It forms a passage 
through its second variety from the last to the next 
species. 

It is the S. Pfeiffert of Rossmassler, as well as the 
S. gracilis of Alder, but not of Lea. M. Bourguignat 
has ascertaimed, by a recent examination of Risso’s col- 
lection, that it is the present species which the celebrated 
naturalist of Nice described as S. elegans ; and his de- 
scription sufficiently corresponds with that of Ross- 
massler. 


3. S. opton’Ga*, Draparnaud. 


S. oblonga, Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 59, pl. iii. f. 24, 25; F. & H. iv. p. 137, 
pl. exxxi f. 6, 7. 


Bopy short, brown or grey of different shades, with some- 
times minute black spots, finely shagreened: tentacles rather 
short ; upper pair scarcely inflated at their tips: foot short and 
rather broad, bluntly pointed behind. 

Suett oblong-oval, rather solid, moderately glossy, brownish 
or reddish-yellow, with sometimes a greenish hue, rather 
strongly but irregularly striate by the lines of growth, but 
devoid of any other sculpture: epidermis thick: whorls 3-4, 
convex, the last occupying about two-thirds of the shell: spare 
prominent, but abrupt and blunt at the point: sutwre oblique 
and very deep: mouth roundish-oval: outer lip rather thick, 
considerably incurved on the columella: inner lip slightly re- 
flected. L. 0:25. B. 0°175. 


Haxitat: Dry ditches, chiefly near the sea-coast. It 
is a very local species in this country. I have found it 
among the sand-hills on Crymlyn Burrows near Swan- 
sea, and in a similar situation on Braunton Burrows 


* Oblong. 


VITRINA. 155 
near Bideford in North Devon. Mr. Kenyon is said to 
have found it near Glasgow, Mr. M‘Andrew at Balti- 
more, Mr. Wright and Mr. Carroll near Cork, and 
Mr. Waller discovered it among turf-bogs at Fimnoe, 
Co. Tipperary. The last appears to be the only inland 
locality. It is not uncommon im our upper tertiaries. 
This species is widely diffused on the Continent from 
Sweden to Lugano; and the S. abbreviata of Morelet, 
from Braganza in Portugal, appears to be only a variety 
of it. 

S. oblonga is unmistakeably different from either of 
the foregoimg species, being invariably so very much 
smaller and having such a large spire in proportion to 
the size of the shell, with a deeper suture and a rounder 
mouth. I can scarcely regard the S. arenaria of Bou- 
chard-Chantereaux as even a well-marked variety of this 
species. Most, if not all, of the British specimens belong 
to this form. The greater solidity of its shell and the 
comparatively shorter spire are probably owing to the 
nature of its habitat. According to Bouchard-Chan- 
tereaux this variety buries itself m the sand and makes 
a rather solid epiphragm. ‘The shell is usually covered 
with a viscous slime or exudation from the animal, by 
which a slight coating of dirt is sometimes formed. 


Genus II. VITRINA*, Draparnaud. Pl. VI. f. 4-6. 


Bopy short, usually incapable of being quite contained within 
the shell: mantle furnished with a supplementary lobe, which 
is extended over the front of the shell when the animal crawls : 
tentacles 4, cylindrical, the lower pair very short: foot rather 
narrow. 

SHELL somewhat globular, extremely thin and transparent : 
spire short: mouth obliquely semilunar: outer ip thin: no 
umbilicus. 

* From vitrum, glass. 


156 HELICID. 


These little Glass-Snails are allied to the Slugs in 
some of their habits, and to the true Snails in the form of 
their shells, leading to the former through Succinea and 
to the latter through Zonites. Their food is partly vege- 
table, consisting of Jungermannie and decayed leaves, 
and partly animal. They are said to attack earth-worms, 
although not in the same way as Testacelle. 1 once saw 
no less than seven individuals of V. pellucida busily en- 
gaged in feeding on a scarcely dead worm, which was 
faintly writhing about and endeavouring in vain to get 
rid of its tiny assailants. They have also been noticed 
eating horsedung. They live in moist and shady places, 
but are seldom met with until late in the autumn. Their 
eggs are deposited in small heaps and have a membranous 
covering. The whole of the body can be withdrawn ito 
the shell. They are very hardy, and capable of enduring 
an extreme degree of cold. I have found a variety of 
the V. diaphana on the Rifelberg near Monte Rosa, at a 
height of between 7000 and 8000 feet above the level of 
the sea, living among perpetual snows and on ground 
that never thaws. Only one species now inhabits this 
country, although another (V. diaphana) formerly did 
80, as is proved by its occurrence in our upper tertiary 
strata. This last species hasa wide range over the Con- 
tinent, and, according to Potiez and Michaud, inhabits 
the North of France. It has been observed on the 
Vosges Mountains at a height of upwards of 4000 feet. 
Several other species are found on the Continent. 


VITRINA PELLU c1pA*, Miiller. 


V. pellucida, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. - 15; F. & H. iv. p. 30, pl. cxxxi. 
f. 8-10, and (animal) pl. I. I. I. f. 2 


Bopy rather slender, grey with more or less of a reddish 


* Transparent. 


VITRINA. 157 


tinge, and having some minute black specks on the anterior 
part: foot yellowish underneath, pointed behind. 


SHELL convex above, rather depressed below, exceedingly 
thin and brittle, remarkably glossy and almost iridescent, 
nearly transparent, marked indistinctly by the lines of growth, 
as well as by close-set and very minute striz in a spiral di- 
rection: epidermis thin: whorls 3-4, convex, the last occu- 
pying more than two-thirds of the shell: spire extremely short, 
rising gradually to a blunt point: sutwre very slight, forming 
a narrow groove, which is striate across: mouth nearly round, 
except where it is interrupted by the periphery of the penul- 
timate whorl: outer lip not very thin, nor inflected above : 
pillar lip sharp. L. 0-125.  B. 0-25. 


Var. 1. depressiuscula, Shell rather oval and flatter on. 
both sides: spire scarcely raised above the level of the last 
whorl. V. Draparnaldi and V. depressa, Jettr. in Linn. Trans. 
XVl. pp. 326, 327. 


Var. 2. Dillwynit. Shell nearly globular, with the last 
whorl very convex: spire more prominent. V. Dillwynu, 
Jeffr. 1. c. p. 506. 


Haxsitar: Under stones and logs of wood, as well as 
among moss and dead leaves, in woods and shady places 
throughout Great Britam. Var. 1. Neighbourhood of 
Swansea and Plymouth (J. G. J.). It approaches very 
near to V. major of the elder Férussac and V. Drapar- 
naldi of Cuvier, with which I at one time considered it 
to be identical. Var. 2. Sand-hills near Swansea, at 
the roots of Rosa spinosissima. The foreign range of 
this common species extends from Siberia to Sicily. 

This is an active and hardy creature, and, whether 
crawling or at rest, it seems always to keep the outer 
lobe of its mantle in motion, so as to polish the shell. 
Bouchard-Chantereaux says that it does not begin laying 
its eggs until September, October, or November, and that 
the young attain their full growth in from eight to ten 
months. He believes it does not live longer than from 
twelve to fifteen months, having always found a number 


158 HELICID. 


of dead individuals in January, after the close of the 
breeding-season. Miller has noticed that it is most 
lively during rain, and that it does not soon die if put im 
water. He added that while it was under water it ex- 
tended all its body except the tentacles, which were 
drawn in, and feigned death; that after the lapse of 
some hours it crept out of the water cautiously and by 
degrees, and if it was not alarmed by the observer it 
stretched out its horns, and after crawling into some 
place of shelter withdrew its body into the shell. Mr. 
Daniel, having collected both of these species in Ger- 
many, informs me that V. pellucida is much more gre- 
garious than V. diaphana. 


Genus III. ZONI'TES*, De Montfort. Pl. VI. f. 7-9. 


Bopy iong, rather bulky, but always capable of being con- 
tained within the shell: mantle thick and slightly reflected : 
tentacles 4, cylindrical, swollen or bulbous at the tips: foot 
narrow. 


SHELL conical, usually depressed, thin and semitransparent, 
extremely glossy: spzre composed of several whorls: mouth 
obliquely semilunar: outer lip thin: umbilicus more or less 
distinct. 


These pretty little snails resemble the Vitrine in the 
bulkiness of their bodies and the glassy appearance of 
their shells, as well as in the structure and arrangement 
of their dental apparatus or lingual riband. The edge 
teeth are hooked in the present genus and Vitrina, but 
serrated or notched in Heliz, Their habits also are 
nearly the same as those of the Vitrine, being rather 
zoophagous than phytophagous. They greedily devour 
all kinds of animal food, whether fresh or putrid; and 


* From zona, a girdle. 


ZONITES. 159 


they are said even to attack the larger snails and to enter 
their shells for that purpose. They frequent dark and 
damp places, being generally met with under stones, old 
bricks, and logs of wood which are partly buried in the 
earth, as well as under and among dead leaves and moss 
in woods ; and one kind inhabits cellars, vaults, and wells. 
Some of them give out when touched or disturbed a fetid 
smell like that of garlic, which may be perceived at a 
considerable distance. Their eggs are laid in the earth 
and joined together in small clusters. 


A. Spire depressed : umbilicus open. 


1. Zonrres ceiua’R1us*, Miiller. 


Helix cellaria, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 38. Z. cellarius, F. & H. iv. 
p. 33, pl. cxx. f. 1-3, and (animal) pl. H. H. H. f. 3. 


Bopy obtusely rounded in front and narrowing gradually 
behind, nearly covered with small and rounded but very flat 
tubercles, rather transparent, slate-colour or bluish-grey, with 
a faint tinge of yellow: tentacles long and slender, with very 
large bulbs surmounting the upper pair, bluish or yellowish- 
grey, finely speckled with black: foot very narrow, pointed 
and somewhat keeled behind. 


SHELL compressed, nearly as convex above as below, thin 
and brittle, very glossy, semitransparent, yellowish or brown- 
ish-horncolour above, and whitish with often a greenish tinge 
underneath, irregularly striate by the curved lines of growth, 
which are stronger near the suture, and microscopically stri- 
ate, like Vitrina, in a spiral direction : epidermis rather thick : 
whorls 5-6, dilated, regularly increasing in size, the last occu- 
pying about one-half of the shell: spire extremely short and 
nearly flat, almost central: suture slight, forming a narrow 
groove or channel: mouth obliquely and deeply semilunar: 
outer lip slightly reflected: umbilicus broad and deep, ex- 
posing nearly all the interior of the spire. L. 0:2. B. 0-5. 


Var. 1. complanata. Shell rather smaller: spire very flat. 


* Frequenting cellars. 


160 HELICID. 


Var. 2. albida. Shell white or colourless. 


Var. 3. compacta. Shell not so white underneath : whorls 
more convex and compact, the last not being so much dilated : 
spire more prominent. 


Hasirat: Cellars, vaults, drains and sculleries, under 
stones, loose bricks, tiles and logs of wood about houses, 
as well as under stones and fallen trees which have lain 
long on the ground in woods, everywhere from Zet- 
land to Guernsey. The varieties are occasionally found. 
Var. 3 approaches the next species in form. Z. cellarius 
occurs in a semifossil state at Copford, Clacton, and 
Maidstone. Its foreign distribution extends from Fin- 
land to Algeria and Sicily ; and Mr. Lowe has recorded 
it from Madeira and the Canaries. Gould has described 
it as a North-American species, and says it is the Helix 
glaphyra of Say; but he adds that it was probably im- 
ported from Europe about water-casks or greenhouse 
plants. 

Miller has noticed the shy habits of this snail, and 
says that, when crawling, it alternately withdraws one 
of its horns half-way, although there is no obstacle in 
front of it, and immediately puts it out agam. Mr. 
Sheppard remarked that it had a very fetid smell, much 
resembling that of the urine voided by the common 
snake se defendendo, and by which one might frequently 
be guided to the spot where it lies concealed. He also 
noticed that in some instances this odour was not per- 
ceptible until the snail had been immersed in boiling 
water. The organ of smell must be very acute in this, 
as well as all the other species of Zonites, judging from 
the size of their tentacular bulbs, in which this sense is 
supposed to be placed. Its slime is watery and abun- 
dant. The dark band which often encircles the suture 
in dead shells is owing to the dried remains of part of 


ZONITES. 16] 


the body appearing through the shell. A specimen in 
my collection has the outer or last whorl marked by a 
rufous band between the suture and the periphery. 

Linné does not appear to have known this common 
species. Much confusion has been caused by the post- 
humous editor of his ‘Systema Naturze’ (Gmelin) care- 
lessly changing the name which Miller gave to a differ- 
ent species of Helix from nitida to nitens, and applying 
the latter name to the present species. This is the 
Helix lucida of Pulteney, but not of Draparnaud, and 
the H. nitida of the last-named author. 


2. Z. ALLIA RIus*, Miller. 


Helix alliaria, Mill. in Ann. Phil. new ser. iii. p. 379. Z. alliarius, F.& H. 
iv. p. 34, pl. exx. f. 5, 6. 


Bopy resembling that of Z. cellarius; but it is of a much 
darker colour, and the tentacles are shorter in proportion. 


SHELL more convex above and less so below than in the 
last species, rather more solid and glossy, of a darker colour 
on the upper side and not so white underneath, sometimes 
marked with a few indistinct spiral lines: whorls 5, rather 
convex, often irregularly coiled, the last not so large in pro- 
portion to the others as in Z. cellarius: spire somewhat pro- 
duced: sutwre moderately deep, but not channeled: mouth 
narrow: outer lip sharp, slightly reflected near the pillar: 
umbilicus open and deep. L. 0-1. B. 0°275. 


Var. viridula. Shell greenish-white. 


Hasrtat: Under stones on hills and open spots, as 
well as among sand-hills ; having an equally wide distri- 
bution with the last species, but more local. The variety 
is from Northumberland (Alder); Kent (Smith); So- 
merset (Norman) ; Cork (Humphreys) ; Belfast (‘Thomp- 
son); Lincolnshire, Salop, Zetland, and Co. Tyrone 
(J. G. J.). This species is one of our upper tertiary 


* Garlicky. 


162 HELICIDA. 


fossils. It has been recorded by M. Grateloup as occur- 
ring at Dax in the Department of the Landes, and 
by M. Terver at Lyons ; but it has probably been passed 
over in other parts of Europe as a variety of Z. glaber, 
which is not uncommon in France, Germany, and Swit- 
zerland. 

This snail has a very strong and pungent smell of gar- 
lic, especially when it is irritated ; and I have perceived 
it at a distance of several feet from the spot. Having 
found living specimens under stones in a bed of wild 
garlic, I thought at first that they might have fed upon 
this herb and thus acquired the peculiar odour; but I 
afterwards observed that this scent was quite as power- 
ful in specimens collected on an open down where there 
was no garlic. Mr. Norman informs me that the scent 
varies in intensity, and is sometimes scarcely percep- 
tible, even after considerable irritation of the animal. 

It differs from Z. cellarius, the young of which it re- 
sembles, in the darker colour of its body and shorter 
tentacles, as well as in the spire of its shell being more 
produced, the mouth narrower, and the umbilicus more 
open. If the two shells are held sideways, with the 
mouth towards the observer, the last whorl of Z. cella- 
rius will appear deeper than in the other shell. 

There has been much controversy among Continental 
writers as to whether this species is distinct from the 
Helix glabra of Studer. I incline to the opinion of — 
Schmidt, that they are different. One test mentioned 
by this author in support of his view is rather curious, 
viz. that Z. alliarius wants the bitter flavour of the other 
species! I much doubt if all conchologists would relish 
making such experiments. 


ZONITES. 163 


3. Z. NiTI puLus *, Draparnaud. 


Helix nitidula, Drap. Hist. Moll. p.117.  Z. nitidulus, ¥. & H. iv. p. 36, 
pl. cxx. f. 8-10. 


Bopy dark-grey or slate-colour, with a brownish tinge, 
covered with flat and irregularly-shaped tubercles of a darker 
hue, which give a speckled appearance: tentacles rather short 
and conical; bulbs small: foot rather narrow in front, swollen 
and keeled behind. 

SHELL compressed, more convex above than below, thin, 
moderately glossy, scarcely semitransparent, brown or yel- 
lowish-horncolour above, whitish underneath, especially about 
the umbilicus ; sculptured as in Z. cellarius, but haying the 
spiral striz more regular and distinct: epidermis rather thick : 
whorls 4—5, convex and rounded, the last occupying rather 
more than one-half of the shell: spzre slightly raised, nearly 
central: suture rather deep: mouth round, except where it is 
interrupted by the periphery of the penultimate whorl : outer 
hip not so obliquely set as in the last species, nor reflected : 
umbilicus very broad and deep, fully exposing the interior of 
_the spire. L. 0°15. B. 0°33. 


Var. 1. nitens. Shell rather smaller and of a lighter colour, 
with a dull and waxy appearance; last whorl somewhat larger 
in proportion to the others and laterally expanded. Helix 
nitens, Michaud, Compl. Drap. p. 44, pl. xv. f. 1-5. 


Var. 2. Helmii. Shell resembling that of the above-men- 
tioned variety, but of a pearl-white colour. Helix Helmii, 
Gilbertson’s MS. 


Hasitat: Under stones and among dead leaves, moss, 
and herbage in woods, hedge-banks, and elsewhere in 
this country, from the Moray Firth district to Guernsey. 
Var. 1. South Wales, West coast of Scotland, and many 
other places. This variety is more widely diffused than 
the typical form, which is not uncommon on the banks 
of the Thames near London and seems to prefer watery 
places, like Z. nitidus. Var. 2. Preston (Gilbertson) ; 
Sevenoaks, Kent (Smith). This species is one of our 


* Rather glossy. 


164: HELICIDE. 


upper tertiary fossils. On the Continent it ranges from 
Russia to the Pyrenees, and the variety nitens extends 
also to Sicily. 

It is a shy animal and delights in dark places, being 
sometimes found underground at a depth of some inches 
where the earth is loose. Its flesh is of a rather firm 
consistency, and its slime is watery and abundant. It 
does not emit any offensive smell. 

The shell differs from that of Z. cellarius in bemg 
smaller, and in having one whorl less, the spire more 
raised, and a much larger and deeper umbilicus. Its 
surface is also much less glossy. 

I cannot recognize anything more than a varietal 
distinction between the Helix nitidula of Draparnaud and 
the H. nitens of Michaud, which are regarded by Conti- 
nental authors as different species. This last is not the 
H. nitens of Gmelin or of Maton and Rackett. The 
variety Helmii is H. nitens, var. albina, of Moquin-Tan- 
don, which I have found near Lausanne. 


4, Z. purus *, Alder. 


Helix pura, Ald. Cat. Northumb. Moll. p. 12. Z. purus, F. & H. iv. 
p. 37, pl. exxi. f. 5, 6. 


Bopy yellowish-grey or whitish, with fine black specks and 
close-set tubercles, slightly transparent: tentacles very long 
and nearly cylindrical ; bulbs small: foot very narrow, slightly 
pointed in front and rounded behind. 

Seti compressed, rather more convex above than below, 
very thin, not very glossy but semitransparent, ight horn- 
colour, with a yellow or reddish tinge on the upper side, ex- 
quisitely sculptured transversely by. numerous curved strie, 
and spirally by still finer and almost microscopic lines, the 
intersection of which gives the surface a reticulated appear- 
ance: epidermis thin: whorls 4, convex, but dilated laterally, 


* Clear. 


ZONITES. 165 


the last occupying scarcely one-half of the shell: spire slightly 
raised: suture moderately deep, puckered by the lines of 
growth: mouth nearly round and not much interrupted by 
the penultimate whorl: outer lip not very oblique: wmbilicus 
rather narrow, but deep, disclosing all the internal spire. 
L. 0:075. B. 0-15. 


Var. margaritacea. Shell pearl-white and nearly trans- 
parent. 


Hasitat: Among dead leaves and moss in woods 
throughout the greater part, if not the whole, of Great 
Britain from the Moray Firth district to Cornwall, as 
well as in Ireland, but more local and less common than 
the last species. ‘The variety is equally diffused. This 
species is one of our upper tertiary fossils. Gerstfeldt, 
as well as Middendorff, has recorded its occurrence in 
East and West Siberia; and other writers have given 
Scandinavian, German, French, and Swiss localities for 
it. I found it in tolerable plenty at Alexisbad and else- 
where in the Lower Harz and also near Lausanne. 

Its habits are almost subterranean, and in other re- 
spects resemble those of Z. nitidulus, with which it is 
often found, and from which it differs in its much smaller 
size, the delicate form and sculpture of its shell, and the 
umbilicus not being so large in proportion. According 
to L. Pfeiffer, it is the Helia Hammonis of Strom, which 
was found at Trondjhem and published in 1765; but 
Miller has referred it to Z. nitidus. Judging from the 
description and figure given by Gould (in the ‘ Inverte- 
brata of Massachusetts, p. 183, f. 111) of his Helix 
electrina, I cannot agree with L. Pfeiffer in considering 
that species identical with the present, either as regards 
form or sculpture; and the habits of each species are 
quite different. 


166 HELICIDA. 


5. Z. rapia truLus*, Alder. 


Helix radiatula, Ald. Cat. Northumb. Moll. p.138. Z. radiatulus, F. & H. 
Iv. -p. oo, Pl. Cxx. £. 1: 


Bopy dark horncolour: tentacles nearly black, the upper 
ones very slender and the lower pair short: foot exceedingly 
narrow, pointed behind, its sides marked with minute black 
specks. 


SHELL compressed, equally convex on both sides, very thin, 
remarkably glossy, semitransparent, dark horncolour, distinctly 
and beautifully marked across the whorls on the upper side by 
strong curved and close-set strize which reach the suture, the 
under side being also marked, but less distinctly, by similar 
strie: epidermis thin: whorls 44, convex, and very little di- 
lated laterally, the last occupying rather less than one-half of 
the shell: spire shghtly raised : sutwre moderately deep : mouth 
nearly round, sometimes thickened inside by a broad but slight 
white mb: outer lip scarcely oblique: wmbilicus narrow, but 
rather deep, disclosing all the internal spire. L. 0-075. B. 0°15. 


Var. viridescenti-alba. Shell greenish-white. 


Hasitrat: Under stones, logs of wood, dead leaves, 
and moss in woods, from the Moray Firth district to 
Dorset. The variety is from Shropshire, Co. Cork, and 
Co. Tyrone (J.G.J.) ; Belfast (Thompson). This species 
is one of our upper tertiary fossils. Malm has recorded 
it as a Swedish shell, Scholtz as Silesian, Moquin-Tan- 
don and others from different parts of France, Stabile 
from Lugano, and myself from the Lower Harz and 
Switzerland. 

This little mollusk is less shy and inactive than Z. 
purus, and usually frequents moister places. It re- 
sembles that species in the size and form of the shell ; 
but the peculiar sculpture, more glossy appearance, and 
narrower umbilicus of the present species will easily 
serve to distinguish it from Z. purus. 


* Slightly rayed. 


ZONITES. 167 


It is the Helx nitidula, var. 8, of Draparnaud, as well 
as the H. nitidosa of Férussac and H. striatula of Gray ; 
but both these latter names were unaccompanied by de- 
scriptions. The H. striatula of Linné, Miller, and Olivi 
are different from that of Dr. Gray and from each other. 


6. Z. nt T1pus*, Miiller. 


Helix nitida, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 32. Z. nitidus, F. & H. iv. p. 39, 
pl. cxx. f. 4,7. 


Bopy strongly truncate in front, bluish-black or dark- 
brown, covered with large round flat tubercles which are in- 
terspersed with a few minute milk-white specks: snout small, 
short, broad, and tumid: tentacles rather thick and short ; 
bulbs globuiar: foot obtusely rounded in front, narrow and 
somewhat keeled behind. 

SHELL semiglobular, much more convex above than below, 
not very thin, but glossy and semitransparent, chocolate- 
_ brown, marked transversely by numerous curved strie# which 
are stronger and puckered towards the suture, and very finely 
granulated under the microscope: epidermis rather thin: 
whorls 5, convex, the last occupying about one-half of the 
shell: spire somewhat prominent, witha blunt point: suture 
deep: mouth round, except where the penultimate whorl con- 
tracts it: outer lip rather obliquely set, thin, and reflected near 
the pillar: wmbelicus narrow, but deep, exposing all the interior 
of the spire. LL. 0-1. B. 0-275. 


Var. albida. Shell white or colourless. 


Hazirar: Under loose stones and decayed wood, as 
well as at the roots of grass and on mud in bogs and 
moist places, from the North of Scotland to Guernsey. 
Specimens of the variety were found by Mr. Choules 
among the rejectamenta of the Thames at Richmond. 
Although dead shells, they have not become bleached 
by exposure to the sun. A monstrosity also sometimes 
occurs, in which the whorls are slightly disunited, as in 


* Glossy. 


168 HEIACIDA. 


Z. alliarius. This species is one of our upper tertiary 
fossils. Its foreign range extends from the North of 
Russia to Corsica and Algeria, through all the inter- 
mediate countries. 

Nothing appears to be known as to the habits of this 
snail, except that it is, like its congeners, of an inactive 
or sluggish nature and that it forms a slight epiphragm 
during the heat of summer. 

The shell differs from that of Z. radiatulus (which it 
somewhat resembles) in its much larger size, more pro- 
minent spire, the last whorl not being so large in propor- 
tion, and the striz being very much slighter. 

Gmelin made one of his usual blunders in changing 
the name which Miller gave this species to nitens ; and 
Draparnaud, apparently without any reason, substituted 
in his ‘ Histoire’ a new name (lucida) for the correct 
one which he had previously given in his ‘ Tableau.’ 


7. Z. EXcava Tus*, Bean. 


Helix excavata, Bean, in Alder’s Cat. North. Moll. p. 18.  Z. excavatus, 
F.& H. iv. p. 40, pl. exxi. f. 2-4. 


Bopy lead-coloured (Alder). 


SHELL compressed, more convex on the upper than the 
lower side, glossy, semitransparent, light-brown or tawny, 
strongly and deeply striate in the line of growth: epidermis 
rather thin: whorls 54, convex and nearly cylindrical, the last 
occupying not much more than one-third of the shell: spire 
slightly prominent: suture very deep: mouth round, except 
where it is interrupted by the penultimate whorl, somewhat 
compressed below : owter lip as in the last species: wmbzlicus 
broad and deep, exposing all the internal spire. L. 0-085. 
B. 0:225. 


Var. vitrina. Shell greenish-white, transparent. Helix vi- 
trina, Fér. Tabl. Syst. p. 45. H. viridula, Menke, Syn. Moll. 
p. 20. 


* Hollowed-out. 


ZONITES. 169 


Hasitat: Under fallen trees and among dead leaves 
and moss in shady woods. The tract of country over 
which it is diffused comprises the South and South-west 
of Scotland, North of England, West and South of 
Ireland, North and South Wales, Isle of Wight, and 
Cornwall; but it is a local species. The variety is from 
South Wales, Cork, and Connemara. 

This species has been considered peculiar to Great 
Britain, and to be the only land-shell which does not 
inhabit any other part of the world; but I have reason to 
believe that the greenish-white variety is the Helix vi- 
trina of Férussac, as well as the H. viridula of Menke, H. 
petronella of Charpentier, and probably also the H. clara 
of Held. In the ‘ Malakozoologische Blatter’ for 1858 
will be found a critical dissertation by Von Wallenberg on 
the Helix viridula of Menke compared with Z. purus, in 
-which the author showed that*these were quite different 
species; and I can answer for the identity of Z. exca- 
vatus var. vitrina (or viridula) with the H. petronella of 
Charpentier, having found specimens of the latter on the 
Gorner glacier in Switzerland at a height of about 7000 
feet above the sea-level, and afterwards compared them 
with the types in Charpentier’s collection at Devens 
while I was on a visit to that eminent naturalist. Ina 
letter which is now before me from the late M. Char- 
pentier, dated 28th August, 1854, he says the H. w- 
trina of Férussac (but not that of Wagner, which is a 
Brazilian species) is identical with his own H. petronedlla, 
and that it is very different from H. radiatula, with which 
it has only a-slight relation in respect of the strie. IT é- 
russac did not give any description of his species. Instead 
therefore of the present species being exclusively British, 
it likewise appears to inhabit Lapland, Finland, Ger- 
many, and Switzerland. The publications of Alder and 

I 


170 HELICIDZ. 


Menke having been made in the same year, I trust I may 
be pardoned in indulging a patriotic feeling and giving 
the precedence to my own countryman, especially as the 
name proposed by Menke designates a variety and not 
the species. 

It differs from its nearest ally, Z. nitidus, in its less 
prominent spire, more compact whorls, much stronger 
strie, deeper suture, and more open umbilicus. 


8. Z. crysTaLt Linus*, Miller. 


Helix crystallina, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 28. Z. erystallinus, F. & H. 
iv. p. 41, pl. cxxii. f. 1, 2. 


Bony clear greyish-white, nearly transparent: tentacles rather 
short ; upper pair ebony-black, coloured by the retractor nerve ; 
lower pair grey : foot narrow, pointed behind, whitish. 

SHELL depressed, more convex below than above, thin, very 
glossy and iridescent, transparent, greenish-white or hyaline 
hike glass, very finely and closely striate transversely, espe- 
cially towards the suture: epidermis very thin: whorls 44-5, 
rather convex, but compressed outwards, increasing gradually 
in size: spre not much raised: sutwre slight, but distinct : 
mouth semilunar, sometimes strengthened inside by a slight 
rib, which is seen through the shell: outer lip obliquely set, 
very thin: wmbilicus narrow and only exposing a small part 
of the penultimate whorl. L. 0:065. B. 0:125, 


Var. complanata. Shell nearly flat on both sides; the last 
whorl proportionally larger than the others. 


Hasrrat: Under stones and decayed pieces of wood, 
as well as among dead leaves and moss, in woods and 
shady places, from the Moray Firth district to Guernsey. 
The variety was found by me in Leigh Woods near Bristol. 
This species is one of our upper tertiary fossils. Its 
foreign distribution is very extensive, and ranges from 
Finland to Algeria and Sicily, as well as to Madeira and 


the Azores. 
* Like crystal. 


ZONITES. 171 


This exquisite little shell was first noticed as British 
by Dr. Gray in the ‘ Medical Repository ’ for 1821. 


B. Shell conical, having a slight depression and perforation 
instead of an umbilicus. 


9. Z. rut’ vus*, Miller. 


Helix fulva, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 56; F. & H. iv. p. 75, pl. exviil. 


. ) . 


Bopy dark-grey or slate-colour, with very fine black specks : 
tentacles very long; bulbs globular: foot rounded in front, 
pointed and keeled behind, having some scattered milk-white 
specks on the sole or under part. 

SHELL pyramidal, thin, glossy and semitransparent, horn- 
colour or tawny, finely but irregularly striate in the line of 
growth, and marked spirally with close microscopical lines, 
which are more distinct and regular at the base: epidermis 
very thin: whorls 5}, cylindrical, increasing gradually in size: 
periphery obtusely keeled: spire very prominent, but blunt : 
_ suture deep: mouth semilunar, compressed and narrow: outer 
hip curved, but not oblique, reflected on the pillar: wmbzlicus 
consisting of a slight indentation, with sometimes a small hole. 
Ls Oel 3: Buid-d. 


Var. Mortoni. Shell of a paler colour, with the spire more 
depressed and peripheral keel sharper. Heliw Mortoni, Jeftr. 
in Linn. Trans. xvi. p. 332. 


Hasirat: Under decayed wood, leaves, and stones in 
shady woods and marshy places, from the Moray Firth 
district to the South of England, as well as all over Ire- 
land. Specimens collected in dry situations are much 
larger than those which are found in wet moss. The 
variety is from Somerset and North Hants. This species 
is one of our upper tertiary fossils. Its foreign range 
extends from Siberia to Sicily, as well as to the Azores. 
According to Philippi, it is the same species as the Helix 


* Tawny. 


r2 


IR HELICID. 


Chersina of Say, which inhabits Georgia and a consider- 
able tract of North America. 

It is the Helix Trochiformis of Montagu. In all 
probability the adult specimen from which Miller de- 
scribed his Helix fulva was the H. edentula of Draparnaud 
or the H. bidens of Chemnitz, both of which have a white 
keel and lip, as noticed by Miller in his description. 
The last-mentioned species is Scandinavian as well as 
French, and is closely allied to H. edentula. In the 
present species neither the keel nor lip is white. 

This species forms a passage to the next genus, Heliz. 


Genus IV. HE’LIX*, Linné. Pl. VI. f. 10, 11. 


Bopy rather long, always capable of being contained within 
the shell: mantle thick, slightly cloven on the under side: 
tentacles 4, cylindrical, more or less swollen or bulbous at the 
tips: foot in most species broad. 

SHELL conical, not very glossy : spire usually produced, rarely 
depressed or flat : mouth forming an oblique segment of a circle, 
which differs in size according to the degree in which it is in- 
tersected by the penultimate whorl: outer lip sometimes thin, 
but more frequently strengthened by an internal rib or re- 
flected, in some cases furnished with tooth-like tubercles 
which contract the mouth: wmbzlicus usually distinct and more 
or less open, but in a few species quite closed or wanting, ex- 
cept in the young state. 


This genus comprises all the true Snails. They are 
for the most part vegetarians ; but they occasionally show 
a preference to animal food, both raw and cooked—heing, 
like Man, omnivorous. Every wood, hedge-bank, old 
wall, field, and garden yields some kinds; while others 
frequent mountains, water-sides, open plains, and sand- 
downs near the sea. Most of them prefer shade and 


* A coil. 


HELIX. 173 


moisture ; but some delight to bask in the sun’s rays, 
and protect their soft and tender bodies from the heat 
by forming an epiphragm or film that covers the mouth 
of the shell. They would soon perish if the secretion 
of slime were checked. Their habits are nocturnal or 
crepuscular; and they are seldom met with crawling 
about m the daytime, unless in wet weather or after a 
heavy shower of rain. Before the sun has fully risen 
they retire to their lurking-places and hasten to conceal 
themselves under stones or logs of wood, among dead 
leaves, at the roots of grass, in the bark of trees, or in 
the chinks and crevices of rocks and walls. Some of 
them, which have no such place of shelter to resort to, 
attach themselves to the stalks of grass or leaves of trees 
and other herbage, by means of a secretion like that of 
which the epiphragm is formed. During the pairing- 
season they are furnished with crystalline darts which 
they shoot at each other, after preliminary coquettings, 
increasing this mutual excitement by long-continued 
caresses with their horns. These curious love-weapons 
have been observed sticking in the bodies of snails after 
such conflicts. They are contamed in a special pouch 
or receptacle ready for use, and are peculiar to the pre- 
sent genus. Their shape varies according to the species. 
In some species each individual has only one of these 
missiles, in others two; and a few species have none 
at all. The eggs of the Helices, which are usually round 
and united in a cluster, are laid underground, in short 
and slanting galleries which the mother snail excavates 
in the moist or loose earth with her foot. The tentacles 
of these, as weil as of all other land-snails, are with- 
drawn in the same manner as the fingers of a glove 
turned inside out. 

The present genus, as restricted by some conchologists, 


174: HELICID. 


only comprises those species which are more or less 
globular and have usually a semilunar mouth. But the 
line of demarcation seems to have been drawn close 
enough when it excluded those species having turreted 
shells, such as the Bulimi, which only differ from some 
of the Helices in the spire being a little more produced. 
The number of British Helices is not sufficiently large 
to justify the artificial separation, by some conchologists, 
of a few species which have a depressed spire and a 
more or less complete peristome, under the generic 
titles of Carocolla or Chilotrema, and Zurama or Am- 
plexus otherwise Vallonia. 

Three species of Helix appear to have lived in this 
country during the glacial era; but they have since 
become extinct, or at any rate have not been noticed by 
any writer on British Conchology, although they are all 
of a tolerably large size. Their shells are found in the 
upper tertiary beds of our Eastern counties. They have 
survived and still exist in the northern and temperate 
parts of Europe. One of these species is the H. ruderata 
of Studer, which ranges from Siberia and Lapland to the 
alpine districts of France and Switzerland. Another is 
the H. incarnata of Miller, which does not seem to 
extend quite so far north, but inhabits Sweden, Germany, 
France, Switzerland, and Lugano. Mr. Daniel informs 
me that he has found it in the Loess at Baden. The 
third species is the H. fruticum of Miller, which is found 
living in every part of the European continent between 
Finland and Switzerland, and (according to Gerstfeldt) 
also inhabits Siberia and the Amoor territory. Mr. 
Searles Wood has recorded this last species as a pliocene 
fossil in consequence of his having found an imperfect 
specimen at Stutton; and I lately detected it in the 
lacustrine bed at Mundesley. 


HELIX. 175 


A. Shell globosely conic: outer lip sometimes thickened : 
umbilicus small or indistinct. 


1. Heurx tame iat *, Jeffreys. 


H. lamellata, Seffr.in Linn. Trans. xvi. p.333; F. & H. iv. p.75, pl. exvii. 
Bopy whitish ; back and head bluish-grey (A. Miiller). 
SHELL pyramidal, thin, of a silky appearance and lustre, 

yellowish-horncolour or tawny, closely and regularly striate ~ 

or plaited in the line of growth, with similar but much finer 

strie in the interstices: epidermis rather thick: whorls 6, 

cylindrical and compact, increasing gradually in size: spire 

rather compressed and blunt: suture deep: mouth semilunar : 
outer lvp thin, slightly reflected on the pillar: wmbilicus nurrow, 

but very deep. L. 0-08. B. 0:09. 

Hasirat: Among dead leaves (especially those of the 
holly) in woods in the northern counties of England, 
- Anglesea, the North and West of Scotland, and throughout 
the greater part of Ireland. It also occurs as a fossil in 
our upper tertiary beds at Copford. Dr. A. Miller has 
found it near Kiel and on the Isle of Rugen in Holstein, 
and Lilljeborg afterwards discovered it in Sweden; but 
it does not appear to have been noticed elsewhere on the 
Continent. 

The plaits on the surface of the shell are membranous 
and form part of the epidermis. Further particulars of 
the animal are desirable. I unfortunately neglected the 
opportunity of making a note of it. 

This species is the H. Scarburgensis of Alder (from 
Bean’s MS.) and the H. seminulum of Rossmissler. 


* Covered with small plates. 


176 HELICID®. 


2. H. acutza’ta*, Miller. 


H. aculeata, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 81; F. & H. iv. p. 74, pl. exvi. 
f. 5,6. 


Bopy rounded in front and gradually narrowing behind, 
greyish-slatecolour or light-brown: tentacles long, thick, and 
nearly cylindrical; upper ones covered with minute black 
specks: foot slender. 


Suet globosely-pyramidal, rather thin, not glossy, horn- 
colour or light-brown, marked transversely by about 30 plaits 
of the epidermis, which rise in the middle of each whorl! to a 
sharp thorn-like point, as well as by smaller intermediate 
folds, and striate spirally by close-set microseopic limes: 
epidermis thick: whorls 4-43, convex, gradually increasing in 
size: periphery slightly and obtusely keeled: spire somewhat 
compressed and blunt: suture deep: mouth rather large and 
forming a deep arch: outer lip thickened with a white rib 
and reflected in adult specimens: wmbilicus narrow and small. 
Lo p.. Bal; 


Var. alhida. Shell of a whitish colour. 


Hasrtat: Among dead leaves and moss in woods, 
from Aberdeenshire to the Channel Isles. Variety from 
Bath (Clark). This species is one of our upper tertiary 
fossils. Its foreign distribution extends from Finland 
to Italy, and even to the Azores. 

The animal walks with its shell erect, carryimg it in 
the most graceful manner. I have observed it feeding 
on the Jungermannia platyphylla. Mr. Daniel imforms 
me that in Germany it travels high up into trees, par- 
ticularly the alder, and that in the autumn it uses the 
falling leaves as a locomotive to reach the ground. The 
shell is an exquisitely beautiful object, especially when 
it is fresh and encircled with its coronet of spines. This 
character alone will serve to distinguish it from any 
other British species of Heliz. 

It is the H. spinulosa of Montagu. 


* Prickly. 


HELIX. RUT 


3. H. poma’t1a*, Linné. 
H. pomatia, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1244; F. & H. iv. p. 46, pl. exvi. f. 2. 


Bopy obtusely roundéd in front and narrowing behind to a 
rather fine point, yellowish-grey, with sometimes a brownish 
tinge, covered all over with large oval tubercles or granulations, 
which are of a yellow colour with greyish interstices: mantle 
furnished on its upper part with three fleshy and prominent 
lobes: tentacles very long and nearly cylindrical; terminal 
bulbs on the upper pair small and globular: foot large and 
broad, rounded in front and obtusely pointed behind. 

Surty globular, thick and strong, opaque, of rather a dull 
aspect, yellowish-white, with spiral bands of brown, which lat- 
ter colour is more or less diffused over the surface ; these bands 
are four or five in number on the last or body whorl, and are 
sometimes confluent, and there are generally two or three (but 
occasionally only one) on the penultimate whorl ; the surface is 
also marked by numerous but irregular lines of growth and very 
fine spiral or longitudinal strie : epidermis rather thick : whorls 
42 or 5, extremely convex, the last occupying about two-thirds 
of the shell: spire short and ending in a rather blunt point : 
suture not very deep, but distinct : mouth nearly round, shghtly 
contracted and angulated above by the projection of the pen- 
ultimate whorl: outer lip thick, reflected over the umbilicus, 
margined inside with reddish-brown: inner lip spread over 
the columella and scarcely distinguishable : wmnlilcus narrow 
and small. L.1:75. 3B. 1:75. 


Var. albida. Shell whitish or colourless. 


Hasirat: Woods, hedgebanks, and uncultivated places 
in Surrey, Hertford, Kent, Oxon, Wilts, and Gloucester- 
shire. The variety has been found by Mr. Brewer near 
Reigate. There was at one time a popular notion that 
it had been introduced into this country by the Romans, 
because it is found near several ancient encampments ; 
but there does not appear to be any other foundation 
for this idea. The H. pomatia has not been found at 
Wroxeter or York, or in many other parts of England 


* Operculated. 


178 HELICIDA. 


and Wales where the Romans built cities or had im- 
portant military stations; and in all probability this 
kind of snail was not known to them, as another species 
(H. lucorum) takes its place in Central Italy. There is 
no better reason for the rumour which is mentioned by 
Montagu, that it was imported from Italy about the 
middle of the 16th century, either as an article of food 
or for medicinal purposes, and turned out in Surrey by 
a Mr. Howard at Albury. It was well known to Lister, 
who wrote in 1678, as the largest of our native snails ; 
and in all probability it is equally indigenous with H. 
aspersa or the common garden-snail. Neither of these 
species has been found in any recognized stratum of the 
upper tertiary formation in this country. The foreign 
distribution of H. pomatia extends from Finland (Nor- 
denskidld and Nylander) to Lombardy (Villa) ; but it does 
not appear to have been found in the South of France. 
This large snail makes a common and rather a 
favourite dish in the North of France and some parts of 
Switzerland ; and Lister gave a recipe for dressing and 
cooking it in this country. It is furnished with a 
peculiar mouth-piece, by means of which it effectually 
keeps out the cold and wet while it is hibernating. 
This covering is not like an operculum, forming part of 
the animal, but consists of a solid, caleareous and slightly 
convex plate, which exactly fits the aperture of the shell. 
It is secreted and formed by the mantle; and after it 
has served the purpose for which it was made it is thrust 
aside, and may be found lying on the ground on the 
return of spring and genial weather. The snail repairs 
its shell, when broken, in a more substantial manner than 
other kinds, on account of the superabundance of its 
calcareous secretion ; and it can for that purpose with- 
draw its mantle far into the interior of the spire, so as to 


HELIX. 179 


reach almost the summit. Owing to its large size and 
the consistency of its body, it has been from an early 
period a favourite study of comparative anatomists. 
Lister, Cuvier, and others have published full details of its 
internal organization. But the most interesting account 
of its physiology and habits is contained in a memoir by 
M. Gaspard, which will be found in the ‘ Annales des 
Sciences Naturelles ;? and an excellent abstract of it, 
with notes by Professor Bell, appeared in the 1st volume 
of the ‘Zoological Journal.’ Space will not admit of its 
being reproduced here; but I will briefly mention the 
more salient points of this excellent memoir. M. Gas- 
pard says that when the period of hibernating has arrived 
these snails become indolent, lose their appetite, and 
associate together. Hach snail then excavates with its 
large and muscular foot a hole in the ground, just large 
enough to contain the shell; this it roofs m and lines 
with earth and dead leaves, making with its slime a kind 
of mortar, and smoothing over the inner surface of its 
winter domicile. Having accomplished this, it closes 
the mouth of the shell with a thick calcareous lid, the 
substance of which, when first poured out from the edges 
of the mantle, resembles liquid plaster of Paris. It 
then withdraws its body far into the interior of the shell, 
covering, as it retires, the empty space with several layers 
in succession of a fine membrane or film, in order the 
more completely to exclude the cold air. In this snug 
receptacle it remains in a torpid state until the return of 
spring, all animal functions being in the mean time sus- 
pended. It then loosens and casts aside its winter bands 
and resumes its former life. In the genial month of 
May, these snails unite for propagation, and in June they 
commence laying their eggs, usually producing only a 


180 HELICID. 


single brood in the year. The eggs are about the size 
of a small pea, and much resemble in colour and con- 
sistency the berries of the mistletoe. They are laid na 
kind of nest, which the mother snail makes in the loose 
earth, in order to protect them from wet and the heat of 
the sun. No incubation is necessary, and they are left 
to the care of nature. The young are developed at the 
end of from twenty-one to forty-five days, according to 
the season and state of the temperature. The little snail, 
when it is first excluded, lives only on the pellicle of the 
egg, the whole of which is eaten by it. This provision 
is similar or analogous to that which is appropriated to 
the young of land vertebrate animals. The experiments 
made by M. Gaspard with respect to the function of 
those organs in snails which are called “ eyes,” led him 
to conclude that these mollusks are totally devoid of 
sight and are quite insensible to lght, that they do 
not perceive an obstacle placed in their way until they 
touch it, and that, after being deprived of their horns 
which support the so-called eyes, they guide themselves 
as surely as before. It may be observed that this 
absence of sight and apparent insensibility to light are 
quite consistent with the nocturnal habits of snails. 
Perhaps the deficiency of this sense is supplied by the ex- 
cessive susceptibility of the skin to outward impressions. 
M. Gaspard remarks that he found in these pretended 
optical bodies, or “ eyes,” nothing more than the organs 
of an exquisite sense of touch, arising from a large nerve 
which runs through the tentacles and is expanded over 
their extremities. He also denies the existence of any 
sense of hearmg or smell in these mollusks; but this 
latter statement does not appear to agree with the ob- 
servation of subsequent writers. 


HELIX. 181 


This is sometimes called the ‘‘ Apple-snail,” which is 
an appropriate name as regards its shape ; but the word 
“pomatia” is derived from 7@ma an operculum, and not 
from pomum an apple. Pliny and Dioscorides applied 
the same name to it, and for a similar reason. 


B. Shell globose: outer lip reflected: umbilicus wanting, ex- 
cept in the young. 


4. H. asper’sa*, Miller. 
H., aspersa, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt.ii. p.59; F. & H. iv. p.44, pl. exvi. f. 1. 


Bopy oblong, narrow and rounded in front, pointed behind, 
dark-brown or dirty-grey, mottled with milk-white specks, 
coarsely and strongly granulated: tentacles long and slender, 
considerably diverging from each other, brown; bulbs small : 
foot broad, rounded in front and finely pointed behind, haying 
a narrowish border of yellow, and transversely wrinkled. 

Suet globular, rather solid, opaque, not glossy, yellowish, 
with spiral dark-reddish-brown bands; these bands are often 
five in number on the last whorl and three on the preceding one, 
but some of them are frequently confluent, and they are always 
more or less interrupted by transverse and zigzag streaks of 
white ; the sculpture consists of numerous pit-marks, which 
probably correspond with the tubercles of the mantle, as well 
as of very fine, but indistinct, spiral strize, giving the surface 
a shagreened appearance: epidernus rather thick: whorls 43, 
convex, the last occupying about two-thirds of the shell: spzre 
short and ending in a blunt point; sutwe rather oblique, well 
defined but not deep: mouth obliquely roundish-oval, obtusely 
angulated above: outer lip rather thin, white and considerably 
reflected, much incurved towards the columella: inner lip ex- 
tremely thin and spread on the columella: wmbilicus slightly 
perceptible in the young, but afterwards covered by a fold and 
thickening of the pillar lip. L. 1:4. B. 1:4. 


Var. 1. albo-fasciata. Shell reddish-brown, with a single 
white band. 
Var. 2. exalbida, Menke. Shell yellowish or whitish. 
Var. 3. conoidea, Picard. Shell smaller, more conical, and 
thinner : mouth smaller. 
* Besprinkled. 


182 HELICID. 


Var. 4. tenuis. Shell dwarfed, extremely thin, and nearly 
transparent ; bands reddish-brown. 

Hasitrat: Woods and gardens (especially the latter), 
from the Moray Firth district to the Channel Isles. I 
have not found it so far north as Zetland. Vars. 1 and 2 
are rather local, but not uncommon. Mr. Bridgman 
has found the latter under hornbeam hedges near Nor- 
wich. Var. 3. Sand-hills and cliffs on the sea-side. 
Var. 4. Downs on the south coast of Guernsey. The 
dwarf size and extremely thin texture of this last variety 
are probably owing to the absence of calcareous material 
in the soil where it is found. Monstrosities sometimes, 
but rarely, occur in which the spire is reversed, or the 
whorls are more or less disjoied, in some cases so 
much so that the shell resembles a ram’s-horn. The 
late M. D’Orbigny showed me a colony of the reversed 
monstrosity in his garden at Rochelle. Mr. Bridgman 
succeeded in rearing a young specimen of the same 
monstrosity and bringing it to maturity by feeding it on 
cabbage and lettuce leaves. This species has been found 
in the peat-bed at Newbury, but has not been noticed 
as an upper tertiary fossil. It does not appear to inhabit 
the North of Europe nor Germany (although C. Pfeiffer 
has noticed it as found in gardens there) ; but its range 
extends southward from France to Sicily, as well as to 
Spain, Algeria, and the Azores. It seems to take the 
place of H. pomatia in some parts of Europe. 

Lister says that, having put one of these snails and a 
LIimax ater together in the same vessel, he found the 
next day that the slug had been killed and half-eaten by 
its companion; and he also remarked that the fluid, 
which exudes so copiously from the body of H. aspersa 
when it is pricked, was used in his time in bleaching 
wax for artistic purposes, as well as in making a firm 


HELIX. 183 


cement mixed with the white of egg. The latter eco- 
nomical use might now be repeated with success, but by 
a less cruel operation, viz. killing and pounding, instead 
of pricking the snail, and straining the fluid. The 
garden-snail is much more prolific than many of its con- 
geners. Bouchard-Chantereaux mentions that he has 
often counted from 100 to 110 eggs which had been 
laid by a single individual. Brard noticed that they are 
very sensible of cold, and hibernate early, clustering to- 
gether in the crevices of old walls and trunks of trees, 
and attached to each other by their membranous epi- 
phragms or winter coverings. They make great havoc 
in kitchen-gardens and spoil the best wall-fruit. There 
is, however, some compensation for this mischief: a 
kind of broth is made from them and used as a remedy 
for pulmonary complaints. This kind of snail is occa- 
sionally eaten by the French ; but it is not held by them 
in the same estimation as the Apple-snail. Dr. Gray 
says that the glassmen at Newcastle once a year have 
a snail-feast, and that they generally collect the snails 
themselves in the fields and hedges the Sunday before 
the feast-day. They are supposed to have the power of 
excavating holes in limestone rocks to form their winter 
quarters. The late Dr. Buckland first called the atten- 
tion of geologists to this circumstance ; and M. Bou- 
chard-Chantereaux has lately published, in the ‘Annales 
des Sciences Naturelles’ (4° série, p. 197-218), an article 
entitled ‘‘ Observations sur les Hélices saxicaves du Bou- 
lonnais,’” which will well repay the trouble of a perusal. 

By way of further illustrating the habits of our com- 
mon garden-snail, I trust I may be excused in transfer- 
ring to these pages a short poem by Cowper, which ought 
to be known to all conchologists. It is called “The 
Snail,” and is as follows :— 


184. HELICID®. 


“To grass, or leaf, or fruit, or wall, 
The Snail sticks close, nor fears to fall, 
As if he grew there, house and all 
Together : 


‘‘ Within that house secure he hides, 
When danger imminent betides 
Of storm, or other harm besides 
Of weather. 


‘Give but his horns the slightest touch, 

His self-collecting power is such 
He shrinks into his house with much 
Displeasure. 


‘* Where’er he dwells, he dwells alone ; 
Except himself has chattels none, 
Well satisfied to be his own 
Whole treasure. 


«Thus, hermit-like, his life he leads, 
Nor partner of his banquet needs, 
And, if he meets one, only feeds 

The faster. 


“Who seeks him must be worse than blind, 
(He and his house are so combined, ) 
If, finding it, he fails to find 
Its master.”’ 


This common species received from Pennant in 1766 
the appropriate name of Helix hortensis; but m con- 
sequence of that name having been applied by Miller, 
although nearly eight years afterwards, to a different 
species or a supposed species, the present name has been 
adopted by nearly all conchologists. The H. grisea of 
Linné, to which this species has been referred by some 
authors, is stated to inhabit Sweden, nicer is not the 
case with H. aspersa. 

The H. aperta of Born can hardly be considered a 
British shell,—the sole ground for supposing it to be a 
native of this country being the discovery by the late 
Professor E. Forbes in 1839 of a dead specimen in a 


HELIX. 185 


eart-track in Guernsey. Dr. Lukis, who was at that 
time and is still a resident there, informs me that he has 
frequently searched in vain for this remarkable shell ; 
and I have accompanied him in one of these excursions. 
Its shape is not much unlike that of the variety tenuis of 
Hi. aspersa, which is common in Guernsey and is fre- 
quently bandless and without coloured markings. H. 
aperta is not found anywhere in France, except in the 
extreme South; it is also a native of Italy. It is the 
H. Naticoides of Draparnaud. This snail is said to 
feed on vine-leaves; and it ranks with the ortolan in 
gastronomic celebrity. Forbes’s specimen might possibly 
have been imported and dropped by some French sailor, 
who had feasted on its contents. This specimen, how- 
ever, is not to be found in the British Museum, where it 
was said to have been deposited by the discoverer ; and 
Dr. Baird (who has the charge of this department) in- 
forms me that he has never seen it, although he has 
made inquiries and searched more than once for it. 


5. H. nemora tis*, Linné. 


H. nemoralis, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1247; F. & H. iv. p. 53, pl. exv. 
f. 1-4. 


Bopy dark brown, tinged with yellow, and covered with very 
small and close-set round tubercles: mantle of a greenish hue, 
marked with yellowish specks: tentacles of a darker colour, 
very long and rather slender ; bulbs globular: foot angular in 
front, gradually narrowing and pointed behind. 

SHELL globular, depressed below, rather solid and nearly 
opaque, moderately glossy, yellow, brown, pink, white, and of 
various other colours and shades, with from 1 to 5 spiral 
bands, which are usually brown, rarely white, and occasionally 
confluent or interrupted; the sculpture consists of close, but 
irregular, lines of growth and minute spiral undulating strie : 


* Inhabiting groves. 


186 HELICIDA. 


epidermis rather thin: whorls 54, convex, the last occupying 


about three-fifths of the shell: spire short and ending in a 
blunt point: sutwre slight: mouth obliquely and deeply cres- 
cent-shaped: outer lip thick, reflected and strengthened by a 
strong internal rib, much inflected above, slightly angular 
beneath, where it makes an abrupt bend towards the colu- 
mella; colour of the lip, rib, and columella reddish-brown : 
inner lip consisting of a slight reddish-brown layer: umbilicus 
open and narrow in the young, but afterwards covered and 
quite closed. L. 0°65. B. 0-9. 


Var. 1. hortensis. Shell smaller and more globular: mouth 
white-lipped, and rib of the same colour: znner lip excessively 
thin and coloured or banded like the rest of the shell. H. hor- 
tensis, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 52. 


Var. 2. hybrida. Shell of the same size as the first variety, 
but not quite so globular: mouth and rib of a pink or liver- 
colour. H.hybrida, Poiret, Coq. Aisne, p. 71. 


Var. 3. major, Férussac. Shell much larger and rather more 
depressed than usual. 


Var. 4. minor. Shell dwarfed, of the same shape and colour 
as the first variety. 

Hasitat: Woods, hedges, gardens, and similar situ- 
ations everywhere ; and it is one of our upper tertiary 
fossils. Var. 1. Nearly equally diffused and common. 
Var. 2. More local, but not rare. Var. 3. Sand-hills and 
downs; remarkably large on the rocky Isle of Arran, 
Co. Galway (Barlee). Var.4. Zetland (Barlee) ; Loch 
Carron, Ross-shire (J.G.J.). This last is analogous to 
the dwarf variety alpestris of H. arbustorum. <A re- 
versed, as well as a scalariform, monstrosity sometimes 
occurs; but they are very rare. This abundant, but 
pretty, shell ranges from Norway to Sicily; and the 
variety hortensis is described by Gould as North Ameri- 
can, although he was strongly of opinion that it had been 
imported and become to a certain extent acclimatized. 

This kind of snail is said to be eaten in France; but I 
believe such an experiment has not been tried in this 


HELIX. 187 


country. Lister says that thrushes are very fond of 
them, and, in order to eat them, pierce the upper part of 
the shells with their beaks. He also remarks that they are 
more hardy than other snails and are the first to make 
their appearance when spring returns. Mr. Whiteaves 
has observed that they are often destroyed by ants. 
Miller relates that he had detected a young lizard, 
which he had confined together with a live H. nemoralis 
in a box, entering the shell and eating the snail. They 
appear to be fond, in their turn, of animal food. Mr. 
James Sowerby mentioned, in the ‘ Zoological Journal,’ 
the case of a pet specimen of this kind of snail which 
preferred roast mutton to lettuce-leaves. All the snails 
are omnivorous; but they seldom have the opportunity 
of feasting upon cooked meat. 

The variety of colour, as well as the number and 
arrangement of the bands and markings in this common 
shell are almost infinite. Albin Gras has enumerated 
no less than 198 varieties of the typical form alone, and 
Mogquin-Tandon has distinguished 46 more of the form 
called hortensis. The colour of the animal also varies 
nearly as much as that of the shell. 

A great controversy has long raged between con- 
chologists, as to whether the two forms called nemoralis 
and hortensis are distinct species. Linné united them ; 
Miller separated them. In modern times, Forbes and 
Hanley agree with the former, and Dr. Gray with the 
latter. Mr. Norman contends stoutly that they are not 
the same species; and his principal reason is that H. 
nemoralis invariably, but H. hortensis never, has a cal- 
careous, and frequently coloured, deposit on the colu- 
mella. He has referred, in the ‘ Zoologist,’ to “a school- 
boy’s amusement in Southey’s days,” in backing his 
“black-mouths ” (nemoralis) against any number of 


188 HELICIDE. 


“‘white-mouths” (hortensis); and he offered to give odds 
of ten to one in favour of the former. The variety hybrida 
seems, however, to connect the two above-mentioned 
forms, so far as concerns their conchological distinc- 
tion ; and the only malacological character of importance, 
upon which a difference between them can be founded, 
consists in a slight variation of shape in their love-darts. 
With great deference therefore to the opinion of those 
who rank these forms as separate species, | cannot help 
regarding H. nemoralis as the type, and H. hortensis and 
H. hybrida as local or casual varieties of one and the 
same species. I have never found any two of these forms 
living together; and M. Bouchard-Chantereaux and 
others have made the same remark. 


6. H. arsusto’rumM*, Linné. 


H. arbustorum, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1245 ; F. & H. iv. p. 48, pL exv. 
f. 5, 6. ; 


Bopy lustrous, dark grey or almost black above, and of a 
light slate-colour below, covered with round tubercles: mantle 
marked with a few indistinct milk-white specks: tentacles 
slender, much diverging, glossy and black; bulbs very globular : 
foot narrow and slightly keeled at the tail, with the sides trans- 
versely grooved. 


Suet globular, somewhat compressed below, usually rather 
solid and nearly opaque, glossy, yellowish mottled with brown, 
mostly having a single brown spiral band round the middle of 
each whorl or a little above it, closely but coarsely and irre- 
gularly ridged in the line of growth, and very finely striate in 
a spiral direction: epidermis rather thin: whorls 5-6, convex, 
the last occupying about three-fifths of the shell: spire vary- 
ing in length, but usually depressed and always ending in 
a blunt point: suture rather deep: mouth forming a segment 
of two-thirds of a circle: outer lip thick, white and reflected, 
sometimes strengthened by an internal, but not well-defined 
rib, much inflected above and rounded beneath : inner lip con- 


* Inhabiting copses. 


HELIX. 189 


sisting of a mere film which is spread on the columella: wmbi- 
lieus very small and oblique, nearly concealed by a fold of the 
guter ‘lip. L, 0:5; B, 0:8, 


Var. 1. flavescens. Shell yellowish-white, generally without 
any band. 


Var. 2. major. Shell larger: spire more depressed. L. 0-7. 
i,k: 


Var. 3. alpestris, Ziegler. Shell smaller: spze more raised. 
L. 0:5. B. 0°65. 

Var. 4. fusca, Férussac. Shell dark-brown, with or with- 
out the band, very thin and semitransparent. 

Hapirat: Among alders and in moist and shady 
woods and hedges, as well as occasionally in meadows 
by the side of rivers, from Zetland to Cornwall. It is 
rather a local species, and does not appear to have been 
found in the Channel Isles, probably because the con- 
ditions there are not suitable to it. Vars. 1 & 2 are not 
very uncommon. Var. 3. Hoddesden, Herts, on the 
marshes by the side of the River Lea, the specimens 
bemg numerous and all of the same form and _ size 
(Pickering). Such a locality is very remarkable for this 
dwarf variety, which I have taken on the Swiss Alps, in 
the region of perpetual snow. The same variety occurs 
in the upper tertiary beds at Copford. Var. 4. Lunna, 
East Zetland, where there is no limestone or other cal- 
careous rock. This probably accounts for the extreme 
thinness of the shell. It appears to be the H. picea of 
Ziegler. My cabinet contains a distortion, from Oxford- 
shire, im which the spire is exceedingly raised. This 
species 18 distributed over the greater part of Europe. 
Von Wallenberg has recorded it from Lapland; and 
Aradas and Maggiore found it in Sicily. Mr. Lowe has 
included it in his list of Madeiran land-shells. 

Bouchard-Chantereaux says that this snail lays its 
eges from July to September, and that the young attain 


190 HELICIDA. 


their full growth in fifteen or sixteen months after they 
are excluded. Moquin-Tandon enumerates this as one 
of the eatable kinds, but he adds that it is not much 
esteemed. The shell varies considerably in size. The 
epiphragm is exceedingly thin and like silver-paper. 

It was known to Lister, who appropriately called it 
“Cochlea maculata.” Whether it is the species which 
Linné described as H. arbustorum is questionable, as his 
diagnosis (“Testa umbilicata, convexa, acuminata, aper- 
tura suborbiculari bimarginata, antice elongata”) is 
scarcely applicable to this species. It is, however, a 
Swedish shell; and the present name has been adopted 
hy every author. 


C. Shell conical: mouth furnished with an internal rib: 
umbilicus distinct. 


7. H. Cantia’na *, Montagu. 


H. Cantiana, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 422, and Suppl. p. 145, pl. 23. f. 1; 
F.& H. iv. p. 50, pl. exvi. f. 8, 9. 


Bopy yellowish, with a rosy or blush-colour tint in front, 
covered with small and numerous greyish tubercles: mantle 
marked with close-set milk-white specks: tentacles greyish- 
brown, widely diverging ; upper pair rather thick at the base, 
but becoming slender towards the point; bulbs nearly spherical: 
foot somewhat truncate in front, ending in a triangular, swollen 
and keeled tail, with close transverse grooves at its sides. 

SHELL subglobular, somewhat compressed both above and 
below, rather thin and semitransparent, slightly glossy, yellow- 
ish-white, with often a tint of reddish-brown or fawn-colour, 
especially on the last whorl towards the mouth and on the 
under side, and often marked with a white, but indistinct, 
spiral band, which is placed a little above the periphery and 
does not extend much beyond the last half of the body whorl ; 
sculpture consisting of rather close, but irregular, curved trans- 
verse striee: epidermis thin, covered in young and half-grown 


* Kentish. 


HELIX. 191 


specimens with short hairs, which are easily rubbed off and 
disappear in the adult : whorls 6-7, convex, the last occupying 
rather more than one-half of the shell: spire short and ending 
in a blunt point: sutwre rather deep: mouth oblique, forming 
a segment of about three-fifths of a circle, furnished inside 
with a rather thick white rib, which is placed at a little 
distance from the edge: outer lip thin and slightly reflected, 
not much inflected above, rounded beneath, and folding over at 
its Junction with the columella: wmbclicus small and narrow, 
but rather deep, exposing the whole of the spire. L. 0-4. 
Ti: Wag: 

Hazitat: Hedges, wooded banks, and walls, in the 
home and many of the southern counties of England, as 
well as in Northumberland, Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, 
Somersetshire, Monmouthshire, and Glamorganshire. 
In the appendix to Welsh and Whitelaw’s ‘ History of 
Dublin,’ it is stated to inhabit that neighbourhood ; but 
this locality seems to be doubtful, as subsequent writers 
on Irish Conchology have not confirmed the correctness 
of such statement. It does not appear to range north 
of England; but it is found m France, Llyria, Italy, 
and Sicily. 

Bouchard-Chantereaux mentions its breeding at so 
early an age that the mouth of its then tender shell is 
often broken at the edge in the course of propagation. 
The eggs are laid in adamp spot. It hibernates from 
November to February, and forms an epiphragm like 
a film of the finest blown glass. 

Lister appears to have indicated H. Cantiana as a large 
variety of H. rufescens, or a distinct species, which he says 
is found in Kent. It is the H. Carthusiana of Drapar- 
naud, but not the H. Cariusiana of Miiller ; and Donovan 
described it under the name of H. pallida, which is 
much more appropriate than the one it now bears. The 
present species is very unlike any of those which I have 
above described. 


192 HELICIDE. 


The H. limbata of Draparnaud has been introduced 
into the list of our Mollusca on the authority of the late 
Mr. G. B. Sowerby, in consequence of several specimens 
having been once found on hedges near Hampstead. It 
is about half the size of the last species, of a reddish- 
brown colour, more conical and strongly striate, and it 
has avery conspicuous white band encircling the peri- 
phery. Itinhabits the centre and South of France ; and 
Terver has found it as far north as Rouen. Possibly it 
may be rediscovered in this country and have its claim 
to admission as a British species recognized. 


8. H. Carrusra’na *, Miller. 


H. Cartusiana, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 15. H. Carthustana, F. & H. 
iv. p. 51, pl. exvi. f. 5, 6. 


Bopy rather narrow and much rounded in front, yellow or 
saffron-colour, with a faint tinge of red; tubercles close-set 
and finely, but indistinctly, speckled with brown ; neck marked 
with a short longitudinal black line which commences at the 
base of the upper tentacles : mantle covered with minute milk- 
white specks : tentacles long ; upper pair very slender ; bulbs 
very small and nearly globular: foot somewhat rounded in 
front and narrowing behind. 


SHELL subconic, depressed above, rather more globular below, 
somewhat solid and nearly opaque, not very glossy, yellowish- 
white, with a tint of fawn-colour or light-brown, and generally 
marked with a white spiral band, which is placed a little 
above the periphery and does not extend much beyond the 
last half of the body whorl; sculpture consisting of irregular 
striz in the line of growth, which are stronger towards the 
suture and on the upper whorls, as well as of faint and in- 
distinct spiral striz, which are only perceptible on the um- 
bilical region and by the aid of a strong magnifying power ; 
besides this striation, the surface of the lower or body whorl 
is indented by crowded and indistinct pit-marks, giving it a 
shagreened appearance: epidermis rather thin: whorls 6-7, 
compressed above and convex beneath, so as to make the 


* From its having been first discovered near a Carthusian Monastery. 


s] 


HELIX. 193 


periphery appear slightly keeled; the last occupying about 
half the shell: spire short, but somewhat pointed : swtwre rather 
deep : mouth of the same shape as in the last species, and simi- 
larly strengthened inside by a broad white rib, which is visible 
on the outside and placed near the opening : outer lip thin and 
very little reflected, except towards the umbilicus, not much 
inflected above : wmbilicus very small and narrow, having more 
the character of a perforation, and partly covered by the re- 
flexion of the outer lip. L. 0°275. B. 0-5. 


Var. rufilabris. Shell smaller, with the inside rib of a 
reddish-brown colour. H. rufilabris, Jeffr. in Linn, Trans. xvi. 
p. 009. 


Hasitat: On grass and herbage in the hollows of 
downs on the Kentish and Sussex coasts; common. 
The variety is found at Lewes and Littlehampton. 
Gerstfeldt, as well as Middendorff, has recorded this as 
a Siberian species ; but it does not appear to have been 


noticed in the North of Europe. It inhabits the whole 


of France, the Rhine district, South Germany, Switzer- 
land, Dalmatia, Italy and Greece. Miller, who first 
described this species, says that he received French 
specimens from Geoffroy. 

This mollusk is hardy, and during the heat of the 
day remains attached to stalks of grass and leaves of 
plants by means of a film, of the same nature as the 
epiphragm, which it secretes for that purpose. The 
edges of the mouth or outer lip are thus agglutinated. 
The animal has a singular habit of protruding the whole 
of its foot before any other part of the body when it 
issues from the shell to commence its walk. Its eggs 
are nearly as large as those of H. Cantiana, which has 
nearly three times the bulk of the present species. I 
have never observed any appearance of hairs on the 
shell; but perhaps none of my specimens are sufficiently 
young to show this character. 

K 


194 HELICIDA. 


Dr. Leach says that Mr. Gibbs first discovered this 
species to be an inhabitant of Britain, m 1814, and com- 
municated it to Col. Montagu, who named it in his 
MS. “ Helix Gibdbsii.” It is the H. Carthusianella of 
Draparnaud, who mistook Miiller’s species for H. Can- 
tiana. It differs from the last-mentioned species in the 
shell being of a much less size, more solid and nearly 
opaque, and in the spire being more depressed and the 
umbilicus much smaller and more contracted. 

All authors subsequent to Miller (with the exception 
of Gmelin and Poiret) have written the specific name 
with an “h,”’ 1. e. Carthusiana. The name of the religious 
Order is said to have been derived from Cartuse or Char- 
treuse, a hamlet near the famous Monastery; and in 
Ducange’s Glossary the monks are called “ Cartusienses, 
a Cartusiensibus montibus.” I therefore think the ori- 
ginal spelling of Cartusiana ought to be retaimed. 


9. H. nurses cens *, Pennant. 


H. rufescens, Penn. Brit. Zool. iv. p. 184, pl. lxxxy. f. 127; F. &H. iv. 
p. 66, pl. exviii. f. 4, 7. 


Bopy yellowish, grey, or brown, of various degrees of in- 
tensity, with dark-brown stripes running along the neck and 
on to the tentacles, rather strongly tubercled: tentacles of the 
same colour as the rest of the body; upper pair long and 
slender, lower ones very short; foot of a lighter colour, some- 
what narrow and slender, but short. 


SHELL subconic, compressed above and angularly rounded 
below,rather solid and nearly opaque, scarcely glossy, light ash- 
grey with generally a reddish-brown hue, sometimes trans- 
versely streaked with the last colour, and often marked with 
a white spiral band which encircles the last whorl, finely and 
closely but irregularly striate transversely : periphery obtusely 
keeled: epidermis not very thin: whorls 6—7, depressed above 
and convex beneath, the last occupying rather more than half 


* Ofa reddish colour. 


HELIX. 195 


the shell: spire short and blunt: suture rather deep: mouth 
obliquely semilunar, higher than broad, furnished inside with 
a broad white rib, which is distinctly visible outside and placed 
at a little distance from the opening: owter lip not very thin, 
slightly reflected, especially towards the umbilicus, sharply but 
not much inflected above: umbilicus narrow, but distinct, ex- 
posing all the interior of the spire. LL. 0:3. B. 0°5. 
Var. 1. albida. Shell white or colourless. 


Var. 2. minor, Shell smaller: spze more raised. 


Hasirat: Hedges, gardens, shrubberies and suburban 
woods, among nettles, under stones and logs of wood, 
and in strawberry- and violet-beds, in most parts of 
England from Westmoreland southwards, as well as m 
South Wales and Ireland. »The two varieties are not 
uncommon; and I have a scalariform distortion. It is 
one of our upper tertiary fossils. This species does not 
appear to be known in the North of Europe; but it is 
common in the North of France and at Heidelberg, and 
(according to Morelet) it inhabits Algeria. Mr. Lowe 
has enumerated it as a Madeiran species. If Férussac 
is right in referring to it the H. Altenana of Kickx, the 
present species is a native of other parts of Germany. 

H. rufescens was accurately described by Lister, who 
said it wasa favourite food of thrushes. Little heaps of 
empty shells, with the spire broken, may often be seen 
in our gardens; so that the safety of a strawberry crop 
may be partly ensured by encouraging these favourite 
songsters. This little snail never goes out in the daytime, 
unless after a shower of rain. According to Bouchard- 
Chantereaux, it lays from 40 to 50 eggs, between the 
months of August and October, and the young are 
excluded at the end of from twenty to twenty-five days. 
The shells of these young ones, and even of such as have 
as many as four whorls, are really hispid. This was first 

K 2 


196 HELICID. 


noticed by Montagu; but as he evidently confounded 
H. hispida with the present species in this stage of 
srowth, his statement that the young of H. rufescens was 
covered with hairs was discredited. Capt. Bruce Hutton 
has quite satisfied me on this point ; and the hairs are 
very easily discerned with a lens of moderate power. 
They are very short and caducous ; but the sockets of 
the hairs, or the impressions which are caused by their 
insertion into the epidermis, remain on the surface of 
full-grown specimens, and may be seen under a micro- 
scope. M. Drouet has lately confirmed this fact of the 
young shells bemg hispid. In some specimens from 
Clifden, Co. Galway, the, shell is finely striate in a 
spiral direction. 

Having had an opportunity of observing in their native 
habitats the H. circinnata, montana, and celata of Studer, 
which appear to belong to one and the same species, I 
am not inclined to consider them as varieties of H. ru- 
fescens. Their spire is much more depressed and the 
suture deeper than in the present species. I have, how- 
ever, no doubt that the H. glabella of Draparnaud, and 
probably also the H. clandestina of Hartmann, are the 
same as our shell. The H. rufescens of Gmelin and 
Grateloup are very different from this, the former being 
a river shell and the latter an exotic species. 


10. H. concin’na*, Jeffreys. 


H. concinna, Jeffr.in Linn. Trans. xvi. p. 336. H. hispida, var. concinna, 
F. & H. iv. p. 70, pl. exvii. f. 2, 3. 


Bopy lustrous, reddish-brown, minutely tubercled or gra- 
nulated: tentacles of a lighter colour; upper pair larger and 
more slender than in the next species (H. hispida); lower 
ones very short: foot narrow, of a greyish colour on its sides 
and sole. 

* Neat. 


HELIX. 197 


SHELL subconic, compressed on both sides, rather solid for 
its size, but semitransparent, somewhat glossy, light ash-grey, 
with occasionally faint streaks of reddish-brown, giving the 
shell a prettily mottled appearance ; there is also frequently 
on the last whorl a white spiral band like that in H. rufescens; 
the surface also is transversely striate as in that species: peri- 
phery obtusely and indistinctly keeled: epidermis rather thick, 
sparsely covered with short white hairs, which are easily 
rubbed off: whorls 6-7, compact, rather depressed above and 
slightly convex beneath, the last scarcely occupying one-third 
of the shell: spzre short and blunt: suture deep: mouth ob- 
liquely semilunar, considerably higher than broad, furnished 
inside with a sharp white rib, which becomes thicker towards 
the umbilicus and is placed near the opening: outer lip not 
very thin in adult specimens and somewhat reflected: wmbi- 
licus rather broad, open and deep. L. 0-2. B. 0-4. 

Var. 1. albida. Shell white. 

Var. 2. minor. Shell smaller and also white: spire more 

depressed than usual. 


Hasitat: Under stones among nettles and the drum 
maculatum, as well as at the roots of grass im moist 
places; generally distributed. Var. 1. With specimens 
of the usual colour. Var. 2. South of Ireland (Duill- 
wyn); Bath (Clark); Dover (J. G.J.).. The typical 
form occurs not unfrequently in our upper tertiary beds. 
It is not uncommon in many parts of the Continent, 
but it has been probably overlooked and considered a 
variety of H. hispida. The second variety I found at 
Calais, as well as at Dover. 

Between two and three years after I had described 
this species in the ‘ Transactions’ of the Linnean So- 
ciety, I had some misgivings as to its being distinct from 
some of the numerous varieties of H. hispida, and I 
expressed this doubt in a Supplement to my Monograph ; 
but as the species I had propostd is adopted by Conti- 
nental naturalists, and there is a fair probability that this 
has quite as good a claim to specific distinction as many 


198 HELICIDA. 


others, I have now ventured to restore it. The shell is 
never globose, like that of H. hispida, and it is more 
glossy ; the umbilicus is considerably more open; and 
the hairs are more scattered and easily shed. Besides 
these differences in the shell, Mr. Smith has pointed out 
in the ‘ Zoologist’ (1854, p. 4333) that the animal is 
darker-coloured, and the foot narrower and far less 
fleshy than in H. hispida, which has a thick yellowish- 
white foot. From H. rufescens, with which the present 
species seems to connect H. hispida, it differs in the 
shell being much smaller, and in the whorls being more 
rounded and compact, though equally numerous. All 
these three species are found together. Sometimes the 
shell of H. concinna exhibits several formations in suc- 
cession of the labial rib. 

Beck has referred the H. umbrosa of Partsch to the 
variety minor of the present species ; but, judging from 
Rossmassler’s figure, the Austrian shell is much more 
globular. Neither can this be the H. depilata of C. 
Pfeiffer, which he describes as subglobose and having a 
narrow umbilicus. He compares it with H. sericea, and 
not with H. hispida. 


ll. H. wis pia*, Linné. 


H. hispida, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1244; F. & H. iv. p. 68, pl. exviii. 
f. 1, and (animal) pl. G. G. G. f. 1. 


Bopy greyish-brown or slate-colour, mottled with black ; 
tubercles speckled with milk-white : tentacles rather thick, of 
a somewhat darker colour than the rest of the body : foot 
rounded in front, marked with fine black specks, gradually 
narrowing behind to a rather blunt, convex and keeled tail. 


SHELL subconic, more convex above than below, rather thin 
and semitransparent, very little glossy ; colour, markings, and 
sculpture the same as in H. concinna, but the colour of the 


* Bristly. 


HELIX. 199 


present species is usually much darker and of a uniform yel- 
lowish-brown: perzphery rounded, and seldom keeled or an- 
gulated : epidermis thick, closely covered with short recurved 
white hairs, which are persistent and not easily rubbed off: 
whorls 6-7, rounded and moderately convex on both sides, 
the last occupying about one-third of the shell: spre some- 
what raised, but blunt: suture deep: mouth obliquely semi- 
lunar, rather broader than high, sometimes (especially in the 
adult) furnished with an interior rib, as in the last species : 
outer lip thin, not reflected, and very little inflected above: 
umbilicus small and narrow, but deep. L. 0-185, B. 0:3. 


Var. 1. subrufa. Shell reddish-brown and more solid, with 
a strong labial rib. 


Var. 2. albida. Shell thinner, white or colourless. 
Var. 3. conica. Shell smaller: spire more raised. 


Var. 4. nana. Shell much smaller, but with a strong labia. 
rib: spire depressed, L. 0-1. B. 0-2. 


Var. 5. subglobosa. Shell more globular and much thinner, 
horncolour or white: wmbilicus very small. H. sericea, Alder, 
Suppl. Cat. Northumb. Moll. p. 4. 


Hasirat: Everywhere under stones and logs of wood, 
as well as among moss and herbage in woods, gardens, 
hedges and all sorts of rural spots. Var. 1. Not un- 
common in dry situations. Var. 2. In osier-beds, as 
well as on the limestone at Kendal. Var. 3. At the 
roots of Rosa spinosissima on the sand-hills near Swan- 
sea. War. 4. Freshwater, Isle of Wight (Metcalfe). 
Var. 5. Northumberland and Durham (Alder): Ham- 
mersmith; Plymouth; Brocklesby, Lincolnshire (J.G.J.). 
I have noticed this variety in Continental collections 
as H. sericea; but it is certainly not Miiller’s species of 
that name, although forming a passage to it. Distor- 
tions of the spire are sometimes met with. This species 
is common in our upper tertiary strata. It has a wide 
range, extending from Siberia to Sicily, from which 
latter place Philippi has recorded it under the name of 


200 HELICID, 


H. sericea. Mr. Lowe has noticed it as inhabiting 
Madeira. In all probability it derives its origin from 
a preglacial epoch. 

This little snail does some mischief in our gardens by 
nibbling before the dawn of day the leaves of some of 
the more succulent plants. The Rev. Revett Sheppard 
remarked that it was an amphibious species, being “ fre- 
quently found some feet below the surface of water on 
stakes and piles, upon which it ascends and descends at 
pleasure ;” and he added that the eggs resemble those 
of birds and retain their form without shrinking. Ac- 
cording to M. Bouchard-Chantereaux, the H. hispida lays, 
between the months of April and September, 40 eggs, 
which are globular, white and opaque; the fry are born 
at the end of the twentieth to the twenty-fifth day, and 
emerge from the egg with nearly one whorl of their shell 
formed ; and more than half of this embryonic shell is 
then covered with minute red and straight hairs of a 
tolerably strong consistence. The summit of the spire 
is quite smooth and polished. The black spots on the 
mantle are sometimes visible through the semitrans- 
parent shell, even in dried specimens. ‘The first-formed 
whorls are often whitish, in consequence of their not 
being occupied by the animal. 

The H. plebeia of Draparnaud seems to be one of the 
numerous varieties of this species, judging from his 
description and a comparison of specimens thus named 
which I received from his friend M. D’Orbigny at 
Rochelle. According to Moquin-Tandon, the umbilicus 
of this variety is very narrow. Several other species 
have been carved out of this variable and ubiquitous 
form by Continental conchologists, 


HELIX. 201 


12. H. sericea *, Miller. 


H. sericea, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 62; F. & H. iv. p. 71, pl. exviii. 
f..5, 6. 


Bopy yellowish-grey, closely tubercled: mantle reddish- 
brown, with milk-white specks: tentacles rather long, of an 
iron-grey colour: foot rather broad and slightly raised at its 
sides. 

SHELL conical, subglobular, thin, but (by reason of its colour) 
not usually semitransparent, scarcely glossy, greyish-white, 
with sometimes a few slight transverse streaks of reddish- 
brown, very finely but indistinctly striate in the line of growth: 
periphery rounded, and never keeled or angulated: epidermis 
rather thick, closely covered with rather long and very fine, 
white, downy hairs, which are persistent and, when rubbed 
off, leave their sockets very perceptible, giving the surface in 
that case a finely granulated appearance: whorls 6, extremely 
convex, the last occupying nearly one-half of the shell: spire 
considerably raised, but blunt: suture not very deep: mouth 
semilunar, much broader than high, sometimes (in adult 
specimens) furnished with a slight internal white rib, which 
is much stronger towards the umbilicus: outer lip thin, a 
little reflected, scarcely at all inflected above: wmbilicus ex- 
ceedingly small, but deep, having more the character of a 
perforation. L.0-2. B. 0-3. 


Var. cornea. Shell horncolour, very thin, glossy and semi- 
transparent; the labial rib perceptible on the outside. 


Hasitat: Mossy banks and hedges in various parts 
of the country, from the Moray Firth district to Corn- 
wall, as well as at Tenby and Manorbeer in Pembroke- 
shire. I am not aware of any Irish locality. The 
variety was found by me at Lulworth. This species 
occurs in our upper tertiary beds. It inhabits the more 
temperate parts of Europe; but according to Krynicki it 
is found in the Caucasus, and Gerstfeldt has recorded 
it as occurring in the province of Irkutsk in Siberia. It, 
however, seems to be local both here and abroad. It is 


* Silky. 


202 HELICIDA. 


difficult to ascertain its exact distribution, because of a 
variety of H. hispida being often mistaken for it. 

It seems to affect elevated as well as moist situations. 
Puton found it on the Vosges mountains at a height of 
about 3772 English feet. 

This shell is easily distinguishable from H. hispida by 
the globoseness of its form and greater height of the 
spire, by being much more thin and of a lighter colour, 
by the want of any keel or angularity, and by the thicker 
and downy covering of hair. 

It is the H. hispida of Montagu, whose description of 
the shell is, as usual, most accurate. He says “it is so 
remarkably light and so covered with hairs, that when 
let fall upon a hard body it is scarce heard.” Beck is 
of opimion that the H. sericea of Miller is the young of 
H. incarnata; but the surface of immature shells of 
that species is not hairy, but scaly or like seal-skin. 
The present species appears to be the H. revelata of 
Férussac ; and it is also the H. granulata of Alder, and 
my H. globularis. 


13. H. revera’ta *, Michaud. 


H. revelata, Mich. Compl. p. 27, pl. xv. f. 6-8; F.& H. iv. p. 70, pl. exix. 
f. 1-3. 


Bopy pale yellowish-grey, sometimes having a reddish or 
dusky hue, closely tubercled : mantle yellowish-brown, minutely 
speckled with brown and milk-white: tentacles rather thick 
and long, of a dirty-grey colour faintly tinged with violet or 
brown; the upper ones finely granulated, with globular bulbs: 
foot rounded in front, triangular and keeled behind; sides 
marked with transverse furrows. 


SHEL subglobular, somewhat compressed above and rounded 
below, very thin and semitransparent, rather glossy, yellowish- 
green, marked with irregular wrinkles in the line of growth, 


* Discovered. 


HELIX. 203 


which are stronger towards the suture and base of the shell, 
making the former appear slightly puckered; the surface is 
also very finely granulated: periphery rounded and prominent : 
epidermis rather thick, covered with short white hairs, which 
are easily rubbed off: whorls 43, very convex and swollen, 
the last occupying two-thirds of the shell: spzre very little 
raised and blunt: sutwre remarkably deep: mouth forming a 
segment of about three-fifths of a circle, contracted inside by 
the prominence of the periphery, not furnished with a mb: 
outer lip thin, a little reflected and considerably so near the 
umbilicus, sharply inflected above: wmbilicus small, narrow, 
and not deep. L. 0-185. B. 0-285. 


Hasitat: Downs on the sea-coast of our Southern 
counties and the Channel Isles, as well as (according to 
Mr. E. J. Lowe) in Nottinghamshire. The British 
localities are so few that I will particularize them, in 
the hope that the known range of this comparatively 
rare species may be extended by further observation. 
They are—Torquay (Hanley); Plymouth (Norman) ; 
Devon (Bellamy); Megavissey (Couch); Pendennis 
(Cocks, Benson) ; Land’s End (Millet) and Scilly Isles 
(Barlee),—all the last four bemg Cornish localities ; 
Guernsey (Forbes and others) ; Sark (Lukis and J.G.J.) ; 
Stanton-on-the-Wolds, Notts, in woods during October 
(Lowe). It is found in the South-west of France and 
in Portugal, as well as (according to Michaud) in the 
alpine valleys of the former country. 

In winter and dry weather it buries itself rather deep 
in the earth, and must be looked for by pulling up tufts 
of grass and large stones which are sunk in the ground, 
as well as by searching among the roots of shrubs and 
furze-bushes. It has a different kind of epiphragm for 
summer and winter. The former kind is filmy, trans- 
parent and iridescent, and it has a small round hole 
corresponding with the position of the respiratory orifice, 
thus enabling the animal to procure a continual supply 


204 HELICIDA. 


of air from the atmosphere. The winter covering is 
thicker, opaque, and nearly white. 

This is another instance of rather conspicuous land- 
shells having been overlooked in places where observant 
naturalists had long searched and obtained much smaller 
species. Col. Montagu especially investigated the Tes- 
tacea of our Southern counties; and these have always 
been a favourite haunt of our field or outdoor concho- 
logists. The AH. revelata was for the first time noticed 
as a British species by Dr. Gray in 1840, in consequence 
of the late Professor Edward Forbes having found it 
in Guernsey and presented specimens to our National 
Museum. 

The H. revelata of Férussac, who first used this name, 
is (as I have before observed) the H. sericea of Miiller ; 
but Michaud afterwards described and figured the pre- 
sent species under the same name, supposing it to be 
Férussac’s species. It therefore appears unnecessary 
to adopt the name either of Ponentina or occidentalis, 
which were subsequently (in 1845) applied to this species 
by Morelet and Récluz. The H. revelata of Bouchard- 
Chantereaux is our H. fusca, of which I had an oppor- 
tunity of satisfyimg him soon after the publication of 
his excellent Memoir on the Land and Freshwater Mol- 
lusca of the Pas-de-Calais. Some shells which I noticed 
in the collection of M. D’Orbigny at Rochelle, in 
1830, as having been received by him from Draparnaud, 
under the name of H. sericea (two of which he kindly 
presented to me and are now in my possession), belong 
to the present species, and occasioned the remark which 
I made in the Supplement to my paper in the ‘ Linnean 
Transactions’ (vol. xvi. p. 507) as to the H. sericea of 
the last-named author. Michaud’s work was not pub- 
lished until 1831. 


HELIX. 205 


14. H. rus’ca*, Montagu. 


H. fusca, Mont. Test. Brit. p.424, pl. xiii. f.1; F. & H. iv. p. 77, pl. cxix 
f. 4, 5, and (animal) pl. G.G.G. f. 4. 


Bopy long, yellowish-white or grey, with two longitudinal 
streaks of brown leading to the tentacles, irregularly but rather 
finely tubercled: mantle covered with faint and minute specks 
of brown and milk-white: tentacles long, bluish-grey with a 
slight tinge of violet; bulbs short: foot very long and narrow, 
pointed behind, with a bluish tint on the sides near the sole. 

SHELL subconical, slightly compressed above and below, ex- 
tremely thin and transparent, glossy, yellowish-brown, marked 
transversely with strong but irregular wrinkles ; the surface of 
young shells is also very finely striate in the same direction 
like hair-cloth: periphery rounded, but encircled by a slight 
keel; epidermis tolerably thick: whorls 54, convex, the last 
occupying rather more than one-half of the shell: spre some- 
what raised, but not pointed : suture distinct, though not deep : 
mouth oblique, semilunar, considerably broader than high, not 
furnished with a rib: outer lip very thin, reflected over the 
umbilicus and sharply inflected above: umbilicus extremely 
small and narrow, reduced to little more than a perforation. 
L. 0-225. B. 0°35. 


Hasirat: Woods, on young trees, and among nettles 
and dog-mercury, in many parts of these isles from 
Aberdeenshire to Devon, but not everywhere. It is one 
of our upper tertiary fossils. Montagu mentions, in his 
Supplement (p. 148), having received through Mr. Boys 
from Scotland a shell which would seem from the de- 
scription to be a white variety of this species; but the 
source is rather suspicious, as Mr. Boys was the means 
of introducing many exotic shells into our Fauna. The 
finest specimens in my collection were kindly sent to 
me by the late Mr. Thompson of Belfast, from that 
neighbourhood. H. fusca occurs ia the North and South- 


* Dark-brown. 


206 HELICIDA. 


west of France; but it does not appear to have been 
noticed elsewhere on the Continent. 

M. Bouchard-Chantereaux, who was the first to dis- 
cover this species in France, but who mistook it for H. 
revelata, says that it inhabits young alders (the fohage 
of which constitutes its food) in the woods near Bou- 
logne, and protects itself from the heat of the day by 
clinging to the underside of the leaves, falling with 
them in September and October; and that it then occu- 
pies itself in the work of reproduction, for which the 
dead leaves offer a convenient place of retreat. Its eggs 
number from 40 to 50, and are globular and of an opaline 
lustre. The young are excluded about the twentieth 
day after the eggs are laid, and become adult at the end 
of from ten to twelve months. These pretty little snails 
are tolerably active, and appear to be nearly always 
moving their horns about. They secrete a good deal of 
slime. According to Mogquin-Tandon they are grega- 
rious and sociable, and have been observed each mutually 
polishing its neighbour’s shell with its foot. 

The shell differs from that of any other kind of British 
Helix in its peculiar sculpture, which resembles that of 
a Continental species, H. incarnata. In shape and the 
narrowness of its umbilicus it somewhat resembles H. 
sericea; but in the present species the spire is more de- 
pressed, the last or body whorl is proportionally larger 
than the others, and the epidermis is never hairy hke 
that of the last-named species, or H. revelata. The tex- 
ture of this shell is also far more fragile than in either of 
those species, and its colour is uniformly of a light yellow- 
ish-brown, instead of whitish or dark greenish-brown. 

This is not the H. fusca of Poiret (whose work pre- 
ceded that of Montagu by two years); but as that shell 


HELIX. 207 


is only a variety of H. nemoralis and allied to the one 
called hybrida, there does not appear to be any greater 
reason for changing Montagu’s name than there was in 
the similar case of H. revelata. 


D. Shell subconical or depressed, and banded: outer lip streng- 
thened by an internal rib: umbilicus large or distinct. 


15. H. Prisa'na*, Miller. 
H. Pisana, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 60; F. & H. iv. p. 56, pl. exv. f. 7, 8. 


Bopy yellowish-grey with a tinge of red in front, rather 
strongly tubercled: mantle often dark-brown, tinged with 
yellow and marked with very small and numerous milk-white 
specks: tentacles rather broad at their base, but slender, finely 
shagreened; the so-called optic nerves continue along the 
neck, so as to form two dark lines; bulbs very globular and of 
a reddish colour, indistinctly speckled with brown: foot long, 
somewhat truncate in front, gradually narrowing and pointed 
behind, but not keeled. 


Suet subglobular, sightly compressed above, convex below, 
rather solid and opaque, moderately glossy, yellowish-white, 
beautifully marked with brown spiral bands, which vary greatly 
in number (there being sometimes as many as fifteen or sixteen 
on the last whorl, but usually only one underneath), and more 
or less marked transversely with short oblique streaks of the 
same colour, causing the upper part of the shell to appear 
speckled ; sculpture consisting of irregular strize in the line of 
growth and of fine, close, spiral striz, which intersect the 
transverse strize on the upper whorls and give to the surface a 
delicately reticulated appearance: periphery rounded: epi- 
dermis extremely thin and only perceptible under a micro- 
scope: whorls 54, very convex but compressed towards the 
suture, the last occupying considerably more than one-half of 
the shell: spire somewhat raised, but having a blunt point, 
which is of a purplish-brown colour: suture rather slight : 
mouth forming a segment of two-thirds of a circle ; interior 
sometimes pink or blush-colour and furnished with a slight 
rib, which is either pale yellowish, white, or pink : outer lip 
sharp, but thickened, reflected in the direction of the umbilicus 


* First found at Pisa. 


208 HELICID&. 


and especially over it, rather abruptly inflected above: um- 
bilicus extremely small, narrow and oblique. L.0:5, B. 0°75. 


Var. alba, Shell pale yellowish-white or snow-white, with 
or without translucent markings. H. Pisana, var, alba, Shuttle- 
worth, Moll. Cors. p. 15. 


Hasitrat: On a hill and sand-banks, as well as in 
gardens facing the sea, at Tenby in Pembrokeshire, to 
the south and south-west of that charming watering- 
place (Montagu and others); Manorbeer in the same 
county (J.G.J.); St. Ives and Whitsand Bay, Cornwall 
(Montagu) ; Jersey (Lukis) ; and also (according to Dr. 
Turton) Balbriggan strand in Dublin Bay. Although 
local, it is most abundant at Tenby, and is said to be 
equally so in Jersey and near Dublin. Its foreign dis- 
tribution seems also to be limited. The centre and 
South of France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Judea, Dal- 
matia, Illyria, Algeria, Madeira, the Canary Isles, and 
Azores are the only extra-British localities that I have 
seen recorded. 

The limited range of this species in Great Britain is 
unaccountable. I have endeavoured twice, with an in- 
terval of nearly three years between each attempt, to 
colonize this beautifully marked and peculiar shell on 
the sand-hills near Swansea, by brmging a basketful of 
live specimens from Tenby, a distance of only about 
thirty miles ; and they were spread over different parts of 
the Burrows, in order to ensure a better chance of success. 
But, although they seemed at first to thrive tolerably 
well in the new locality, they did not multiply, and the 
birds soon ate up the immigrants. ‘These experiments 
were made at different times of the year; and the soil 
and herbage on the Swansea sand-hills were the same as 
at Tenby, the only difference being the aspect, which at 
Swansea was more easterly. The colourimg of the man- 


. HELIX. 209 


tle corresponds with the markings of the shell. The 
pink hue of the mouth appears to be deeper and brighter 
in specimens which are exposed to the sun. Drapar- 
naud says that this colour is more perceptible in the 
shells of those individuals which have been kept a long 
time without food, or after their death. These snails 
adhere in the daytime to the stalks and leaves of grass, 
as well as to shrubs, by means of a rather thick calca- 
reous secretion, which lines the outer lip of the mouth. 
My late friend Mr. Barlee informed me that at St. Ives 
he procured live specimens by digging some inches in 
the sand-hills, at the roots of the Carex arenaria, where 
the snails had buried themselves, the weather being 
then very hot and the herbage not affording much shelter 
from the sun’s rays. Both in summer and winter they 
close the mouths of their shells with an epiphragm, 
which in the former case is filmy, very transparent and 
iridescent, and in the latter opaque and like thin paper. 
Mr. Millet says that they feed on the Eryngium mari- 
timum. According to St. Simon they are omnivorous, 
One of them greedily devoured a globule of slime which 
he had taken from a slug. In Jersey the thistles are 
covered with them. It seems only to be found on the 
coast-line, and never inland, in this country. 

This and the three following species constitute a sub- 
section, of which Risso made the genus Theda, from 
Leach’s MS.; but H. Cantiana and other different forms 
were associated with it both by Risso and Leach. 

The present species was first described by Petiver, and 
received from him the name of Pisana, but accompanied 
by other characters which preclude his authority being 
recognized for the name under the rules of the binomial 
system. It is the H. zonaria of Pennant, H. rhodostoma 
of Draparnaud, and H. cingenda of Montagu. 


210 HELICID#. 


16. H. virea’ta *, Da Costa. 


H. virgata, Da Costa, Brit. Conch. p. 79, pl. iv. f.7; F. & H. iv. p. 57, 
pl. exvii. f. 10. 


Bopy yellowish-white or ash-grey, coarsely tubercled : 
mantle often dark-violet, indistinctly speckled with milk-white 
and brown: tentacles rather thick, cylindrico-conie, greyish 
with a dusky tinge ; bulbs globular and reddish, speckled with 
brown at their base: foot broad and rounded in front, gradually 
narrowing behind and ending in a blunt but not keeled tail. 

SHELL conical, with a broad and convex base, rather solid 
and opaque, moderately glossy, white or cream-colour, with a 
single broad purplish-brown or chestnut band immediately 
above the periphery and two or three other bands (sometimes 
as many as six or seven) below it; the colour, however, is 
very variable, being occasionally plain yellowish, white, or dark 
brown with white bands, or the dark bands are streaked or 
interrupted so as to make the surface appear spotted ; sculp- 
ture consisting only of striz in the line of growth, which are 
closer on the upper whorls: periphery rounded, except in 
young shells, which have a short but rather sharp keel: epr- 
dermis scarcely perceptible: whorls 6, convex but slightly 
compressed towards the suture, the last occupying more than 
one-half of the shell: spzre raised, purplish-brown at the 
point: sutwre moderately deep: mouth forming a segment of 
three-fourths of a circle, inside purplish-brown with a strong 
rib of the same colour, or white in the albino variety: outer 
lip sharp, reflected towards and over the umbilicus, rather 
abruptly inflected above: wmbilicus narrow, but deep, and ex- 
posing nearly all the interior of the spire. L. 0:4. B..0:55. 

Var. 1. subaperta. Shell of a whiter hue: spire more de- 
pressed: umbilicus wider. 

Var. 2. subglobosa. Shell smaller, with a double band above 
the periphery, last whorl larger in proportion to the others: 
umbilicus wider. 

Var’3. submaritima, Des Moulins. Shell much smaller and 
more deeply coloured, often with a violet tinge: spire raised. 
L. 0-25. B. 0:325. 

Var. 4. carinata. Shell yellowish-white, compressed above : 
periphery strongly keeled. 


Hasirat: Sandy downs and heaths in most parts of 
* Banded. 


HELIX. Dt 


England, Wales, and Ireland, from Yorkshire to the 
Channel Isles. It is generally found on the sea-coast, 
where the conditions are probably more favourable to its 
existence ; but it also inhabits mland districts, such as 
Oxfordshire, Wilts, and Bath, and it is by no means 
confined to calcareous soils. Var. 1. Bath (Clark). 
This variety is allied to the H. neglecta of Draparnaud. 
Var. 2. Bantry Bay and St. Mawes near Falmouth 
(J.G.J.).. Var.3. Braunton burrows in North Devon, and 
Swansea burrows (J. G. J.) ; Isle of Wight (Pickering). 
This resembles the H. lineata (H. maritima, Draparnaud). 
Var. 4. Wingfrith near Wareham, about five miles from 
the sea (Daniel). This is a remarkable variety, and re- 
sembles the H. submaritima of Rossmassler from Oran. 
Mr. Norman found at Clevedon a specimen of the ordi- 
nary form which has the spire reversed. The foreign 
distribution of this species appears to be confined to 
France, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the sea-board of 
North Africa. In the North of Europe, Germany, and 
Switzerland its place is taken by the H. unifasciata of 
Poiret (H. candidula, Studer) ; but both that and the 
present species are found together in the North of France. 

This is one of the species which has given rise to the 
popular notion that it sometimes rains snails. H. vir- 
gata is extremely abundant and gregarious; and in suit- 
able weather myriads of them may be seen clinging to 
the stalks of grass and leaves of shrubs. When the 
season is very dry, however, they ensconce themselves 
among the herbage; but immediately on a shower of 
rain fallmg they emerge suddenly from their lurking- 
places and appear before the astonished rustic like Ro- 
derick Dhu’s warriors at the sound of their chieftain’s 
horn. The idea of their descending in showers may also 
have originated in a whirlwind having caught up a num- 


212 HELICIDA. 


ber of them by sweeping along a grassy plain and drop- 
ping its contents in a limited area. Draparnaud men- 
tions this snail as eatable; but it must be small game 
for those who like that kind of food. It is, however, 
supposed to impart a nice flavour to our South-country 
mutton. JBorlase, in his ‘ Natural History of Cornwall’ 
(1758), says— 

“ The sweetest mutton is reckoned to be that of the 
smallest sheep, which usually feed on the commons where 
the sands are scarce covered with the green-sod, and the 
grass exceedingly short; such are the towens or sand- 
hillocks in Piran-sand, Gwythian, Philne, and Senan- 
Green near the Lands-End, and elsewhere in like situa- 
tions. rom these sands come forth snails of the tur- 
binated kind, but of different species, and all sizes from 
the adult to the smallest just from the egg ; these spread 
themselves over the plains early in the morning, and 
whilst they are in quest of their own food among the 
dews, yield a most fatning nourishment to the sheep.” 

In Montagu’s time also it appears to have been the 
prevailing opmion in the South of Devon that the H. 
virgata contributed not a little to fattening sheep; and 
in a recent number of the ‘ Field’ newspaper a corre- 
spondent says that this kind of food is supposed to 
give Dartmoor mutton its admitted superiority. Bou- 
chard-Chantereaux remarks that H. virgata does not 
seem to mind the cold, and never hibernates; that 
during frost, or when the grass is covered with snow, it 
covers the mouth of its shell with the same kind of epi- 
phragm that it makes in summer as a protection against 
the rays of the sun ; and that when a thaw takes place 
it is again active and in search of food. It usually lays 
its eggs from September to November, but sometimes as 
late as January. He also observed that when the shell 


HELIX. 213 


was of a light colour the animal was black, and that 
the clear transparent band which often accompanies the 
white variety appeared to be black when the animal 
occupied the shell. The largest specimens of H. virgata 
that I have ever seen were collected by Mr. William 
Thompson near Weymouth; they were four-fifths of an 
inch in breadth. Sometimes the mouth has two ribs, 
which are placed at a little distance from each other. 
Lady Elizabeth Finch presented me with a very prettily- 
marked variety from Sandgate. 

This species differs from H. Pisana in its much smaller 
size, more prominent spire, having only one band on the 
body whorl, and in the larger and deep umbilicus. It 
is very variable in the shape and markings of the shell. 
Mogquin-Tandon has particularized seventeen varieties, 
besides eleven more of H. lineata, which very closely 
approaches the present species. Several of these varie- 
ties have been described by Continental authors as di- 
stinct species. The typical form is the H. variabilis of 
Draparnaud ; but the name given by Da Costa was long 
anterior. 


17. H. carera’ta *, Montagu. 


H. caperata, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 430, pl. 11. f. 11; F. & H. iv. p. 59, 
pl. exvi. f. 7. 


Bopy pale or yellowish-grey, streaked with brown; tuber- 
eles rather large and close-set, with fine black points: mantle 
greyish-brown, minutely speckled with black and milk-white: 
tentacles long and rather slender, having a dusky hue; bulbs 
somewhat globular: foot nearly truncate in front, ending in a 
short and blunt tail, which is, as well as the sides of the foot, 
of a lighter colour. 


SHELL subconical, compressed both od and below, solid 
and opaque, not glossy, greyish-white, with usually a rather 


* Wrinkled. 


214 HELICID. 


narrow yellowish-brown or chestnut band immediately above 
the periphery, and from two to seven smaller bands of the 
same colour below it; the colour is equally variable in this 
species as in HH. virgata, being also occasionally plain yellowish- 
white, or dark brown with a single white band, or the dark 
bands are streaked or interrupted, so as to make the surface 
appear mottled or spotted; sculpture consisting only of striz 
in the line of growth, which are exceedingly strong and close 
together, resembling ribs: periphery obtusely keeled: epidermis 
very slight: whorls 6, compressed towards the periphery, but 
rather convex below; the last occupying about two-fifths of 
the shell; top whorls minutely granulated: spire slightly 
raised, often chestnut-brown at the summit: sutwre rather 
deep: mouth shaped as in H. virgata but more oblique, inside 
furnished with a strong white rib which is sometimes double: 
outer lip sharp, slightly reflected towards (and considerably 
so over) the umbilicus, somewhat inflected above: umbzlicus 
moderately open and exposing all the inner spire. L. 0°225. 
B. 0°375. 


Var. 1. major. Shell larger. L. 0°25. B. 0:5. 


Var. 2. ornata, Picard. Shell smaller, with broader and 
darker bands. L.0°15. B. 0:3. 


Var. 3. subscalaris. Shell conical: whorls more convex. 


Var. 4. Gigavi. Shell rather smaller: spare more de- 
pressed: wmbilicus consequently larger. H. Gigaxw, Char- 
pentier, MS. in sched. and mus. Cuming! 


_ Hasirat: Under stones and on the stalks of grass 
and shrubs in dry and sandy soils in most parts of 
Great Britain, both mland and maritime, from the 
Moray Firth district to the Channel Isles. Var. 1. 
Norwich (Bridgman) ; Surrey (Choules). Var. 2. Sandy 
coasts of North and South Wales, South Devon, and 
Cork (J. G.J.). Var. 3. Cork (Humphreys) ; Swansea 
(J. G. J.). Var. 4. Sandwich and Falmouth. This 
species has not been noticed as an upper tertiary fossil, 
or as inhabiting the North of Europe; but it is widely 
diffused over a great part of the Continent and ranges 


HELIX. 215 


through Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, and Italy 
to Algeria, Greece, and Palestine. 

This is a sluggish mollusk and never leaves its retreat 
or place of attachment, except after rain. It is often 
fonnd in gardens and corn-fields near the sea. Bouchard- 
Chantereaux says that between the months of August 
and October it lays from 35 to 40 eggs, which are quite 
white and opaque, and that the young are excluded at 
the end of from fifteen to twenty days, becoming adult 
at the end of the next year. Brard hazarded a singular 
conjecture, that the tinge of violet-brown’ which is ob- 
servable in the shells of this and a few other allied spe- 
cies, and which fades away soon after death, may be 
owing to an exudation or secretion by the animal of 
oxide of manganese. 

H. caperata differs from H. virgata m its much smaller 
size, its depressed spire and larger umbilicus, and espe- 
cially in the numerous rib-like strize which hoop round 
each whorl. This appears to be the H. striatula of 
Miller, but not that of Linné. It is also im all proba- 
bility the H. fasciolata and H. intersecta of Poiret, and 
certainly the last-named species of Michaud ; but Poiret’s 
descriptions are much too brief and obscure for the pur- 
pose of identification. Draparnaud also described and 
figured the present species under the name of H. striata ; 
but although the work which contains this description 
and figure (the ‘ Tableau’) bears date and was published 
before that of Montagu, Draparnaud’s name cannot be 
adopted, because Miller had previously described another 
species of Hehx under the same name. ‘The present 
species is allied to H. conspurcata of Draparnaud, which, 
however, has a hispid shell and belongs to the last section 
of Heliz. 

A specimen of the H. terrestris of Pennant (H. elegans, 


216 HELICID. 


Drap.) is in Dr. Turton’s collection of British shells, 
marked “ Cornwall” (the birthplace of many spurious or 
exotic shells) ; but although it has not at present any 
well-founded claim to British parentage, it is remarkable 
that this characteristic species, which had been so long 
considered as peculiar to the shores of the Mediterranean, 
has been lately found by M. PAbbé Maillard at Beauvais 
in the North of France; and I have seen the specimens 
and been satisfied as to the correctness of this discovery. 


18. H. ericeto rum*, Miller. 
H. ericetorum, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p.33; F. & H. iv. p. 61, pl. exvii. f. 4. 


Bopy greyish-white or yellowish, with sometimes a tinge of 
reddish-brown ; tubercles very close-set; mantle marked with 
rather small and irregular, but distinct, milk-white specks: 
tentacles rather long and thick, distinctly granulated, of a yel- 
lowish-grey colour; bulbs globular: foot slightly angulated in 
front, its sides having a narrow whitish border, and the tail 
tapering to a blunt point. 

SHELL nearly circular, much compressed above, but not quite 
so much below, rather thin, but nearly opaque, glossy, whitish 
or cream-colour, with usually a rather broad chestnut band a 
little above the periphery, and from two to six narrow bands of 
the same colour below it, but all these bands (or some of them) 
are often interrupted or altogether wanting; sculpture con- 
sisting of faint strie in the line of growth, and often of irre- 
gular pit-marks or indentations, which are thickly scattered 
over the surface: periphery round, and not in the least keeled 
or angular: epidermis very thin: whorls 6, cylindrical, the 
last occupying about three-fifths of the shell: spire very slightly | 
raised, chestnut-brown at the summit: sutwre deep: mouth 
nearly round, forming a segment of about four-fifths of a 
circle, somewhat oblique, in consequence of the greater pro- 
minenee of the upper lip, and occasionally strengthened by a 
slight internal rib: outer lip rather thick, slightly reflected 
and especially towards the columella, very abruptly inflected 


* Frequenting heaths. 


HELIX. 217 


above: umbilicus extremely large and open, exposing a con- 
siderable part of the penultimate and preceding whorls and all 
the interior of the spire. L. 0-25. B. 0-675. 


Var. 1. alba, Charpentier. Shell milk-white. 
Var. 2. minor. Shell smaller. L. 0-2. B. 0-5. 


Var. 3. imstabilis. Shell smaller, of a darker colour, and 
sometimes streaked or spotted: spzre more raised: wmbilicus 
narrower. HH. instabilis, (Ziegler) var. 3, L. Pfeiffer, Mon. Hel. 
i. p. 165. 


Var. 4. sinistrorsa. Shell having the spire reversed. 


Hasitat: Dry heaths,downs,and sand-hills, on thistles 
and other plants, in various parts of Great Britain, but 
apparently not ranging further north than the Hebrides. 
Var. 1 is also not uncommon, and is (according to 
Gray) the H. obliterata of Hartmann, besides having five 
other names. Var. 2. Kendal (J.G.J.). Var. 3. Iona 
_ (Lowe) ; Mull (Bedford) ; Connemara (J. G.J.). Var. 4. 
Bridlington (Strickland). The shell is also inclined to 
be occasionally scalariform. This species and several of 
its varieties are widely diffused over the Continent from 
Cassel to Sicily; but it does not seem to inhabit the 
extreme North of Europe, unless it is the same species 
as that which Nilsson has described under the name of 
HH, ericetorum. The Swedish species has been considered 
by many counchologists to be distinct, and it has been 
named H, Nilssoniana by Beck, Malm, and other writers. 
With the above exception, all the species comprised in 
the present section appear to belong to what may be 
termed a South-HEuropean type. 

This is a shy and inactive mollusk, withdrawing itself 
into the shell on the slightest touch. The specific name 
now borne by this very elegant shell was first given to it 
by Lister, who observed that continued rains kill a great 
number of them—a fact which I can corroborate. It 

L 


218 HELICID. 


commences egg-laying in August, and retires into winter- 
quarters in November, when it shuts itself up by means 
of its epiphragm and remains concealed at the roots of 
grass or under the shelter of a stone until spring. 

The flat shape of this shell, its exceedingly large um- 
bilicus, and nearly circular mouth will easily serve to 
distinguish it from any other of our banded Helices. 

Linné was supposed by some to have given the name 
of Jtala to this species; but L. Pfeiffer considers it a 
synonym of H. cespitum. The Linnean description, how- 
ever, is “‘ convexa,” and the size that of a hazel-nut— 
both of which characters are more appropriate to H. 
virgata than to the present species. The original types 
in the collection of the illustrious Swede appear to have 
been so disarranged and confused by the late possessor 
(Sir James Smith) and others, that I fear they are now of 
little value as a means of identifying any of the species 
described either in the ‘ Fauna Suecica’ or the ‘Systema 
Nature,’ except in a very few instances where the hand- 
writing of Linné has been preserved on or with the 
specimens ; and this unfortunately is very seldom the 
case. 


E. Shell depressed: outer lip usually thin and destitute of a 
rib: umbilicus very large. 


19. H. rotunpa’ta*, Miiller. 
3. 


H. rotundata, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 29; F. & H. iv. p. 80, pl. exis. 
f. 6, 7, and (animal) pl. G. G. G. f. 2. 


Bopy small in comparison with the shell and very slender, 
rounded in front and ending in a blunt point, slate-colour or 
light-grey with a faint tinge of blue, very finely speckled with 
black on the front and sides; tubercles rather large, flat, 
round and thick, but not very distinct: mantle reddish-yellow, 
marked with very close and distinct milk-white dots: tentacles 


* Rounded. 


HELIX. 219 


dark-grey with black specks ; upper pair rather close together 
and nearly cylindrical; bulbs short, thick, and subglobular: 
foot rather narrow, rounded in front, thickened at its sides, and 
ending in a very slender but blunt tail. 

SHELL nearly circular, more compressed below than above, 
rather thin but nearly opaque, moderately glossy and slightly 
iridescent, yellowish-brown or horncolour, and marked trans- 
versely with equidistant reddish-brown streaks or blotches ; 
sculpture consisting of numerous curved transverse ribs, which 
are equally strong on both sides and sometimes anastomose, as 
well as of minute intermediate striz, and of a slight granula- 
tion on the first whorl, which is destitute of ribs: periphery 
bluntly keeled: epedermis not very thin: whorls 6-7, subcy- 
lindrical, convex below, the last occupying about one-third of 
the shell and the rest gradually diminishing in size: spire 
slightly raised; summit glossy and semitransparent: suture 
very deep: mouth obliquely quadrangular, strengthened in 
adult specimens by a narrow, but strong, white internal rib: 
outer lip thickened in the adult, but usually sharp and thin, 
very slightly reflected, and not much inflected above: wmbh- 
licus extremely large, open, and deep, exposing a considerable 
part of all the whorls, as well as the whole of the internal 
spire. L. 0-1. B. 0°275. 


Var. 1. minor. Shell smaller. 
Var. 2. pyramidalis. Shell subconical: spure more raised. 


Var. 3. Turtont. Shell greatly depressed above and below: 
spire nearly flat. H. Turtoni, Fleming, Brit. Anim. p. 269. 


Var. 4. alba, Moquin-Tandon. Shell pale yellowish-white 
or with a greenish tinge. 

Hasitat: Under stones, logs of wood, and bark of 
old trees, as well as in decayed wood and moss, and 
among dead leaves, everywhere from the most northern 
extremity of Great Britain to the Channel Isles. Var.1 
appears to be an alpine form. I have found it not only 
in Zetland, and on the Jura and Swiss Alps, but also in 
Guernsey. This form occurs also in our upper tertiary 
beds, probably indicating their northern origin. Var. 2. 
Swansea and other places (J. G. J.). Var. 3. Dublin 
(Turton); Bath (Clark); Bristol, and Dunboy in Bantry 

L2 


220 HELICID. 


Bay (J. G.J.). This variety is the H. rotundata of Tur- 
ton’s ‘ Conchological Dictionary.’ Var. 4. Bucks, Surrey, 
Kent, Essex, Oxon, Gloucester, Somerset, Salop, York, 
Northumberland, Aberdeen, Glamorgan, and most pro- 
bably other counties; but it is rare. This common 
species ranges from Russia and Finland to Sicily and the 
Azores. 

This pretty little shell reminds one of a Solarium or 
of the Trochus perspectivus. The animal is exceedingly 
shy; and Miller relates that he spent two hours in 
watching one of them, before it made its appearance, 
although he took every precaution not to alarm the little 
creature. It appears not to be prolific. According to 
Bouchard-Chantereaux, it only lays from 20 to 30 eggs 
in the course of the breeding-season, viz. from May to 
September. It secretes a very thin and transparent 
epiphragm. 

It is the H. radiata of Da Costa and Montagu. Some 
authors have erroneously placed this and the two follow- 
ing species in the genus Zonites; but the texture and 
aspect of the shells, as well as the arrangement of the 
teeth, show that they belong to the present genus, and 
not to Zonites. 


20. H. rupgs’tris *, Studer. 


H. rupestris, Draparnaud, Tabl. Moll. p. 71. H. umbilicata, F. & H. iv. 
p. 81, pl. exxi. f. 7, 8. 


Bopy dark slate-colour, with sometimes a reddish tinge, 
covered with minute depressed tubercles: mantle dusky 
brown, indistinctly speckled with black: tentacles diverging, 
dark-grey ; upper pair thick and almost cylindrical, with 
nearly oval bulbs, which are about a fourth of the size of those 
tentacles; lower pair almost rudimentary and nearly black, 
not more than a twelfth of the size of the other pair: foot 


* Inhabiting rocks. 


HELIX. MA 


rounded in front, obtusely pointed behind ; sides marked with 
minute and numerous black specks, which are arranged in 
squares and form rather large spots. 


SHELL subconical, more compressed below than above, rather 
solid but semitransparent, slightly glossy, dark-brown or horn- 
colour, marked transversely with close-set curved strie, which 
are equally strong on both sides: periphery rounded, but ob- 
tusely keeled in young specimens: epidermis rather thin: 
whorls 5, cylindrical, compressed on the upper part and towards 
the periphery, rather convex underneath, first whorl slightly 
granulated: spire somewhat raised; summit rather glossy 
and transparent: sutwre remarkably deep: mouth horseshoe- 
shaped, but compressed above, destitute of an internal rib: 
outer lip thin, very slightly reflected in adult specimens, con- 
siderably inflected above and below : umbilicus large, open, and. 
deep, exposing part of the whorls, as well as all the interior of 
the spire. L. 0°075. B. 0-115. 


Var. vuridescenti-alba. Shell greenish-white. 


Hasirat: On rocks, walls, and ruins of castles, as well 
as under stones on hill-sides, throughout the greater 
part of this country. Fleming noticed it in his ‘ British 
Animals’ as a Scotch species, and Leach states that he 
had observed it near the summit of mountains in Arran, 
N.B.; its English range extends from Westmoreland 
to South Devon. It is also not uncommon in South 
Wales and Ireland. The variety has been found by 
Mr. Norman at Clevedon in Somersetshire, and by Mr. 
Webster at Clifton, near Bristol. The spire is often 
more or less raised, and not unfrequently distorted. This 
species does not appear to be a pliocene fossil or to in- 
habit the North of Europe; but Dr. Zittel has taken it 
near Baden. It is diffused throughout Central and 
Southern Europe, as far as Algeria, Sicily, and Greece, 
and even (according to Lowe) ranges to Madeira. 

Montagu observed, with respect to this species, that 
it always affects lofty and exposed situations, braving 
equally the scorching beams of the sun in summer and 


226 HELICIDZ. 


the frigid winds of winter, without attempting to de- 
scend. It forms, however, a thin membranous epi- 
phragm for its protection against such extremes of heat 
and cold, and shelters itself in clefts of rocks and crevices 
of walls. This little snail, im crawling, usually carries 
its shell quite upright, and not inclined to one side like 
most of its congeners. The upper whorls of the shell 
are generally bleached by exposure of that part to the 
sun. The animal is ovoviviparous, as well as that of 
Pupa umbilicata; and in specimens which I collected at 
Kendal in the month of August, the fry in the interior 
of the shell had a whorl and a half completely formed. 
Mogquin-Tandon counted in the matrix of several speci- 
mens which he had received from Marseilles, from three 
to seven young ones in each. It mostly frequents cal- 
careous strata; but in Germany it has been found on 
felspathic rocks. It sometimes occurs in unusual places. 
A specimen in my collection was taken by the trawl at 
a depth of between twenty and thirty fathoms several 
miles seaward of Plymouth, having been probably washed 
down by a river or freshwater stream and transported 
a long way before it sunk to the bottom. 

This is the H. wmbilicata of Montagu; but as his 
excellent work was published two years after Drapar- 
naud’s ‘ Tableau des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles 
de la France,’ my patriotic inclinations, however strong, 
will not justify me in preferring the name given by my 
countryman to the more ancient one of the French con- 
chologist. The above-mentioned work of Draparnaud 
dees not appear to have been known to Dr. Gray when 
he published an improved edition of Dr. Turton’s ‘ Ma- 
nual of British Land and Freshwater Shells.’ The work 
in question was published in 1801, Montagu’s ‘ Testacea 
Britannica’ in 1803, and Draparnaud’s ‘ Histoire natu- 


HELIX. 993 


relle des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de la France’ 
was edited by his widow and appeared in 1805. Studer 
first gave this species the name of “ rupestris”’ in Coxe’s 
‘Travels through Switzerland’ (1789), but did not de- 
scribe it. 


21. H. premm’a*, Draparnaud. 


H. pygmea, Drap. Tabi. p. 93, and Hist. p. 114, pl. viii. f. 8-10; F. & H. 
iv. p. 83, pl. cxxi. f. 9, 10. 


Bopy greyish-brown or slate-colour, minutely speckled with 
black; tubercles round and much depressed: mantle brown, 
with a slight tinge of red: tentacles rather close together, 
nearly cylindrical, abruptly thickened at their base; bulbs 
indistinct: foot narrow and ending in a thick and keeled tail. 


Surit nearly circular, depressed above and below, thin, 
semitransparent, rather glossy and having a silky lustre, light- 
brown or tawny, marked transversely with extremely fine 
and close-set curved strie and spirally (especially round the 
umbilicus) with a few delicate lines, which are only perceptible 
with a high magnifier: periphery rounded and not keeled: 
epidermis rather thin: whorls 4, convex and cylindrical, 
gradually increasing in size: spire not much raised; summit 
glossy and transparent: suture deep: mouth shaped as in 
H. rupestris and not margined: outer lip thin, somewhat in- 
flected on both sides: wmbilicus moderately large, but deep 
and fully exposing the interior of the spire, as well as part of 
the penultimate whorl. LL. 0-03. B. 0-06. 


Hazitat: Woods and moist places under stones and 
among dead leaves, as well as at the roots of grass and 
rushes, from Oban to Guernsey. It is widely diffused, 
although difficult to find on account of its minute size. 
Saint-Simon seems to have been successful in taking it 
several times and in considerable numbers by sweeping 
the wet grass and herbage after rain with an entomolo- 
gists’ gauze net; and Dr. Turton told me that he pro- 


* Tiny. 


224 HELICID2. 


cured many specimens by collecting a bagful of dead 
and rather moist leaves and afterwards spreading them 
on paper to dry, when the refuse yielded a good harvest. 
This species has a wide range on the European continent 
and has been met with in every country between Siberia 
and Sicily, and is said also to inhabit the Azores. 

Moquin-Tandon says that this tiny snail is extremely 
timid and irritable, avoiding the garish light of day and 
shutting itself up im its shell at the slightest touch, and 
that when it is about to move it protrudes from the 
shell the tail of its foot before any other part of the 
body. Like the last species, it carries its shell erect 
when crawling. It forms an excessively thin and deli- 
cate epiphragm. 

This beautiful little testaceous gem differs from H. 
rupestris in its much smaller size, finer texture and 
sculpture, lighter colour, fewer whorls, more depressed 
spire, slighter suture, and more open umbilicus. Leach 
and Fleming, however, regarded it as the young of the 
last species, and M. D’Orbigny of Rochelle made the 
same mistake. It was first noticed as a British shell by 
Dr. Gray in the ‘ Medical Repository’ for 1821. 

It is the H. minuta of Studer in Coxe’s ‘ Travels,’ and 
H. Kirbii of Sheppard. 


F. Shell depressed: owter lip thickened and reflected, some- 
times forming a complete peristome. 


22. H. putcuer'ta *, Miller. 


H. pulchella, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 30; F. & H. iv. p. 78, pl. exix. 
f. 9, 10. 


Bopy gelatinous, milk-white with a faint tinge of grey or 
yellow, nearly transparent, very slightly tubercled: mantle 


* Pretty. 


‘ 


HELIX, 225 


thick, yellowish, minutely speckled with white: tentacles 
(upper pair) hyaline, thick, nearly cylindrical, with very thick 
bulbs, which are half the length of those tentacles and nearly 
round ; lower pair extremely small: foot short, broad, strongly 
truncate and slightly bilobed in front, having a faint yellowish 
border on the sides, and ending in a rather short and somewhat 
rounded tail. 


SHELL depressed but slightly convex above and below, rather 
solid although transparent and glossy, light-grey or white, 
striate transversely by numerous and very fine, but somewhat 
irregular and faint, curved lines, which are stronger in, the 
umbilical region, and occasionally marked with a few indistinct 
spiral lines on the lower part: periphery rounded in the adult, 
but shghtly and obtusely keeled in the young: epidermis rather 
thick: whorls 34, compressed towards the periphery, the last 
exceeding in size the rest of the shell and considerably dilated 
towards the mouth: spire very little raised: suture rather 
deep: mouth almost circular and trumpet-shaped, but very 
slightly oblique: owter lip very thick and strongly reflected, 
forming in the adult a complete peristome, much inflected on 
both sides: wmbilicus rather large, exposing a considerable 
portion of the whorls and all the internal spire. L. 0-04. 
B. 0:09. 


Var. costata. Shell much less glossy, and marked trans- 
versely with curved membranaceous ridges (of which there are 
about forty on the last whorl), besides numerous intermediate 
strie. H.costata, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. i. p.31; F. & H.iv. 
pls Cxix,, £8: 


Hasitat: Under stones and logs of wood, as well as 
in moss and at the roots of grass, in moist situations, 
from the Moray Firth district to the Channel Isles. 
The variety is equally diffused, but not so common ; 
and it frequents dry and sandy places, often under loose 
stones or bricks on old walls. Montagu says that he 
had often found this variety with the typical form, and 
he described the former, but with considerable doubt, 
as a different species, under the name of H. crenella ; 
Maton and Rackett have made the same remark; the 
authors of the ‘British Mollusca’ state that “both 


L5 


226 HELICIDA. 


varieties inhabit wet and dry localities indifferently ;” and 
Malm has confirmed these observations and added that, 
out of 100 specimens which he had collected im one 
spot, twenty of them belonged to the variety. I have 
not been so fortunate as to find them living together. 
Miller describes the present species as common in wet 
moss, and the variety as very rare in an elevated spot at 
some distance from any water. Some specimens, how- 
ever, of the variety are more strongly ridged than others ; 
and there is an evident transition from the smooth to the 
ridged form. I cannot detect any difference between 
the shells except in respect of the membranaceous 
ridges, which form part of the epidermis and are easily 
rubbed off, leaving the surface of the shell quite smooth. 
This species is common in our upper tertiary deposits. 
Abroad it ranges from Siberia (according to Gerstfeldt) 
to Lugano (according to Stabile), as well as to Corsica 
and even to Madeira and the Azores. Gould says that 
the typical form is rather common near Boston, and 
that it has been noticed on the Ohio, and on the banks 
of the Missouri, as high up as Council Bluffs. With 
reference to the opinion of some that it had been intro- 
duced into America from Europe, Dr. Binney remarks 
that “it does not seem possible that so small an animal, 
if naturalized since the arrival of Europeans, could have 
been able to penetrate to the remote points in the 
interior of the Continent where it is now found.” With- 
out quite concurring with the American conchologist in 
this remark, I do not see how this little snail is likely to 
have been transported across the Atlantic from the one 
hemisphere to the other. It only inhabits waste and un- 
cultivated spots; and a flower- or kitchen-garden would 
be the last place to look for it. But the modes of trans- 
port are various ; and it would be rash to assert positively 


HELIX. Oak 


that H. pulchella has never crossed the Atlantic. If I 
may be permitted to offer a suggestion on this knotty 
point, I would remark that, being a comparatively north- 
ern species, it is much more probable that it has spread 
from the Arctic regions through Canada. This is one 
of the European species which Dr. Thompson found in 
Cashmir and Thibet, according to the identification of 
Mr. Woodward. 

This little creature is very shy and difficult to observe. 
Its eyes appear remarkably black, im consequence of the 
two upper tentacles being so transparent. The liver is 
saffron-coloured ; and the upper part of the spire in dead 
shells often shows it. The epiphragm is like tissue- 
paper and iridescent. Bouchard-Chantereaux says that 
H. pulchella lays, m August and September, from 12 to 
20 globular and opaline eggs, which are united in a 
cluster two or three times the size of the shell. It seems 
to be hardy, and has been found at rather considerable 
heights. Von Martens noticed its occurrence on the 
Dovre fjelds at an elevation of more than 2000 feet. 

This species is the H. paludosa of Da Costa and 
Montagu, and the Turbo Helicinus of Lightfoot; but 
the name given by Muller is anterior to both of these. 


23. H. tapici’pa*, Linné. 
3 


H. lapicida, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p. 1241; F. & H. iv. p. 65, pl. exvi. 


. dy 4. 


Bopy yellowish-brown above, with a slight tinge of red in 
front, and of grey behind and underneath, covered with mi- 
nute close-set, unequal-sized tubercles, which are of a darker 
colour and arranged in indistinct lines corresponding with 
those of the tubercles or granulations on the surface of the 
shell: mantle extended round and lining the mouth of the 
shell, concentrically wrinkled and tumid, reddish-brown or 


* Lapidary. 


228 HELICIDA. 


dusky, speckled with milk-white: tentacles very long, dark- 
grey with a slight tinge of yellow; bulbs very short and glo- 
bular: foot narrow and rounded in front, broader and keeled 
behind, its sides having a whitish border. 


Suetx depressed above and below,rather solid, nearly opaque, 
not glossy, yellowish tinted with reddish-brown, and irregu- 
larly streaked across the whorls with the latter colour, marked 
with indistinct lines of growth, and finely shagreened, like 
seal-skin: periphery strongly and sharply keeled: epidermis 
rather thick: whorls 5, greatly compressed towards the peri- 
phery, the last exceeding in size the rest of the shell and some- 
what dilated towards the mouth: spire very little raised, point 
blunt: suture rather slight, but distinct : mouth obliquely oval, 
angulated above and below, with rather a deep notch in the 
line of the keeled periphery : owter lip white, thickened and re- 
flected, forming a complete peristome, abruptly and consider- 
ably inflected on both sides: umbilicus rather large, exposing 


a great part of the whorls and all the internal spire. L. 0°25. 
B. 0°65. 


Var. minor. Shell smaller and more deeply coloured. 


Hasitar: Moist rocks, woods, and other places in 
many parts of England, from Went Vale, Yorkshire, to 
Portland Island. This species does not appear to be 
found in Wales, Scotland, or Ireland. It has been sup- 
posed to be restricted to calcareous districts; but Mr. 
Reece has found it close to Worcester, and Capt. Bruce 
Hutton at Linton in North Devon, in neither of which 
places is there any limestone, chalk, or oolite. In a spe- 
cimen now before me the whorls are twisted, like the sca- 
lariform distortion of some kinds of Planorbis. This is 
one of our upper tertiary fossils. Its foreign range extends 
from Finland to Portugal; and Aradas and Maggiore 
are said to have found a single specimen in Catania. 

This is a rather hardy, but imactive snail. During 
the daytime it hes concealed in the crevices of rocks or 
old walls and under the bark of trees; but in the dusk 
of the evening, or after a shower of rain, it sallies forth 


HELIX. 229 


in search of food, and may in the latter case be met with 
in considerable numbers. The coloured streaks on the 
shell somewhat resemble those on H. rotundata. Lister 
first made the present species known, and says he had 
often found it in woods in Lincolnshire. Linné gave it 
the inappropriate name it now bears, from an erroneous 
idea that it ate or excavated calcareous rocks, as the 
Teredo does wood. This notion probably originated in 
the surface of the shell being rough and like a file. His 
H. albella appears to be the immature or younger state 
of the variety called by Menke albina. This white 
variety has not been noticed as British; but it is found 
in Sweden and many other parts of the Continent. I 
have taken it in Switzerland and the Lower Harz, with 
specimens of the usual colour. The H. albella of Fleming 
(Brit. Anim. p. 260) may also be the same state of this 
variety. He found a single dead specimen on the shore 
at St. Andrews in 1810. It is not at all likely that 
Draparnaud’s species of that name (the H. explanata 
of Muller) would have found its way so far north; and 
Dr. Fleming says that his shell differs from Drapar- 
naud’s description. The H. Somershamiensis of Sheppard 
(Linn. Trans. xiv. p. 159) is probably the young of the 
present species. 


G. Shell flat or slightly concave above: outer lip thick and 
furnished with a tooth-like tubercle: umbclicus rather 
large. 

24. H. opvotu'ta*, Miller. 


H. obvoluta, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. u. p. 27; F. & H. iv. p. 63, pl. exvii. 
i 


Bopy narrow and somewhat truncate in front, brown with a 
slight reddish tinge, and speckled with milk-white in several 


* Wrapped-up. 


230 HELICIDE. 


parts ; tubercles oblong and arranged in close lines, smaller in 
front: mantle tumid, forming a narrow collar and leaving a 
slight space empty round the neck: tentacles very long and 
slender, dark-brown, shagreened; bulbs very globular: foot 
delicately edged with milk-white, ending in a long, narrow, tri- 
angular and keeled tail. 

SHELL nearly circular, shaped somewhat like one of the men 
in a backgammon board, except that this is spiral, flat above, 
with a slight depression in the middle, and compressed below, 
rather solid, opaque and of a lurid aspect, reddish-brown, finely 
and closely striate in the line of growth: periphery rounded, but 
compressed: epidermis very thick, closely covered with stiff 
reddish-brown hairs: whorls 64, cylindrical, but compressed at 
the sides, gradually increasing in size, the first (being the 
nucleus of the shell) nearly smooth and polished, and the last 
slightly dilated towards the mouth: spire sunk below the level 
of the last whorl: suture rather deep: mouth obliquely tri- 
angular, In consequence of a tooth-like protuberance at the 
peripheral edge: outer lip reddish-white, very thick and re- 
flected, its upper margin abruptly and considerably inflected : 
umbilicus rather large, exposing part of the whorls (especially 
the last but one) and all the internal spire. L. 0-2. B. 0:5. 


Hasrrat: On stumps and at the roots of trees in woods 
at Ditcham and Stoner Hill near Buriton, in Hampshire, 
where it is rather common. It is a native of France, 
Germany, Switzerland, and Lombardy; but it does not 
seem to inhabit the extreme North or South of Europe. 

This curiously-shaped snail is rather active, and 
secretes a good deal of clear slime. Its epiphragm is 
chalky-white and remarkably thick. 

Considerable doubt has been raised by many British 
conchologists (myself included) as to H. obvoluta being 
really indigenous to this country. It was first noticed 
by Dr. Lindsay (in 1831) as occurring in Ditcham 
Wood. He found with it Zonites cellarius and Helix 
rufescens. Mr. Hawker says, in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1853 
(p. 3764), “The two ridges (Stoner Hill and Ditcham 
Wood) are quite distinct, and the intervening country 


BULIMUS. 2OL 


is low and flat: therefore I do not think it possible that 
H. obvoluta could have spread or wandered from the 
Ashford Woods to Ditcham.” Stoner Hill appears to 
be six miles distant from Ditcham Wood. This species 
inhabits the North of France, having been found by Dr. 
Baudon at Morainval Wood near Mouy; andif H. Car- 
tusiana is British, the present species has quite as good 
a claim to the same privilege. 


Genus V. BU’LIMUS*, Scopoli. ‘Pl. VII. f. 1, 2. 


Bopy long, always containable within the shell: tentacles 4: 
foot rather long and narrow. 


SHELL cylindrically-conic or oblong, not thin or very glossy : 
whorls drawn-out: spire long: mouth oval: outer ip usually 
reflected, and sometimes (but not in British species) furnished 
with tooth-like tubercles: umbilicus exceedingly small and 
“narrow. 


I will not inflict upon my readers a repetition of the 
stale and uninteresting controversy which formerly 
vexed the conchological world as to the origin and mean- 
ing of the name of this genus. A few words will suffice 
to give its history. The celebrated French naturalist, 
Adanson, proposed, in 1757, for a small freshwater mol- 
lusk of Senegal, a new genus, which he calied Bulin, being 
alocalword. This name was capriciously or inadvertently 
changed by Scopoli into Bulimus; and it was used by 
him, and subsequently adopted by Bruguiére, to receive 
a heterogeneous assemblage of land and freshwater 
shells, having no affinity with Adanson’s species, or with 
any of those to which the genus is now restricted. Dra- 
parnaud in 1801 was the first to apply the generic word 
to its present and generally recognized signification. 


* A corruption of Bulin, an African word. 


232 HELICIDA. 


The difference between this genus and Helix is very 
triflmg. The tentacles in the present genus are rather 
shorter, and there are also some minor points of ana- 
tomical distinction. The shell of Bulimus has a longer 
spire; but this is a comparative character, and the 
degree of difference between the length of the spire in 
Helix conica and the young of Bulimus ventricosus (Helix 
Bulimoides of Moquin-Tandon) is scarcely appreciable. 
It is not from the limited means of observation which 
are afforded by a collection of the Mollusca im this or 
any other particular country that a safe conclusion can 
be arrived at with respect to the line of generic distinc- 
tion ; and this is especially the case with the genus now 
under consideration. There are only three British species 
of Bulimus; and one of them, which is by far the most 
common of all (B. acutus), has been restored by Moquin- 
Tandon to the genus Helix. This species is included in 
a section from which Leach constructed his genus 
Elisma; and it will be here described first, as forming a 
passage from Helix to the present genus. 

The habits of the Bulimi are nearly the same as those 
of the Helices. Our native species of Bulimus appear 
to be exclusively herbivorous. They frequent open downs 
and woods, and are rarely met with in the haunts of 
men, though B. acutus infests gardens near the sea-coast, 
bemg probably tempted by the more succulent pasture. 
Their manner of oviposition, as well as the shape and 
arrangement of the eggs, are similar to what has been 
observed with respect to the typical genus, Helv. A 
peculiarity of this genus is the tendency which some 
exotic species have to a reversal of the spire, attended 
with a change of position in some of the principal organs 
of the body. In other land-shells this phenomenon is 
more usual in genera or species than in varieties. 


BULIMUS. pirat | 


A. Shell cylindrically conic: spire long and pointed: outer lip 
thin and plain. 


1. Butimus acu’rus*, Miiller. 


Helix acuta, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 100. B. acutus, F. & H. iv. p. 86, 
pl. exxviii. f. 5, and (animal) pl. G. G. G. f. 6. 


Bopy rather thick, slightly narrowed and nearly truncate in 
front, slender and pointed behind, semitransparent, yellowish- 
grey of different shades of intensity, covered with very close 
and flattened tubercles: mantle touching the outer lip of the 
shell, tumid, marked with milk-white and brown specks: ten- 
tacles greyish, of a darker hue on the upper part, nearly smooth ; 
upper pair very slightly conic, with their bulbs dilated but 
rather globular; lower pair very short: foot nearly truncate 
in front, the sides transversely and very closely grooved, tail 
blunt and keeled. 


SHELL turreted, opaque, white with a faint tinge of yellow, 
transversely streaked with light-brown, sometimes having one 
_ or two dark-reddish-brown or almost black bands encircling 
the lower whorl, one of which (where there are two) is con- 
tinued on the upper whorls; the shell is occasionally white or 
colourless; sculpture consisting of rather close but irregular 
strive in the line of growth, which are stronger in some parts 
than in others, and there are occasionally a few indistinct spiral 
lines which intersect the strie and give the latter an appear- 
ance of being disposed in curved rows; the surface is also 
sometimes wrinkled or faintly pitted: periphery rounded: 
epidermas rather thin : whorls 8-9, convex, gradually increasing 
in size, the upper one smooth, polished, and horncolour: spire 
tapering, but blunt at its extremity: sutwre deep: mouth oval, 
not much encroached upon by the penultimate whorl: outer 
lip reflected on the pillar and slightly inflected at its upper 
angle: wmbilicus almost covered by the reflexion of the lip in 
that part, but rather deep. L. 0:6. B, 0-2. 


Var. 1. bizona. Shell smaller and having two dark bands on 
the body whorl. 


Var. 2. inflata. Shell rather more ventricose, streaked with 
brown or marked with a single dark band: spire shorter: 
whorls proportionally broader. 


* Pointed. 


234 HELICIDA. 


Hasirat: Downs and sand-hills on the sea-coast, 
from Durness in Sutherlandshire (where it has been 
found by the Rev. Walter Grigor) to the Channel Isles, 
as well as throughout Wales and Ireland. The variety 
bizona is remarkably pretty, and has been found in Iona 
by Messrs. Lowe and Berkeley; at Abergelly, near 
Conway, by Mr. Gibbs; near Cork by Mr. J. D. Hum- 
phreys ; and at Tenby, and Portmarnock in Dublin Bay, 
by myself. The variety inflata occurs with the typical 
form, but merges insensibly into it through intermediate 
gradations. It somewhat resembles the B. ventricosus 
of Draparnaud. The present species is common in the 
granitic, as well as calcareous districts; but the only 
authority for its being found anywhere except on the 
sea-coast is that of the late Mr. Thompson of Belfast, 
who says it ‘ occasionally occurs inland.” It is a very 
doubtful member of our upper tertiary list, Mr. Picker- 
ing having only found a fragment of a shell, which he 
believed was this species, in the deposit at Copford. The 
circumstance of this not being a northern form makes the 
identification more questionable. Abroad it seems also 
to be confined to the coast-line, and ranges from France 
to Algeria and Sicily. Hartmann is said, however, to 
have found it near Romanshorn in Switzerland. 

It is rather an active, but irritable creature, and with- 
draws itself into its shell on the slightest touch. These 
snails may be seen in the daytime clinging to the stalks 
of grass and other herbage in countless numbers; and 
this attachment is effected by means of a pellicle secreted 
in the same way as the epiphragm. ‘The popular idea 
that sheep feed on and are fattened by snails relates to 
this kind as well as to Helix virgata; and, as Montagu 
very justly observes, “‘it is, indeed, impossible that those 
animals should browse on such short grass as clothes 


BULIMUS. 235 


the hills above Whitsand Bay in Cornwall, without de- 
vouring a prodigious quantity of snails, especially in the 
night, or after rain, when they ascend the stunted blades.” 
The summer epiphragm is very thin, transparent, and 
iridescent ; and it has a small hole in it, which corre- 
sponds with the position of the respiratory orifice, thus 
enabling the snail to procure fresh air without exposing 
its body to the heat of the sun. The winter epi- 
phragm is thicker, opaque, and yellowish, like paper. 
Geologists can have some idea of the way in which land- 
shells are accumulated and form tolerably thick strata, 
from the fact recorded by Montagu, that the drifted sand 
at Bigberry Bay in the South of Devon is full of dead 
shells of the present species, to the depth of four feet. 

This is the Turbo fasciatus of Pennant and Montagu. 

The B. articulatus of Turton (the typical specimen of 
which is in my collection) is an exotic shell, and not 
Lamarck’s species of that name, which is only a variety 
of B. acutus. 


B. Shell oblong: spire blunt : outer ip thickened and reflected. 


2. B. Monta’nus *, Draparnaud. 


B. montanus, Drap. Tabl. Moll. p. 65. B.Lackhamensis, F. & H. iv. p. 89, 
pl. exxvii. f. 6. 


Bopy rather thick, rounded in front, narrowing gradually 
and pointed behind, dark-red or greyish-brown ; tubercles 
flattened, with very fine black points: manéle indistinctly and 
minutely speckled with milk-white and brown : tentacles some- 
what thick and conical; upper pair coarsely shagreened, with 
thick and rather globular bulbs; lower pair nearly smooth, of 
a somewhat darker colour than the others: foot truncate in 
front and ending in a long but blunt tail. 


SHELL conic-oblong, nearly semitransparent, rather glossy, 


* Inhabiting mountains. 


236 HELICID. 


light-brown with a yellowish tint, but varying in intensity of 
colour, faintly and irregularly striate in the line of growth, 
and marked spirally with fine and close-set but undulating 
lines, which, being intersected by the transverse striz, give the 
surface a slightly shagreened appearance: periphery rounded, 
but compressed : epidermes rather thick : whorls 7}, somewhat 
compressed, the last forming nearly one-half of the shell: 
spire tapering, but somewhat abruptly, blunt at its extremity : 
suture rather slight and oblique: mouth oval, a little con- 
tracted on the inner side by the penultimate whorl: outer lip 
white, reflected and considerably thickened within, where it is 
of: a reddish-brown colour: umbilicus nearly covered by the 
reflexion of the pillar lip, rather oblique, and deep. L. 0°65. 
B. 0°225. 

Hasirat: On trunks of trees, chiefly of beech, ash, and 
hornbeam, in the woods of our southern and western 
counties. It is local, although tolerably plentiful where 
it occurs. At Buriton in Hampshire it is found with 
Helix obvoluta and Clausilia Rolphii. The locality given 
in the Appendix to Welch and Whitelaw’s ‘ History of 
Dublin’ (viz. ‘‘ neighbourhood of Dublin”’) is very ques- 
tionable, as the occurrence of this shell in Ireland has 
not been noticed by Mr. Thompson or Mr. Waller. As a 
tertiary shell it has only been discovered in the Clacton 
deposit. Its foreign distribution appears to be limited 
to the North and East of France, as well as the Pyrenees, 
Germany, Switzerland, and Silesia, in all of which coun- 
tries it is only known to inhabit elevated situations. 

The colour both of the body and shell varies in in- 
tensity. In immature specimens the periphery is keeled. 
The young are sometimes encrusted with earth in the 
same manner as B. odscurus. 

It is the Helix Lackhamensis of Montagu; but his 
name is subsequent to that of Draparnaud and is, be- 
sides, objectionable on account of its being derived from 
a very obscure locality, which was not the first recorded 
for the discovery of this species. 


“BULIMUS. 237 


3. B. opscu'rRus*, Miller. 


Helix obscura, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. u. p. 103. B. obscurus, F. & H. iv. 
p. 90, pl. exxviil. f. 7. ‘ 
Bopy of a lighter colour than that of B. montanus, with the 

tubercles comparatively more prominent: mantle larger and 

more tumid in proportion to its size: tentacles less thick and 
conical; upper pair finely, but distinctly, granulated, with 

globular bulbs, which are dilated at the top; lower pair mi- 

nutely speckled with black: foot very delicately and slightly 

fringed, narrow and angular in front, very broad behind, and 
ending in a rather slender and pointed tail. 

SHELL much resembling that of the last species, except in 
size; but differing also in the following particulars :—this is 
shorter in proportion and more glossy; it has no spiral lines, 
but instead of them the transverse strie are divided by very 
minute intermediate lines, and the surface consequently’ has 
not the slightest appearance of being shagreened: whorls only 
63 and more convex: spire more abrupt: suture deeper: 
mouth proportionally larger : outer lip more reflected and not 
so thick, plain white, and much more inflected above: wmbi- 
licus a little more contracted. L. 0°35. B. 0°15. 


Var. alba. Shell white or colourless. 


Hasitat: On the trunks of trees and among dead 
leaves in woods, on hedge-banks and old walls, under 
stones in rocky places, and sometimes in gardens, from 
the Moray Firth district to South Devon, as well as in 
South Wales and Ireland. It is much more generally 
diffused than the last species. The variety has been 
found by Mr. Smith at Sevenoaks in Kent; and I have 
observed it at Lulworth in Dorsetshire. My collection 
contains a monstrosity, in which the mouth had been 
broken and renewed in such a manner as to be much 
stronger than it was before the fracture. This species 
is in Mr. Brown’s list of upper tertiary shells from Cop- 
ford. It ranges from Siberia, through Finland, Sweden, 


* Concealed. 


238 HELICID. 


France, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, and Lugano, to 
Sicily. 

Bouchard-Chantereaux says that the eggs of this 
species, which are laid from May to September, are not 
numerous, but very large in proportion to the size of 
the animal. It hibernates early and makes a glassy or 
papery epiphragm. It loves shade and moisture. It 
has a remarkable habit, which it shares with the young 
of Pupa secale, of covering its shell, or rather of causing 
it to be covered, with a crust of fine earthy particles or 
other extraneous matter, by means of its slime, or an 
exudation from the epidermis. Adult as well as young 
specimens are sometimes thus coated, but more frequently 
the latter. It is perhaps an involuntary measure of 
natural defence, with which many animals are provided, 
in order to escape or delude their enemies; and even 
the sharp eyes of a bird might be deceived by the dis- 
guise which these little creatures put on. The Rev. 
Revett Sheppard, in his interesting account of the Land 
and Freshwater Shells of Suffolk, observes with respect 
to the present species, “These shells, particularly in 
their young state, show great sagacity and ingenuity by 
covering themselves with an epidermis adapted to the 
different situations in which they are found; and when 
so covered, it is almost impossible for any other than a 
conchological eye to detect them. If its abode be upon 
the trunk of a tree covered with Lichens, then is the 
epidermis so constructed as to cause the shell to resemble 
a little knot on the bark covered with such substances. 
If on a smooth tree, from whose bark issue small sessile 
buds, as is frequently the case, it will pass off very well 
for one of them; and on a dry bank, or the lower part 
of the body of a tree splashed with mud, its appearance 
will be that of a little misshapen pointed piece of dirt.” 


BULIMUS. 239 


The first of these curious resemblances may be caused 
by the adhesion of Lichen spores, which would grow as 
well upon a shell as upon the bark of a tree; and the 
other cases I have endeavoured to explain. B. obscurus 
is sometimes found at considerable heights, probably 
indicating its Arctic origin. M. Puton observed it on 
the Vosges mountains, at an elevation of 2624 feet above 
the level of the sea. It occasionally occurs on granite 
and gneiss, but more commonly on calcareous strata. 

The difference, which is shght, between this species 
and B. montanus will appear from the description. The 
simplest character is that the latter is at least four times 
the size of the other in cubical contents. Lister seems 
to have been acquainted with the present species; but 
his notice of it is not satisfactory. In its young state 
it is in all probability the Helix trochulus of Muller. 

The Helia detrita of Montagu (judging from a speci- 
men received from him by Mr. Dillwyn and now in my 
collection) is exotic, and apparently a variety of the 
Bulimus Guadaloupensis of Bruguiere. 

The B. tuberculatus of Turton (the typical specimen 
of which I also have) is the Heliv pupa of Linné. It is 
a native of the extreme South of Europe, and is not at 
all likely to have been found in Worcestershire, whence 
Dr. Turton is said to have received it. Capt. Blomer, 
who gave this specimen to Turton, told me that he had 
been in Sicily; and he admitted that he might have 
made a mistake as to the locality. 

The Helix Goodallit of Miller is a West-Indian species, 
and appears to have been introduced into this country 
with pine-plants. It is still very common on the tan in 
the pineries at Garraway and Co’s. nursery-gardens 
near Bristol, where the late Mr. Miller first observed 
this little shell about forty years ago. It has not been 


240 HELICIDA. 


noticed elsewhere in this country. It is the Bulimus — 
clavulus of Turton. 

The B. decollatus was recorded by Dr. Turton as 
having been once found living in a greenhouse at Wat- 
ton in the South of Devon, where it was observed to 
breed for many years in succession ; but, in consequence 
of some alterations beg made in the greenhouse, the 
colony was destroyed and became extinct. It is common 
in the South of Europe, as well as on the opposite shores 
of the Mediterranean; but its most northern locality 
appears to be Agen, in the Department of Lot-et- 
Garonne. 


Genus VI. PU’PA*, Lamarck. Pl. VII. f. 3, 4,5. 


Bony slender, but generally short, always containable within 
the shell: tentacles 4, short, especially the lower ones: foot 
narrow. 

SHELL cylindrical, not very thin or glossy: whorls compact, 
the last not broader, or very little more so, than the penulti- 
mate or preceding one: spire long: mouth horseshoe-shaped 
or semilunar, mostly,furnished with one or more teeth ; some- 
times there are also spiral plates and incomplete septa in the 
interior: wmbilicus oblique, very small, and contracted by an 
upward twist of the last whorl at its base. 


The Pupe are all of a small size and gregarious. ‘They 
live in moss or in the crevices of rocks and walls, as well 
as on exposed hill-sides under stones or at the roots of 
grass. They are vegetable feeders, and appear to live 
on small plants, Cryptogamia, and decaying leaves. 
Some species are ovoviviparous. The mouth is parallel 
to the columella or axis of the shell; and this, combined 
with the last whorl being of nearly the same breadth 
as the preceding one, causes the shell to assume some- 


* Like the chrysalis of an insect. 


PUPA. 24) 


what of an ellipsoid form. The whorls are also more 
compact than in Bulimus; and the mouth is usually 
furnished in the present genus with transverse plates or 
teeth, instead of the outer lip beimg merely thickened 
by tooth-like tubercles, or of there being a similar protu- 
berance on the columella, as is sometimes the case in 
the former genus. The main characters of both these 
genera, however, are nearly the same, as regards their 
habits as well as the body and shell. 

The curious processes, called “ teeth,” which fence 
in and contract the mouth of the shell in Pupa, are of 
different kinds. In P. secale they form plate-like ridges, 
which extend some way into the interior. In P. um- 
bilicata and P. ringens the adult have either a simple 
tooth on the columella and a spiral plate on the pillar lip, 
or else several plate-like ridges as in P. secale, although 
-shorter and more curved; but, in P. umbilicata and 
P. ringens, the young have a much more complicated 
apparatus. This consists of two long spiral ridges like 
the worm of a corkscrew, one on the pillar lip and the 
other on the pillar itself, besides a short transverse 
plate or septum on the outer lip, which is reproduced at 
intervals. In P.marginata the mouth is often furnished 
with a denticle or small tubercular tooth on the pillar, 
and sometimes also with a similar process inside the 
outer lip; but it never has the plate-like ridges which 
are found in the other species. All these various pro- 
cesses appear to be formed in the same way, viz. by folds 
of the mantle secreting the testaceous matter in excess 
and applying it to particular parts of the shell. 

Two species of Pupa (viz. tridens and doliolum) have 
lately been found in the North of France; and it is 
therefore not unlikely that they may be found in this 
country. 

M 


242 HELICIDA. 


Ax Spire long and pointed: mouth horseshoe-shaped, narrow, 
and furnished with several teeth and folds: outer lip 
slightly expanded and reflected. 


1. Pura seca’Le*, Draparnaud. 
P. secale, Drap. Tabl. Moll. p. 59; F. & H. iv. p. 101, pl. cxxix. f. 5. 


Bopy brownish-grey or slate-colour, with a reddish tint, 
slightly and irregularly tubercled: mantle minutely speckled 
with black: tentacles short and thick; bulbs oblong: foot 
usually fringed, broader behind than in front, and ending in 
a triangular and somewhat pointed tail. 

Suet conic-oblong, rather solid, opaque, somewhat glossy, 
light-brown or yellowish-horncolour, marked transversely 
or in the line of growth with numerous obliquely curved 
strie : periphery rounded, but compressed : epidermis rather 
thin: whorls 8-9, slightly convex and gradually increasing in 
size, the four or five first whorls smaller in proportion to the 
others, the last somewhat dilated and twisted at its base up- 
wards to form the mouth: spire, although long, rather abrupt 
and blunt at the point : sutwre moderately deep : mouth longer 
than broad, somewhat angular, and contracted by the teeth or 
inside folds, which are as follows—two or three on the pillar 
(the middle one when there are three being in front of the 
others), two on the pillar ip, and four inside the outer lip ; 
the front tooth on the pillar lip is often accompanied by 
a smaller tubercle or denticle, and it is placed so near the 
point of insertion of the outer lip as often to appear a con- 
tinuation or inflection of that lip; the tooth-lke plates or 
folds inside the outer lip extend a considerable way into the 
interior and are visible outside, resembling white lines: owter 
lip thickened and slightly reflected: wmbilicus extremely small 
and oblique, forming a narrow chink. L. 0:3. B. 0:125. 


Var. alba. Shell white or colourless. 


Hastrat: Rocks, woods, and hill-sides in many parts 
of England, from Westmoreland to the South of Devon, 
as well as (according to Dr. Gibbon) near Crickhowell in 
Breconshire, South Wales. Dr. Lukis informs me that 
he has not found it in the Channel Isles, although his 


* A grain of rye. 


PUPA. 243 


brother believed that he had once taken P. avenacea (or 
avena) in Guernsey. It is a local species, but plentiful 
wherever it occurs. It is not confined to calcareous di- 
stricts. Mr. Eyton found it in abundance on the triassic 
sandstone near Shrewsbury, where there was no lime- 
stone (nor, of course, chalk or oolite) within some miles 
of the place; and I observed it in equal plenty on the 
Molasse in Switzerland. I am also credibly informed 
that it has been found at Sudbury, near Harrow, on the 
lower tertiary strata. The variety was found by me at 
Lulworth in Dorsetshire ; but it is rare. This species is 
widely diffused throughout Central Europe, ranging 
south to Corsica; but it does not appear to inhabit the 
North or extreme South of Europe. 

The young have their shells encrusted with earth or 
the spores of lichens and mosses, in the same way as 
Bulimus obscurus ; and even adult specimens have occa- 
sionally a similar covermg. From this latter circum- 
stance I am confirmed in the opinion I ventured to 
suggest with respect to that species, that the coat is not 
purposely made by the animal, but is involuntarily caused 
by the accidental adhesion of extraneous matter to the 
outer surface of the shell, by means of the slime or 
a glutinous film which exudes from or invests the epi- 
dermis. [Full-grown specimens have not the same need 
of disguise for their protection as those which are 
young and unprovided with teeth. In the daytime the 
shells are attached by a thin pellicle to the under side of 
stones and crevices of rocks. 

This is the Turbo junipert of Montagu; and the im- 
mature state is probably the Helix ventricosa of Miiller. 
There is a great similarity of form between the young 
of Pupa and Heliz. 


M 2 


244. HELICIDA. 


B. Spire short and blunt: mouth horseshoe-shaped, rather 
oblique, furnished with one or more teeth or folds, and 
in the young with transverse plates and spiral screwlike 
ridges: outer lip thickened and reflected. 


2. P. rin’cens *, Jeffreys. 


P. ringens, Jeffr.in Linn. Trans. xvi. p.356. P. Anglica, ¥. & H. iv. p. 99, 


pl. exxix. f. 6. 


Bopy yellowish-grey or slate-colour, with several dark 
lines or streaks along the sides, leaving a clear space in the 
middle, underneath milk-white: mantle thick, projecting a 
little beyond the mouth of the shell: tentacles short, of a 
lighter shade than the upper part of the body; larger pair 
cylindrical and stumpy, rather close together, the bulbs scarcely 
distinguishable; lower pair more like tubercles: foot rounded 
in front and obtusely pomted behind. 

SHELL subcylindrical, inclined to oval, rather solid, nearly 
opaque, glossy and slightly iridescent, light-brown or yellow- 
ish-horneolour, closely but shghtly striate transversely: peri- 
phery rounded, but compressed: epidermis thin: whorls 6 or 
63, convex, the last being equal to more than one-third of the 
shell and having its base sharply twisted upwards to form the 
mouth, the two or three top whorls much smaller in propor- 
tion to the rest: spire short, abruptly and bluntly pointed : 
suture well defined, but not deep: mouth triangular, rounded 
below, much contracted by the teeth or folds, which are as 
follows—two on the pillar (the outside one being larger than 
the other and extending far into the interior of the mouth in 
the form of a spiral screw), two on the pillar lip (the outer- 
most being much the larger and more prominent), and one 
fold, with from one to three smaller denticles, inside the outer 
lip and rather deeply seated, the larger one being visible out- 
side; besides these, there is a short curved side process or 
fold, which connects the lip at its outer base with the larger 
and more prominent tooth on the pillar, so as to resemble one 
of the lower fronds of a trefoil leaf; the mouth in unformed or 
immature specimens is furnished not only with two main spiral 
ridges (viz. one on the pillar and the other on the pillar lip), 
but also with a transverse plate, like those in Planorbis lineatus, 
which lies at a right angle to the position of the folds within 


* Grinning. 


PUPA. 245 


the outer lip of adult specimens and is repeated at short 
intervals ; these transverse plates or septa are distinctly visible 
outside the base of young shells: outer ip and pillar lip light 
reddish-brown, much thickened and slightly reflected: wm- 
hilicus small, narrow and oblique, but distinct. L. 0-133. 
B.:65. 


Var. pallida. Shell of a lighter colour, sometimes whitish. 


Hasitat: Among dead leaves and moss, and at the 
roots of grass, in moist places throughout the northern 
counties of England, the West of Scotland, and all 
Ireland, as well as in Guernsey. It occurs in a sub- 
fossil state at Copford. Its foreign range appears to 
be limited, so far as is at present known,—it having 
only been found once in the rejectamenta of a river near 
Toulouse (Moquin-Tandon), Cintra and the neighbour- 
hood of Oporto (Morelet and Pring), and Algeria (More- 
let and Dupuy). This southern distribution would seem 
-to bear out the conjecture made by the authors of the 
‘British Mollusca’ that the present species “is probably 
a member of our Atlantic fauna and of Southern or 
South-western origin ;” but at the same time its occur- 
rence as an upper tertiary fossil, with Helix lamellata 
and many other decidedly Northern forms, is a fact that 
must not be overlooked in considermg the geographical 
distribution of the Mollusca. 

This is a shy little creature, although tolerably active 
when inclined to make its appearance. It has a singular 
habit of withdrawing slowly one of its eyes, which rolls 
backwards like a little ball until it reaches the neck, 
while the tentacle which supports it remains extended 
to its full length. This I have observed being done 
when there was no obstacle in the way. It also retracts 
occasionally, and apparently without any reason, one of 
its horns and not the other. It does not appear to be 
ovoviviparous, like the next species (P. umbilicata) : at 


246 HELICIDS. 


least I have not succeeded in finding any perfect embryo 
inside a full-grown specimen, although the shells thus 
examined were collected at the same period of the year 
and’ in the same spot with specimens of P. wmbilicata 
which contained young ones completely formed. In a 
living specimen of P. ringens which I have just received 
with others from Dr. Lukis, the top whorls have been 
accidentally broken off and replaced by an imperfect 
septum, showing that these whorls are not occupied by 
the animal after it has attaimed its maturity. The shell 
varies considerably in the length of the spire; and in 
the young it resembles that of a small conical Helix. 
The internal structure of the shell was first noticed and 
described by Mr. Alder in his excellent Memoir on the 
Land and Freshwater Shells of Northumberland. 

This species was first discovered by Mr. Bean, the 
venerable, but still active, conchologist of Scarborough. 
It is the Vertigo Anglica of Férussac ; but although that 
specific name is prior to the one which I have ventured 
to adopt, it was unaccompanied by any description ; and 
the Supplement to Wood’s ‘ Index Testaceologicus’ only 
contains a figure of the shell, although referring to the 
same name. The Pupa ringens of Michaud’s Supple- 
ment to Draparnaud’s ‘ Histoire,’ which bears a subse- 
quent date to that of my Monograph in the ‘ Linnean 
Transactions,’ is a different species from this, and is allied 
to P. secale. 


3. P. umpitica’ta *, Draparnaud. 


P. umbilicata, Drap. Tabl. Moll. p. 58, and Hist. Moll. p. 62, pl. iii. f. 39, 
40; F. & H. iv. p. 95, pl. exxix. f. 7. . 


Bony decidedly truncate in front and blunt behind, greyish- 


*. Having an umbilicus or navel. 


PUPA. Q47 


brown with a dusky shade above, and of a paler hue on the 
sides and rear, as well as underneath; head and neck marked 
with black specks, which are arranged in confused rows: 
mantle annular or circular, minutely speckled with black and 
milk-white: tentacles slightly transparent; upper pair close 
together and nearly cylindrical, with large pear-shaped bulbs, 
forming one-fourth of these tentacles; lower pair widely 
separate from each other, very thick and slightly conical: foot 
not fringed, rather broad, rounded in front and behind. 


- Suetz subcylindrical or inclined to oval, rather thin and 
semitransparent, glossy and slightly iridescent, yellowish- 
brown or horncolour, closely but slightly and irregularly 
striate in the line of growth: periphery rounded, or sometimes 
very slightly and obtusely keeled: epidermis thin: whorls 
6—7, convex, the last equal to about two-fifths of the shell 
and sharply twisted upwards towards the mouth, the two first- 
formed whorls much smaller in proportion to the rest: spire 
short, abruptly and bluntly pointed: suture rather oblique, 
well defined, but not deep: mouth subtriangular, contracted or 
channeled below in the adult, furnished with a small and 
_ short tooth-like ridge on the pillar near the insertion of the 
outer lip (where it bends to form a junction with the lip), as 
well as with a short and oblique ridge-like tooth on the pillar 
lip; young shells have a spiral screw on the pillar and another 
on the pillar lip, the position of which nearly corresponds with 
that of the ridge and tooth in the adult, and they have also 
transverse plates like those in the last species: outer lip white, 
with sometimes a slight tinge of reddish-brown, much thick- 
ened and considerably reflected: pillar lip also white and 
thickened, almost straight: ine hp spread on the pillar: 
umbilicus very small and oblique, contracted by a ridge or 
crest at the base of the shell, which arises from the abrupt 
and upward twist of the lower part of the body whorl. 
L. 0-15. B. 0-075. 

Var. 1. edentula. Columellar tooth wanting. 
Var. 2. alba. Shell white or colourless. 


Hasrtar: On old walls and rocks, under stones, 
among dead leaves and beneath the bark of trees every- 
where, from Zetland to the Channel Isles. It inhabits 
high as well as low situations. The first variety is not 
uncommon. The second has been found by Mr. Norman 


248 HELICID2. 


at Plymouth and in Somersetshire, and by myself at 
Grassmere, Church Stretton, Cardiff,and Tenby. This 
species belongs to our upper tertiaries. It ranges from 
Finland to Algeria, as well as to the Archipelago. Von 
Martens considers it as a southern form, because it retires 
early into winter quarters; and he remarked that he 
could not find it in September in a place near Bergen, 
where he had in the previous summer noticed it in abun- 
dance and living in company with P. marginata. 

Mr. Alder first indicated that this species is ovovivi- 
parous, and recorded the fact in the Supplement to his 
Catalogue of Land and Freshwater Shells found in the 
vicinity of Newcastle. Adolf Schmidt published the same 
discovery in the ‘Zeitschrift fiir Malakozoologie’ for 
February 1853; and I can confirm the fact from my 
own observation. Moquin-Tandon has more than once 
seen two or three young ones attached to the shell of 
their mother near the umbilicus and carried about by 
her—a kind of marsupial arrangement. P. umbilicata 
reproduces in July and August; but it does not appear 
to be prolific, as no more than 5 eggs have been found 
in the womb at the same time. The epiphragm is very 
thin and iridescent. Young shells are Trochiform and 
obtusely keeled, and have a central and rather deep 
umbilicus. The spire varies greatly in length. A 
dwarfed, toothless and thin variety is the P. Semproni 
of Charpentier. 

This species differs from P. ringens in bemg more 
cylindrical and less barrel-shaped, as well as in the form 
of the mouth and number of the teeth. 

The observant Lister first made known this little 
land-shell, and the young is probably his Trochus syl- 
vaticus. The present species is the Helix muscorum of 
Montagu; and it may also be that of Linné, as his 


PUPA. 249 


description in the ‘ Fauna Suecica’ of the form of the 
mouth (‘ovato-acuminata, mucrone obtuso’’) agrees 
better with this species than with P. marginatia, to which 
so many conchologists have attached the specific name 
of muscorum. According to the strict rules of scientific 
nomenclature, the present species (if it is not the Helix 
muscorum of Linné) ought to bear the name of cylin- 
dracea, which was given to it by Da Costa in 1778, long 
before either of Draparnaud’s publications; but I fear 
justice must in the present instance cede to convenience, 
as the name of umbilicata is so universally used. Da 
Costa’s name appears to have shared the same fate as 
the early leaf,— 
“Ut silve foliis pronos mutantur in annos, 


Prima cadunt; ita verborum vetus interit 2xtas, 
Et juvenum ritu florent modo nata vigentque.” 


C. Shell short, cylindrical: spire blunt: mouth semioval, some- 
times furnished with one or two tubercular teeth: outer 
lyp strengthened by a thick exterior rib. 


4. P. mMargina ta*, Draparnaud. 


P. marginata, Drap. Tabl. Moil. p. 58, and Hist. Moll. p. 62, pl. ii. f. 36-38. 
P. muscorum, ¥. & H. iv. p. 97, pl. cxxix. f. 8, 9. 


Bopy narrow and somewhat rounded in front, more slender 
behind, lustrous, dark-grey with a brownish tint, finely speckled 
with black, and of a much lighter shade on the under part ; 
slightly but closely tubercicd: mantle as in the last species, 
but the milk-white specks are larger: tentacles thick, opaque, 
dusky, rounded at their points; upper pair similar to those in 
P. umbilicata, with subglobular bulbs; lower pair somewhat 
diverging from each other, conical, smooth, rather opaque, and 
nearly black: foot not fringed, narrow but somewhat rounded 
in front, broader behind, and ending in a triangular tail. 


SHELL subcylindrical, rather solid for its size, nearly opaque, 
not very glossy, pale yellowish-brown or horncolour, faintly 


* Margined. 
MO 


200 HELICIDA. 


and irregularly, but closely, striate in the line of growth: 
periphery rounded: epidermis thin: whorls 6-7, convex, but a 
little compressed, the last equal to about one-third of the shell, 
the two first whorls much smaller in proportion to the rest: 
spire short, abruptly and bluntly pointed: suture rather deep : 
mouth forming an oblique segment of about two-thirds of a 
circle, furnished sometimes with a small tubercular tooth on 
the columella, which is placed nearly in the middle; inside 
slightly tinged with reddish-brown: outer lip sharp, strength- 
ened by a thick, white, exterior rib, which is placed at a little 
distance from the margin; outer edge slightly reflected : inner 
lip spread on the pillar: umbilicus small and shallow, contracted 
= i aed ridge or crest at the base of the shell. L. 0-133. 


Var. 1. bigranata. Shell rather smaller and thicker, and 
having a tubercular tooth or denticle considerably within the 
outer lip, as well as that on the columella. P. bigranata, 
Rossmissler, Iconogr. ix, x. p. 27, f. 645. 


Var. 2. albina, Menke. Shell white. 


Hasrrat: Under stones, at the roots of grass, and 
among dead leaves, everywhere from the Moray Firth 
district to Guernsey, especially on the sea-coast. Var. 1. 
Bath (Clark) ; Lulworth, Dorsetshire (J. G. J.); Ox- 
fordshire (Whiteaves) ; Weston-super-Mare (Norman). 
Var. 2. Somersetshire (Clark, Norman, and J. G. J.) ; 
Oxfordshire (Whiteaves). I have also found a monstro- 
sity in which the lower whorl is furrowed, and another 
which has the periphery keeled,—the former having been 
apparently caused by a grain of sand adhering to the 
mantle while the shell was in course of formation, and 
the latter by an accidental fracture of the last whorl, which 
obliged the animal to make a new mouth and to shorten 
the base. As an upper tertiary fossil it 1s very common, 
and often indicates the former presence of littoral con- 
ditions, as this species not only peculiarly affects sandy 
shores and maritime places, but is also washed down in 
great numbers by estuarime rivers and thrown up on 


PUPA. BH) 


the beach by the reflux of the tide. I have often found 
it under such circumstances mixed with recent sea-shells 
on a flat sandy coast. The Rev. Revett Sheppard says 
that i. occurs “in profusion in Essex, near Wrabness 
Point, on the upper part of the marsh—a situation which 
at high tides is covered with water.” The foreign range 
of this species is very extensive. Middendorff, as well 
as Gerstfeldt, has recorded it as Siberian ; Von Martens 
has noticed it as inhabiting Iceland and Lapland; it is 
common in Scandinavia ; and southwards it has found its 
way to Central Europe, Spam, Corsica, and Sicily. 

This is a hardy and fearless little animal, and crawls 
rapidly for its size, compared with the movements of 
P. ringens. According to Moquin-Tandon this species 
1S OVOViviparous, as weil as P. umbilicata, and the young 
are sometimes attached to the shell of the mother and 
carried about by her. The work of reproduction takes 
place in the months of July and August. The number 
of eggs varies from 3 to 7. Insome specimens the spire 
is much longer or shorter, and the shell is consequently 
narrower or broader than usual. The epiphragm is like 
that of the last species, but is seldom complete. 

This differs from P. umbilicata in the shell being more 
cylindrical and mostly of a smaller size, as well as in the 
mouth being semioval instead of triangular, but more 
especially in having a strong back rib instead of a re- 
flected hp. The present species seems to connect Pupa 
with Vertigo. 

In consequence of the hopelessly inextricable confusion 
which has so long existed as to the identity of Linné’s 
Helix muscorum with this or the last species, or the 
Pupa minutissima of Hartmann (and which confusion 
seems to be increased by every new writer on the sub- 
ject), there scarcely seems to be any alternative but to 


252 HELICID. 


adopt Draparnaud’s specific and significant name of mar- 
ginata. It is more than probable that Linné knew both 
this species and P. umbilicata, but did not distinguish 
one from the other. The present species appears, how- 
ever, to be the Helix muscorum of Miller, who pomted 
out the difference between his and Linné’s species of the 
same name. ‘This is the Turbo chrysalis of Turton. 


Genus VII. VERTI’GO%*, Miiller. Pl. VII. f. 6, 7, 8. 


Bopy rather short, always containable within the shell: 
tentacles 2 only, scarcely at all inflated at their extremities: 
foot short. 


Set subcylindrical or fusiform, thin, and glossy: whorls 
compact, the last considerably exceeding the others in size: 
spire short, sometimes reversed : mouth semioval or semicircular, 
usually furnished with several teeth, in which case the outer 
lip is contracted: umbzlicus scarcely perceptible, or consisting 
of an oblique and narrow chink. 


The members of this genus are miniature forms of 
Pupa; and their habits are the same, except that these 
are more retired and avoid the sun’s rays more than 
some species of Pupa. But the difference between them 
does not consist in size alone. The animal of Vertigo, 
instead of having, like that of Pupa, four tentacles, has 
only two, and is quite destitute of the lower pair. I have 
satisfied myself, by a careful examination of many living 
specimens, that not the slightest rudiment or vestige exists 
of a second pair of tentacles in several species of Vertigo, 
although in V. pygmea and V. pusilla lines or dark spots 
are discernible in the places which would be occupied by 
these tentacles if they were present. Miller was the 
first to discover the fact of these mollusks being biten- 
taculate, and founded on it the present genus. Several 


* A turning round. 


VERTIGO. 253 


Continental naturalists of repute have also made inde- 
pendent observations and arrived at the same conclu- 
sion. An exotic species (V. rupestris) is half as large 
again as Pupa marginata ; and yet, according to Moquin- 
Tandon, not a trace can be detected in this species of 
Vertigo of the lower tentacles which are possessed by all 
the species of Pupa. The shell of Vertigo differs also in 
a corresponding degree from that of Pupa. The spire is 
shorter ; and when the mouth is furnished with teeth (as is 
commonly the case) the outer lip is contracted. It would 
therefore seem to be quite as reasonable that Vertigo 
should be separated from Pupa, as Bulimus from Helix. 
The line of demarcation in either case is confessedly 
slight. The value of such generic distinctions will pro- 
bably not be admitted by all naturalists; and unfortu- 
nately there is no Court of Science to which an appeal 
can be made for an adjudication of the point. 

The typical and original species (V. pusilla) has the 
spire reversed or sinistral, from which character the name 
now borne by the genus was derived. 


A. Shell dextral, barrel-shaped: mouth furnished with teeth. 


1. VERTIGO ANTIVERTI Go*, Draparnaud. 


Pupa antivertigo, Drap. Tabl. Moll. p. 57, and Hist. Moll. p. 60, pl. ii. 
£132, 33 ;E..& H.iv. p. 109, pl. exxx.:f..7. 


Bopy thick, lustrous and dusky, greyish-black with a tinge 
of slate-colour or brown, covered with exceedingly minute 
black or dark tubercles: snout short, but somewhat produced : 
tentacles rather close together, subcylindric; bulbs forming one- 
third of them, oval and obtusely pointed: foot oblong and 
narrow ; edges very light grey and finely speckled with black ; 
tail rather blant. 

SHELL oval, thin, semitransparent, very glossy and of an 


* Not reversed. 


254 HELICID®. 


opaline lustre, dark yellowish-brown with a reddish tinge, | 
very faintly and closely striate in the line of growth, and micro- 
scopically striate in a spiral direction: periphery rounded: 
epidermis very thin: whorls 44, tumid and more prominent in 
the middle, the last being equal to about half the shell, and 
the first whorl and a half very small in proportion to the 
others: spire short, very abrupt and blunt at the point: suture 
deep: mouth small, semioval, contracted in the middle of the 
outer edge, and furnished with teeth as follows—three on 
the pillar (the inner one of which is only a small tubercle, or 
denticle), one on the pillar lip, and three or four (besides one 
or two denticles) inside the outer lip and placed at some 
distance from the opening; the teeth are of a reddish-brown 
colour; the principal ones are strong and arched, and the 
labial or palatal teeth extend a little way in the form of ridges 
and are visible outside; all of them are of an irregular shape 
and unequal in size and length: outer lip sharp, whitish, 
fiexuous or constricted in the middle of the front margin, 
shghtly reflected, and strengthened by an exterior rib of nearly 
the same colour as the rest of the shell, which is placed at 
some little distance from the margin ; outer edge much inflected: 
inner lip spread on the pillar and tolerably thick in adult spe- 
cimens, so as almost to form a complete peristome: wmbilicus 
moderately open, but somewhat contracted by a blunt and 
wrinkled crest at the base of the shell. L. 0-065. B. 0:04. 


Hapirat: Under stones and logs of wood, as well as 
at the roots of grass, and on moss, flags, and water- 
plants, in marshy places and at the sides of streams and 
canals, generally throughout these isles, from the Moray 
Firth district to Guernsey. It is also one of our upper 
tertiary fossils. Abroad it is distributed from Sweden, 
through the whole of Central Europe, to Portugal on the 
west and Lugano on the east; and Aradas and Mag- 
giore have recorded a small variety (the Pupa pusilla of 
Bivona) as Sicilian. 

This little mollusk carries its shell nearly straight on 
its back, and balances it from right to left (as if it were 
topheavy) when crawling. It inhabits elevated as well 
as moist places. The late Dr. Johnston of Berwick in- 


VERTIGO. 255 


formed me that he found it with V. pygmea and V. 
substriata at Fastcastle on Sparkleton Mountain, in 
East Lothian, at a height of 1200 feet. Such localities 
appear to have an obvious relation to the preglacial 
origin of many of our Mollusca. The epiphragm of the 
present species is filmy and iridescent, like that of the 
smaller Pupe. Half-grown specimens have only two 
teeth, viz. one on the pillar and the other on the pillar 
lip. The number of teeth in adult specimens varies 
from six to ten. The shell does not differ much in size. 

It is the Turbo sexdentatus of Montagu, the V. sep- 
temdentata of Férussac, Charpentier, and others, the V. 
octodentata of Studer, and the V. palustris of Leach. 
The Pupa ovata of Say (a North-American shell) is 
closely allied to this species. 


2. V. Mouzinsia’'na*, Dupuy. 


Pupa Moulinsiana, Dup. Cat. Gall. Test. no. 284, and Moll. Fr. p. 419, 
pl. 20. f..11. 


Bopy rather slender, dark-grey above and of a paler colour 
below: tentacles rather thick, short, clavate and obtuse at their 
extremities : foot narrow. 


SHELL oval, very thin and nearly transparent, exceedingly 
glossy, light yellowish-horncolour, very faintly striate in the 
line of growth and microscopically striate in a spiral direction : 
periphery rounded : epidermis very slight: whorls 41, extremely 
tumid, the last being larger than the rest of the shell, and the 
first whorl and a half very small in proportion: spire short, 
remarkably abrupt and blunt at the point: sutwre very deep: 
mouth semioval or forming an arch equal to nearly two-thirds 
of a circle; teeth four, as follows—one on the middle of the 
pillar, one on the pillar-lip, and two inside the outer lip ; 
these teeth are of the same size, and placed at about equal 
distances from each other and a little within the mouth: outer 
lip rather thin, whitish and reflected, strengthened by a slight 


* Named after M. des Moulins, the author of several excellent papers 
on the French Mollusca. 


256 HELICID 2. 


exterior rib, which is of the same colour as the rest of the 
shell and situate near the opening of the mouth; outer edge 
considerably inflected: inner lip scarcely perceptible and con- 
sisting of a mere film: wmbilicus rather open. L. 0-08. B. 0-06. 


Var. bidentata. Labial or palatal teeth wanting. © 


Hasrtat: Under stones by the side of a small lake 
at Ballinahinch near Roundstone, Co. Galway, where I 
made this acquisition to the British Mollusca in 1845. 
V. antivertigo and a variety of V. pygmea were also 
found by me at the same place and time; but I had not 
examined my specimens until I commenced describing 
the species of Vertigo for this work. The mouth and 
_ lip im the variety are completely formed. On the Con- 
tinent the present species occurs in the North, South, 
and West of France, the Cantons of Vaud and Valais in 
Switzerland, and near Heidelberg. It is a local and rare 
shell. 

The description of the animal is taken from my “ Notes 
on Swiss Mollusca,” which appeared in the ‘ Annals and 
Magazine of Natural History’ for January 1855; and I 
there stated that the body is more slender and of a lighter 
colour than that of V. antivertigo, and that the ten- 
tacles are more decidedly clavate. There is no trace of 
a second or lower pair of tentacles. I observed it in 
Switzerland feeding on Conferve. The situations in 
which I found it in Switzerland were like that of the 
Irish habitat; and I have no doubt that it will be re- 
discovered in this country by attention being thus drawn 
te it. The fen districts of our Eastern counties, as well 
as the wilds of Connemara, require to be more thoroughly 
searched. I-did not keep one of my Swiss specimens, 
from a desire to confine my collection exclusively to our 
own Mollusca; but I have fortunately had, through the 
kindness of Mr. Daniel, an opportunity of comparing 


VERTIGO. 257 


the Connemara specimens with some from Germany. 
The latter are the largest. 

This species differs from V. antivertigo in being larger, 
more yentricose, and of a much lighter colour, in the 
mouth and outer lip not being contracted, and especially 
in the number and position of the teeth, which never 
exceed four, instead of bemg from six to ten as in that 
species. From V.pygmea it may be distinguished by 
being twice the size and very much more ventricose, and 
also of a lighter colour. The difference is equally great 
between all the three species. V. Moulinsiana resembles 
V. antivertigo in form and V. pygymea in the number of 
teeth. It is among the largest of our native species of 
Vertigo. 

It is the Pupa Anglica of Moquin-Tandon’s ‘ Cata- 
logue of the Mollusca of Toulouse, but not that of 
- Alder or of Potiez and Michaud; and it is the P. Char- 
pentiert of Mr. Shuttleworth in Kiister’s edition of 
Martini and Chemnitz, and my P. Desmoulinsiana. The 
P. arctica of Von Wallenberg (Mal. Bl. 1858, p. 99, pl. i. 
f. 3, and a, 6, 4) from Lapland is perhaps a variety of the 
present species, differmg in not having the second and 
smaller tooth on the outer lip. 


3. V. pyemma*, Draparnaud. 


Pupa pygmea, Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 60, pl. iii. f. 30, 31; F. & H. iv. 
p- 106, pl. exxx. f. 4-6. 


Bopy slender, expanded and rounded in front, very gradually 
narrowing and pointed behind, of a dark greyish-slatecolour, 
closely but indistinctly tubercled: mantle of a reddish hue, 
finely speckled with black : tentacles very close together at the 
base, but considerably diverging, with oblong bulbs; in the place 
of the lower tentacles two black spots are perceptible with a 
high magnifying power: foot truncate in front, speckled with 


* Dwarf. 


258 HELICIDE. 


black like the mantle, as well as with milk-white dots on the 
sole ; tail very narrow, slightly rounded at the extremity. 
SHELL oval‘or inclined to cylindrical, rather solid for its size, 
semitransparent, glossy, reddish-brown or yellowish-horncolour, 
very faintly striate in the line of growth, and also marked with a 
few obscure spiral strie : periphery rounded : epidermis slight : 
whorls 43, convex, but not very tumid, the last being nearly 
as large as the rest of the shell, and the first whorl and a half 
very small in proportion: spire short, abrupt and bluntly 
pointed: sutwre moderately deep: mouth semioval, rather 
higher than broad ; teeth four or five, arranged as follows— 
one sharp and prominent tooth on the middle of the pillar, one 
strong and thick tooth on the pillar lip, and two or three plate- 
like teeth (more frequently the latter number) inside the 
outer lip; these last or labial teeth are seated considerably 
within the mouth and appear to spring from a kind of rib, 
which is formed inside this part of the lip and corresponds in 
position with an outer rib of greater breadth and thickness ; 
the third labial tooth is the smallest : owter ip rather thin, very 
little reflected, strengthened by the outer rib above noticed, 
which is sometimes reddish-brown like the rest of the shell, 
but occasionally of a lighter colour; outer edge abruptly 
inflected: inner Lip thickened in adult specimens : wnbilicus 
small and narrow, but rather deep. L. 0°065. B. 0:04. 


Var. pallida. Shell thinner and of a lighter colour. 


Hasrirat: Under stones and logs of wood, and at the 
roots of grass, on hills and almost everywhere in this 
country, from the Moray Firth district to Guernsey. 
The variety inhabits marshy places, and has been found 
by Mr. Daniel at Wool in Dorsetshire, and by myself 
in the North of Devon as well as in Connemara with 
V. Moulinsiana. This variety has probably been mis- 
taken by collectors for V. alpestris. The present species 
is not uncommon in our upper tertiary strata. It is 
widely distributed abroad from Siberia and Finland to 
Algeria and Sicily ; and it even reaches the Azores. 

This is a tolerably active and lively little creature, 
crawling by jerks and carrying its shell nearly upright. 


VERTIGO. . 259 


It makes, like its congeners, a filmy epiphragm, but 
which is not iridescent. It may be in some degree 
considered a subalpine form, as it occurs at considerable 
heights. Dr. Johnston found it at the top of a moun- 
tain in East Lothian at an elevation of 1200 feet, and 
M. Puton on the Vosges at a height of 1640 feet. The 
teeth do not appear to be formed in any of the whorls 
except the last. They project into the mouth at right 
angles, so as to present a chevaux de frise against all 
intruders. 

This species may at once be known from V. antivertigo, 
as well as from V. Moulinsiana, by its more cylindrical 
or narrower shape, and from the former by its having 
only a single tooth on the pillar, instead of two or three 
as in that species. The outer lip is also not contracted 
and angulated as in V. antivertigo. The other poimts 
of difference between the present species and V. Mou- 
linstana have already been noticed in the account of 
that species. 

Montagu was evidently acquainted with the present 
species, but confounded it with V. antivertigo (his Turbo 
sexdentatus), in describing which he says, ‘“ younger 
shells have only four teeth.’ I may observe that the 
fifth or smaller tooth, which is placed within the outer 
lip and close to the pillar lip, is seldom wanting, although 
not so conspicuous as the others, and that five is the 
usual, and four the exceptional number of teeth. 


4, V. ALPES TRIs*, Alder. 


V. alpestris, Alder, Trars. Nat. Hist. Soe. Newe. ii. p. 340. Pupa pyg- 
mea, var. alpestris, F. & H. iv. p. 107, pl. exxx. f. 6. 


Bopy light-straweolour : tentacles and foot longer than in 
V. pygmea. 
* Inhabiting high land. 


260 HELICID#. 


SHELL subcylindrical, thin and semitransparent, very glossy, 
pale yellowish-horneolour, closely and rather strongly striate 
in the line of growth: periphery rounded: epidermis thin: 
whorls 41, convex, but slightly compressed : spire short, abrupt 
and bluntly pointed: suture excessively deep: mouth semi- 
oval and subangular, owing to the outward compression of the 
periphery; teeth four, viz. one sharp and prominent tooth on 
the middle of the pillar, one strong and also prominent and 
thick tooth on the pillar lip, and two lamelle or plate-like 
teeth which are placed at some little distance within the outer 
lip, but not on any rib or callous fold as in V. pygmeaa ; the 
labial teeth are visible on the outside, owing to the thinness 
and transparency of the shell: outer Kip rather thick, very 
slightly reflected, not strengthened by any rib either outside 
or inside; outer edge abruptly inflected: nner ip somewhat 
thickened in adult specimens: wmbilicus small and narrow, 
but rather deep. L. 0:07. B. 0-04, 


Hasirat: Under stones and among dead leaves near 
Clithero in Lancashire (Gilbertson); Lipwood, near 
Haydon Bridge, Northumberland (J. Thompson); near 
Ambleside, on slate (Miss Sarah Bolton); Grassmere 
(J. G. J.). It is one of our most local species ; and it 
does not appear to be extensively distributed abroad. 
Maack has recorded it as Russian; Von Wallenberg 
found it in Lulea-Lapland ; Charpentier and myself in 
several parts of Switzerland ; and I have also taken it in 
the Lower Harz. It is in Mr. Brown’s list of Copford 
shells; but as a variety of V. pygmea has been often 
mistaken for this species, I cannot satisfactorily recognize 
it as one of our upper tertiary fossils. 

In my notice of the Harz Mollusca in the ‘Annals 
and Magazine of Natural History’ for November 1860 
(p. 349) I stated that “this is a true Vertigo, and has 
not the slightest vestige of the lower pair of tenta- 
cles.” The epiphragm is iridescent. The ‘ Malakozoo- 
logische Blatter’ for 1858 (Taf. 1. f. 5. a—d) contains an 
admirable representation of the shell. 


VERTIGO. 261 


This species differs from V. pygmea in being more 
cylindrical, of a paler colour and nearly transparent, 
and especially in the numerous and sharp transverse 
striz, as well as in not having any rib either outside or 
inside the mouth. 

It is questionable whether the V. alpestris of Férussac 
is the same as our shell, because he gave no description ; 
and his original specimens appeared to me, from two 
careful examinations which I made in 1860 and 186], 
to be the marsh variety (pallida) of V. pygmea, and 
not Alder’s species. I have, however, no doubt of the 
present species bemg the Pupa Shuttleworthiana of 
Charpentier (Zeitschr. f. Malak. 1847, p. 148), having 
compared with that naturalist the specimens I collected 
in Switzerland. The Pupa borealis of Morelet from 

Kamtschatka appears also to belong to this species. 


5. V. susstria ta *, Jeffreys. 


Alea substriata, Jeffr. in Linn. Trans. xvi. p. 515. Pupa substriata, 
F. & H. iv. p. 108, pl. exxx. f. 3. 


Bopy grey of different shades: snowt short, bilobed: tenta- 
cles slender, cylindrical or club-shaped, and divergent; bulbs 
equal to about one-fourth of their length: foot of a lighter 
colour, thick, short, narrow and keeled at the tail. 


Suet oval or subfusiform, rather thin and semitransparent, 
glossy, pale yellowish-horncolour, very strongly and obliquely 
striate and almost ribbed in the line of growth, but less so on 
the body whorl, which is faintly striate spirally: periphery 
rounded: epidermis rather thick: whorls 43, very convex or 
cylindrical, and suddenly increasing in bulk, the penultimate — 
whorl slightly exceeding in breadth the last, which occupies 
about one-half of the shell: spre short, very abrupt and 
bluntly pointed: sutwre remarkably deep: mouth semioval, 
contracted or sinuous in the middle of the outer edge; teeth 
from four to six, viz. from one to three (usually two) on the 


* Slightly striate. 


262 HELICIDA. 


pillar, one on the pillar lip, and two or three on the inside of 
the outer lip, the last springing from a white rib; in half- 
grown specimens the pillar lip has a spiral or longitudinal 
fold: outer lip thin and slightly reflected, strengthened by a 
strong rib, which is placed very near the opening of the mouth ; 
outer edge abruptly inflected : inner ip thickened in the adult : 
umbilicus small and narrow, contracted by a keel or ridge at 
the base of the shell. L. 0-065. B. 0-04. 


Haxsitrar: Under stones, among dead and decaying 
leaves, and at the roots of grass in woods and moist 
places, in many parts of Great Britain from Skye to 
Devon, as well as throughout Ireland. Mr. Brown has 
enumerated it in his list of upper tertiary shells from 
Copford. Abroad it has been noticed by Nordenskidld and 
Nylander as inhabiting Finland, by Malm as Swedish, 
and by Held as Bavarian. It does not appear to have 
been found in France. 

This exquisite little snail is tolerably active, though 
timid, and carries its shell nearly upright. The epi- 
phragm is like that of its congeners. There is no rudi- 
ment or trace of lower tentacles ; and my first descrip- 
tion of the animal (in 1830) is incorrect in that respect. 
I have since very carefully examined a great many living 
specimens, and could not detect with a Coddington lens 
even a speck in the place usually occupied by these ten- | 
tacles. Dr. Johnston found this species in East Lothian 
at a height of 1200 fect. 

The form of the shell, and the strong transverse striz, 
as well as the number and arrangement of the teeth, 
will at once serve to distinguish this from any of the 
foregoing species. 

It is the V. curta of Held; and it closely resembles, 
and may be specifically identical with, the Pupa milium 
of Gould, which is a native of the United States. 


VERTIGO. 263 


B. Shell sinistral, fusiform: mouth furnished with teeth and 
contracted. 


6. V. pusit’Lta*, Miller. 


V. pusilla, Mull. Verm. Hist. pt. u. p. 124. Pupa pusilla, F. & H. iv. 
p. 111, pl. exxx. f. 8. 


Bopy oblong, slightly contracted and rounded in front and 
insensibly narrowing behind, brown or greyish-slatecolour 
above, and whitish with a faint tinge of blue on the sides and 
underneath, minutely tubercled: mantle yellowish-brown : 
tentacles very close together at their base, but widely diverging, 
thick, nearly cylindrical, dusky-grey with a slight tinge of 
brown; bulbs long, but not very prominent: foot broad and 
rounded in front, very tumid, keeled and a little pointed 
behind. 


SHELL subfusiform, with somewhat of a quadrangular out- 
line, thin and semitransparent, very glossy, horncolour with a 
faint tinge of yellow, very slightly and remotely striate in the 
line of growth: periphery rounded, with a tendency to angu- 
larity: epidermis thin: whorls 44 or 5, very convex and 
cylindrical, gradually increasing in size; the penultimate 
whorl as broad as the last, which occupies about two-fifths of 
the shell: spre shortish, but rather tapering, and blunt at the 
point : suture very deep : mouth semioval, contracted or sinuous 
‘in the middle of the outer edge ; teeth six or seven, viz. two 
on the pillar, two on the pillar lip (the inner one of which is 
always larger, and the outside one tubercular and placed 
in the angle where the outer lip joins), and two or three within 
the outer lip (the third, when it is present, placed near the 
pillar lip and being a mere tubercle): owter lip rather thick 
and slightly reflected, strengthened by a strong rib both out- 
side and inside, which is situate near the opening of the mouth: 
and is yellowish-white ; outer edge rather abruptly inflected : 
inner lip slightly thickened in full-grown specimens: wmbilicus 
small and narrow, contracted by a rather sharp and gibbous 
erest or ridge at the base of the shell. L. 0-07. B. 0-045. 


Hasirat: Under stones and among dead leaves and 
moss in woods, in various parts of Great Britain from 
Westmoreland to Devon, as well as in the North and 


* Little. 


264 HELICIDA. 


West of Ireland ; but it does not appear to have been 
detected in Scotland. Although diffused, it is local and 
rare. It occurs in our upper tertiary strata. On the 
Continent it ranges from Finland to the North of Italy,— 
viz. Lugano (Stabile); Como (Porro) ; Lombardy (Villa) ; 
and Aradas and Maggiore are said to have found a 
specimen on the sea-shore at Catania. 

This is a very shy little snail and slow in its move- 
ments. When it is about to crawl and emerges from 
the shell, it puts its foot foremost. Its slime is rather 
abundant. The shell is carried perpendicularly. The 
epiphragm is membranous and plaited. Miller says 
that under the microscope a small black line can with 
great difficulty be detected in the place which is occupied 
in the animal of Pupa by each of the lower tentacles. 

The reversed direction of the spire is an easy mark of 
distinction between this and all the foregoing species of 
Vertigo. The present species is not a sinistral form or 
variety of any other kind, as I have satisfied myself by 
comparing this i a mirror (which of course makes the 
spire appear dextral) with V. antivertigo and V. sub- 
striata, in which the teeth are somewhat similarly 
arranged. The shape of the present species, if it were 
dextral, would be intermediate between that of the last- 
named species and V. edentula. 

Leach is the only conchologist who has proposed to 
change the original name; and he has rechristened this 
species V. heterostropha. It must be recollected that 
Miller was the founder of the genus, as well as the dis- 
coverer of the present species, which was at that time 
the only one known; so that, if any alteration were 
necessary on account of the contrary direction of the 
spire, this species ought at all events to retain the name 
first given to it by its discoverer. I had long previously 


VERTIGO. 265 


proposed the institution of another genus (Alea) for the 
reception of those species which have a dextrorsal spire ; 
but I now consider this generic addition to be quite 
useless and untenable. 


7. V. ancus TIOR*, Jeffreys. 


V. angustior, Jeffr.in Linn. Trans. xvi. p. 361. Pupa Venetzti, ¥. & H. iv. 
p. 112, pl. cxxx. f. 9. 


Bopy short and stumpy, blackish in front and greyish on 
the sides and underneath ; tubercles indistinct: mantle yellow- 
ish-grey: tentacles thick, somewhat cylindrical, dusky-grey, 
considerably diverging from each other ; bulbs scarcely distinct: 
foot thick and narrow, pale-grey. 


SueEtx subfusiform or barrel-shaped, narrower in proportion 
than V. pusilla, rather solid, but semitransparent, glossy, light 
horneolour, strongly, obliquely and rather closely striate in 
the line of growth: periphery compressed and somewhat an- 
gular: epidermis thin: whorls 43, rather convex, but com- 
pressed, gradually increasing in size, the penultimate one a 
trifle broader than the last, which occupies about two-fifths 
of the shell, the first or upper whorl smooth and shining: 
spire rather short, abrupt and blunt at the point : sutwre rather 
deep: mouth subtriangular, and very narrow in consequence of 
the great contraction or sinuosity of the outer edge in the 
middle as well as towards the base; teeth four or five, viz. 
two on the pillar (the outer one of which is a little in advance 
of the other), one on the pillar lip, which is sunk deep within 
the mouth and resembles a strong curved plate more than a 
tooth, and one thick and prominent tooth inside the outer lip, 
- with rarely a small tubercle by the side of it: outer lip ex- 
ceedingly thick and scarcely inflected, strengthened outside 
and inside by a strong rib, which is situate near the rim and is 
yellowish-white; the inside rib remarkably thick and increasing 
the contraction of the mouth: inner lip consisting of a slight 
deposit on the columella: wmbilicus very small, narrow and 
indistinct, being much contracted by a sharp and gibbous keel 
or crest at the base of the shell. L. 0-06. B. 0-035, 


Hasirat: At the roots of grass in marshy ground, 


* Narrower. 


266 HELICIDA. 


but only hitherto noticed in a few localities. These 
are as follows :—Singleton near Swansea, and the rejec- 
tamenta of the Avon River at Bristol (J. G. J.) ; Tenby 
(Webster); Battersea fields (Stephens); Co. Clare 
(Humphreys) ; and Connemara, Co. Galway (Warren). 
Mr. Brown has noticed it among the shells in the upper 
tertiary deposit at Copford. Abroad it has been found 
in the North, East, and South of France, as well as in 
Germany, Switzerland, and Lugano. Near Villeneuve, 
in the upper Valley of the Rhone, I observed it to be 
tolerably plentiful in a wet meadow or piece of land by the 
side of the road leading from Vevay to St. Maurice, as 
well as in similar situations near Lausanne and at Chable 
in the Valley of Bagne. The first-mentioned piece of 
land had lately been mown; and consequently these tiny 
shells were more easily detected. I have thus specially 
noticed these foreign localities, to indicate the kind of 
station im which this rare shell may be sought for in 
this country. 

The animal is rather slow in its movements and carries 
the shell upright on its back. 

The shell differs from V. pusilla in its much smaller 
size and being proportionally narrower, in the distinct 
and strong transverse striz, and especially in the shape 
of the mouth, which is triangular and very narrow, 
instead of being subquadrate and open (which is the case . 
in V. pusilla), as well as in the number, shape, and 
position of the teeth. The single labial tooth in the 
present species is situate opposite to the space between 
the two teeth on the columella, and would lock into 
them if the two sides were in contact, like the hinge teeth 
of many bivalve shells. An excellent and enlarged 
figure of the shell is given in ‘ Wiegmann’s Archiv ’ for 
1838, pl. iv. f. 6. 


VERTIGO. 267 


I hope I may be excused saying a few words. here 
about the correct name of this species, as regards myself. 
It is an invidious and unpleasant task to vindicate one’s 
own supposed discoveries; but it is at the same time 
useful to the cause of Science, and in some respects re- 
sembles the duty of a parent in defending his children. 
As our Continental neighbours and friends would say, 
“il faut faire une réclanfation.” 

In the ‘Linnean Transactions’ for 1830 I proposed 
the present species and gave it the name of “‘angustior,”’ 
accompanied by a full description, in Latin, of its specific 
characters. I also noticed particularly the contour of 
the shell, the shape of the aperture or mouth, and the 
position of the teeth, in comparison with those characters 
in V. pusilla. In the following year Michaud described 
and figured the same species in his Supplement to Dra- 
parnaud’s posthumous work, under the name of V. nana. 
In the ‘Isis’ for 1887, Held also described the shell 
and gave it the name of V. hamata. In 1838 Professor 
A. Miiller again described and figured it in ‘ Wiegmann’s 
Archiv’ as V. plicata. And, in order that this mite of 
a shell should have as many names as any Spanish 
Hidalgo, Rossmissler in 1839 redescribed and figured 
it in his ‘ Iconographie,’ and adopted Charpentier’s MS. 
name of V. Venetzii. This last name has been used by 
the authors of the ‘ British Mollusca’; and Held’s 
name of plicata has been adopted by Moquin-Tandon, 
under an erroneous impression (originating apparently 
in a typographical error in Rossmassler’s work) that 
the number of the ‘Isis’ which contained the latter 
name was published in 1828, and not in 1838. I have 
ascertained, by an examination of Michaud’s and Char- 
pentier’s types, that their species are the same as mine. 
I have also no doubt of the Twuréo vertigo of Montagu, 

N2 


268 HELICID. 


as first described by him, being specifically identical with 
it, and his name is consequently prior to all those which 
I have enumerated; but the reduplication of the same 
name, both in a specific and generic sense, would be 
objectionable. V. pusilla, as well as the present species, 
were confounded by Montagu in the subsequent part of 
his description. I fear that this little episode will 
interest none but bibliographicat naturalists. 


C. Shell dextral, cylmdrical: mouth seldom furnished with 
teeth. 


8. V. epEN’TULA*, Draparnaud, 


Pupa edentula, Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 52, pl. i. f. 28, 29; F. & H. iy. p. 103, 
pl. exxx. f. 1. 


Bopy rather slender, ash-grey, of a darker hue above, and 
much paler behind as well as on the sides and underneath ; 
tubercles extremely small, reduced to blackish or greyish dots : 
mantle very pale reddish-grey ; tentacles thick, nearly smooth, 
blackish-grey ; bulbs forming about one-third of their length, 
oval, and very blunt; there is no sign of any lower tentacles 
and not even a spot to indicate their place: foot oblong and 
narrow, slightly pointed behind. 


SHELL oblong, nearly cylindrical, thin, semitransparent and 
glossy, ight yellowish-brown or horncolour, marked with slight, 
but numerous, oblique and somewhat curved striz in the line of 
growth: periphery rounded, although having a slight tendency 
toangularity: epidernus thin: whorls 53-63, moderately con- 
vex, gradually increasing in size, the penultimate whorl rather 
broader than the last, which occupies about two-fifths of the 
shell: spire long, abrupt and blunt at the point: suture deep : 
mouth forming an arch or segment of two-thirds of a circle, 
destitute of teeth : outer lip thin, very slightly reflected, except 
towards the umbilicus, over which it folds on the side next to 
the mouth: pillar lip nearly straight in adult specimens ; 
umbilicus narrow and contracted by the pillar, but rather deep. 
L. 0-1. B. 0:05. 


* Toothless. 


VERTIGO. 269 


Var. columella. Shell somewhat longer, and having the last 
whorl a little broader than the next. Pupa columella, (V. 
Martens) Benz, Ueber Wirtenburg. Faun. p. 49. 


Hasirat: Woods, among dead leaves, at the roots of 
grass and in herbage, as well as on the trunks of trees, 
in most parts of the kingdom, from the Moray Firth 
district to Guernsey. This species, however, is local. 
The variety has been found by Mr. Waller at Finnoe, Co. 
Tipperary. It inhabits moister places than the typical 
form and is the Pupa inornata of Michaud. The present 
species is one of our upper tertiary fossils. Its foreign 
range extends from the Amoor territory and Lapland to 
Lombardy. @ 

This elegant little mollusk is timid, and retires within 
its shell at the slightest touch. When crawling, it 
usually carries the shell im a slanting position. Its slime 
is watery. Mr. Sheppard noticed that his Essex specimens 
were uniformly darker than those which he found in 
Suffolk. It mhabits considerable heights. Puton found 
it on the Vosges Mountains at an elevation of 1150 
métres, or 3775 feet. Young shells resemble those of a 
conical Helix, and have a sharply keeled periphery and a 
small umbilical perforation. Mr. E. J. Lowe says that 
Professor Babington once observed this species in great 
abundance on the under surface of the fronds of Aspidia 
in autumn. They may be found in winter, together with 
Carychium minimum and other minute shells, concealed 
in the decayed stalks of the larger umbelliferous plants. 

Although this species is peculiar and by no means un- 
common, it seems to have escaped the notice of Mon- 
tagu and the older writers on British Conchology. It is 
the V. nitida of Férussac, Turbo Offtonensis of Sheppard, 
aud my Alea revoluta. ; 


270 HELICID#. 


9. V. minutis sima*, Hartmann. 


Pupa minutissima, Hartm. in Neue Alp. i. p. 220, pl. ii. f.5; F.& H. iv. 
p. 104, pl. cxxx. f. 2. 


Bony slightly narrow and rounded in front, very gradually 
attenuated and somewhat blunt behind, finely shagreened, 
egreyish-slatecolour, streaked or dotted with black: mantle 
greyish-brown and of a lighter hue than the upper part of the 
body : tentacles greatly diverging, separated by a narrow groove, 
very tumid at their base, broadly edged with black; bulbs 
slightly globular: foot of a paler colour (sometimes milk-white) 
at the sides and underneath, with a faint tinge of yellow 
towards the middle of the sole, ending in a triangular and 
blunt tail. 

Snett oblong, nearly cylindrical, rather solid, semitrans- 
parent and glossy, yellowish-brown or horncolgur of different 
shades, marked with strong, close-set, obliquely transverse and 
rib-like strie: periphery rounded, but slightly compressed, 
with a tendency to angularity: epidermis thin: whorls 53, 
moderately convex, gradually increasing in size, the last but 
two being somewhat the broadest of all, the body whorl occupy- 
ing about two-fifths of the shell: spire long, very abrupt and 
blunt at the point: suture deep: mouth shaped as in V, eden- 
tula, and (in British specimens) equally destitute of teeth: 
outer lip thin, white, and reflected: wmbilcus small, narrow 
and oblique. L. 0:07. B. 0-035. 


Hasrtat: Under stones on hills in a few scattered 
places in Great Britain, and which are as follows :— 
Skye (Macaskill) ; Balmerino, Fifeshire (Chalmers) ; 
Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh (EK. Forbes) ; Sunderland, 
South Hylton on the Wear, and Pontefract on mag- 
nesian limestone (Howse) ; Went Vale, Yorkshire (Ash- 
ford) ; Durdham Downs near Bristol, and Lulworth in 
Dorsetshire (J. G.J.); Undercliff, Isle of Wight (More). 
As an upper tertiary fossil it has been found at Clacton 
and Copford im our eastern counties. It is widely dif- 
fused on the Continent from Finland to Lombardy and 


* Exceedingly minute. 


i BALTAY Dae 4 


Corsica; and (assuming the Pupa Callicratis of Scacchi 
to be the same species) it ranges to Sicily. According 
to Roth it has been found at Athens. 

This exquisitely beautiful but tiny creature is slow in 
its movements, and carries its shell nearly upright when 
it crawls. Puton is said to have found it at a height of 
1352 feet on granite in the Vosges Mountains. The 
epiphragm is very thin and glistening. The length of 
the spire varies considerably in this, as well as the last 
species. Our native examples are toothless; but foreign 
specimens have frequently a tooth on the pillar and an- 
other within the outer lip; and I found a specimen in 
Switzerland which had three teeth, arranged triangularly 
as in the Pupa triplicata of Studer. 

This species is the Pupa minuta of Studer, P. mus- 
corum of Draparnaud, Vertigo cylindrica of Férussac, 
- Pupa obtusa of Fleming (but not of Draparnaud), and 
it is probably also the P. costulata of Nilsson. 


Genus VIII. BA’LIA*, (Balea) Prideaux. 
PLM £. 9.10. 11, 


Bopy long and slender, always containable within the shell : 
tentacles 4, proportionally short: foot rather broad. 


SHELL sinistral, turriculate, thin, delicately striate and 
streaked with white in the line of growth: spire reversed, long 
and pointed: mouth squarish, sometimes furnished with a small 
tubercular tooth on the columella: wmbilicus narrow and 
oblique. 


This generic group has only a single species which is 
indigenous to this country. <A few others are exotic. 
In the reversed turn of the spire and general aspect, as 
well as in the shape of the mouth and the straight pillar 


* Bay-coloured. 


272 HELICID. 


lip, it closely resembles a young or incomplete Clausilia, 
and might lead to the supposition that its growth or deve- 
lopment had been suddenly arrested. It wants, however, 
the clausilium or twisted ternal plate which is charac- 
teristic of the adult Clausilia, as well as the oblique 
teeth or folds which contract the aperture of that shell. 
In the small tubercular tooth which is occasionally 
formed on the pillar, Balia has some affinity to the 
genus Vertigo; but the mouth of the shell in the present 
genus is of a different shape, and the spire is more elon- 
gated or drawn out. The shell of Bala, when viewed 
in a mirror (so as to make the spire appear dextral), is 
not unlike that of a wide-mouthed Pupa. The soft parts 
of the animal do not present any peculiarity, or appear 
to be different from those of the other genera above men- 
tioned. The members of this genus are active in their 
habits, and are fond of shade and moisture, but not of 
excessive wet. They are usually found in the crevices 
of rocks and walls and under the bark of old trees ; and 
they probably feed on the spores of mosses and other 
Cryptogamous plants, as I have observed them after a 
shower of rain apparently thus occupied, while slowly 
crawling over the trunk of a sycamore. They may be 
called the “ Tree-snail.” 

The present genus was first made known by Dr. Gray 
in the ‘ Zoological Journal’ (vol. 1. p. 61) under the 
name of Balea, from MS. information furnished by Mr. 
Prideaux, an assiduous conchologist and friend of Dr. 
Leach. In a posthumous work of the latter author, 
entitled ‘A Synopsis of the Mollusca of Great Britain,’ 
which was edited by Dr. Gray and published in 1852, the 
same genus appears as Balea. The word is probably 
taken from dalius (pro badius), and not, as M. Bour- 
guignat supposed, from Baduos (maculosus) , as the shell is 


BALIA. 273 


not spotted. Balea and Balea may therefore be typo- 
graphical errors. M.Ch. D’Orbigny, in the ‘ Dictionnaire 
d’ Histoire Naturelle,’ thought the name might be an 
obsolete Latin word (dalea) signifying a bark or vessel ; 
but this meaning is not applicable to either the shape or 
habits of our little snail, which rather dreads than courts 
the water. Swainson substituted Balia for the original 
name; and his emendation has been adopted by Stabile 
as well as Bourguignat, the latter of whom has published, 
in his ‘ Aménités Malacologiques,’ an elaborate and valu- 
able article on the species comprised in this genus. 


1. Baia perver’sa*, Linné. 


Turbo perversus, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii. p.1240. Balea fragilis, F. & H. 

iv. p. 114, pl. cxxvui. f. 8, 9. 

Bopy rounded in front, slender and tapering behind, dark- 
brown with a shade of grey, covered with minute black tuber- 
cles and specks: snout prominent and rather tumid: tentacles 
short, rather thick ; upper pair close together, eylindro-conical 
and broad at the base, with bulbs about one-sixth of their 
length ; lower pair very small in proportion, and conical: foot 
somewhat rounded in front and gradually narrowing to a 
tumid and slightly keeled tail. 


Suey club-shaped, thin, semitransparent, glossy, yellowish- 
brown, with transverse and oblique streaks of white, closely 
but irregularly striate in the line of growth, and also marked 
with a few remote and indistinct spiral lines: periphery 
rounded, with a tendency to angularity: epidermis rather 
thin: whorls 7-8, convex, but slightly compressed, regularly 
increasing in size, the last being equal to about one-third of 
the shell and much broader than the others, the first or top 
whorl quite smooth, semiglobular, and shining: spire tapering 
to a somewhat blunt point: suture deep: mouth squarish-oval, 
higher than broad, sometimes furnished with a tubercular 
tooth, which is placed nearly on the middle of the columella : 
outer lip rather thin, white and reflected, especially over the 
umbilicus, sinuous outside and sharply inflected above: pillar 


* Awry, or twisted the wrong way. 


274: HELICID#. 


lip nearly straight: wnbilicus forming a narrow and oblique 
slit. L. 0:275. B. 0-1. 


Var. viridula. Shell greenish-white and transparent. 


Hasitat: On the trunks of trees (chiefly of beech, 
ash, sycamore, and apple), as well as on mossy rocks 
and walls, in various parts of Great Britain and Ireland 
from the Moray Firth district to Guernsey. The variety 
was found near Cork by Mr. Humphreys. Professor 
Morris has noticed this species as fossil in the upper 
tertiary deposit at Grays. It ranges from Finland to 
Sicily, and even to Madeira and the Azores. Itis widely 
diffused in Europe. 

The Tree-snails are gregarious, and are found of differ- 
ent ages in the same spot, asif forming a sociable family 
party. It is difficult to discover them in dry weather, 
as they lie concealed in crevices of rocks or under the 
bark of trees; but after rain they come out from their 
hiding-places and feed on the moistened vegetation. 
They are not particularly sensitive, and do not withdraw 
into their shells on being touched or disturbed ; nor 
are they afraid of cold, having been observed crawling 
about when the temperature was very little above zero. 
Puton found specimens on the Vosges Mountains at a 
height of nearly 2300 feet. Bouchard-Chantereaux says 
that B. perversa lays, i the beginning of autumn, from 
12 to 15 whitish and globular eggs, which are of a large 
size compared with those of most other snails, and that 
the young are excluded or hatched on the fifteenth or six- 
teenth day afterwards and become adult at the end of 
their first year. Luister stated that the sexes were distinct 
in this species, and that there was a difference of size 
between the male and female, the latter being more 
bulky; but Dr. Gray very properly remarks that this 


CLAUSILIA. 275 


cannot be the case, because in these mollusks each indi- 
vidual is both male and female. 

The shell of this species differs from the young of 
Clausilia rugosa (which it somewhat resembles in form) 
in being thinner and of a much lighter colour, in the 
whorls being much more convex, and especially in the 
periphery or basal edge being rounded, instead of sharply 
angular as in the young shell of that species. 

It is the Pupa fragilis of Draparnaud ; and Moquin- 
Tandon has retained it in that genus. The Balia Sarsii 
of Philtppi appears to be only a variety of the present 
species, judging from his description in the ‘ Zeitschrift 
fur Malakozoologie’ for June 1847, p. 84. 


Genus IX. CLAUSI’LIA*, Draparnaud. 
Pl. VIL. f. 12, 13, 14. 


Bopy long and slender, always containable within the shell: 
tentacles 4; upper pair rather long and prominent ; lower pair 
very short and resembling conical nipples: foot long and. 
narrow. 


SHELL sinistral, spindle-shaped, rather solid, usually ribbed 
transversely, and always more strongly, or wrinkled, towards the 
mouth: spire reversed, long and pointed: mouth small, pear- 
shaped, and twisted on the body whorl, having a deep sinus or 
groove at its upper angle, furnished with two spiral plates and 
sometimes also with intermediate ridges or teeth on the colu- 
mella, as wellas witha flexuous plate or fold behind the pillar 
lip and curved plates or folds within the outer lip; besides 
these various processes there is a peculiar and complicated ap- 
paratus lying deep within the throat or cavity of the mouth 
and consisting of a moveable and elastic nacreous-white plate 
or ossicle, which is twisted and somewhat resembles a flat- 
tened ram’s-horn, serving the purpose of an operculum : outer 
lip continuous and forming a complete peristome : basal crest 
(which is formed by an upward and abrupt twist and contrac- 
tion of the last whorl) more or less prominent : wmbilicus very 


* Furnished with a clausilium or operculum-like process. 


276 HELICID&. 


slight, and consisting of a narrow and oblique slit behind the 
pillar lip. 

The Clausilie are herbivorous. Some species inhabit 
rocks, stony places, and old walls, while others seem to 
prefer woods and shady spots, and are to be met with on 
trunks of trees and under stones among herbage. They 
bury their bodies and three-fourths of their shells in the 
earth, and excavate a small oblique tunnel, for the pur- 
pose of depositing their eggs. 

The malacological relations of this genus are with 
Bulimus and Pupa. In the form of the shell it is allied 
to both of those genera, setting aside the circumstance 
of the spire in the present genus being reversed ; but 
the spire in Bulimus and Pupa is shorter than in Clau- 
silia. As in most of the species of Pupa, the laminar 
teeth in Clausilia are never formed until the last whorl 
has been commenced. 

A peculiar and characteristic feature of the present 
genus is that the animal is provided with an internal 
process called the “ clausilium.” It is analogous to the 
testaceous appendages of Teredo, called “ pallets ;” al- 
though they are not homologous organs, nor is the clau- 
silium attached to the body of the snail, like the pallets 
to that of the Ship-worm. This remarkable process acts 
as a valve or spring-door in closing the shell against all 
intruders, and has been well described by Mr. J. S. 
Miller, in the ‘ Annals of Philosophy’ for 1822 (vol. iii. 
p. 378), in the following words :— 

“ Independently of the various contrivances which 
Nature has resorted to for the protection of the otherwise 
vulnerable Mollusca, it has taken peculiar care to guard 
the apertures of many univalves from the intrusion of 
enemies ; hence the apertures are sometimes peculiarly 
contracted and provided with numerous folds and teeth. 


CLAUSILIA. DRE 


Other Mollusca have a calcareous operculum perma- 
nently formed, which increases in thickness, and enlarges 
on a depressed spiral plane, as the opening of the shell 
extends with the growth of the animal, thus continually 
assimilating to its size, and when the animal retreats, 
excluding it completely from all external intrusion. In 
the Clausilia, Nature has continued the protection afforded 
by means of contractions and folds, and also added an 
opercular appendage. The inhabitant of the Clausilia, 
when nearly full-grown, secretes a thread-like elastic 
calcareous filament, one of whose ends is affixed to the 
columella. This filament makes half a spiral turn round 
the columella, msinuating between its folds. When the 
animal finishes its shell and completes the aperture, it 
secretes, at the unattached end of the filament, a spoon- 
shaped calcareous lamina conforming at its margin to 
the contour of the aperture. The lamina is somewhat 
smaller than this, and its margin is rounded. Its ad- 
hesion to an elastic filament enables the animal to push 
it, when it comes out of its shell, against the columella ; 
and the same elasticity closes it on the mhabitant re- 
treating, thus securing it from intruding enemies. Thus, 
then, this valve may be compared to a door provided with 
an elastic spring. The elasticity of the filament may be 
restored to its full power (in the empty shell) by some- 
times immersing it in water, as I have ascertained in a 
section made with a view to this inquiry.” 

Miller had, nearly half a century before, accurately 
described this singular piece of mechanism and called it 
an ossiculum. He quaintly remarks that when the snail 
has opened the door of its house, ‘‘ Veneri et Cereri 
otiosus vivit.”” The ‘Journal de Conchyliologie’ for 1853 
contains an excellent article by M. Cailliaud on the sub- 
ject, which is illustrated by admirably executed figures, 


278 HELICID. 


showing the position and shape of the clausiliwm or 
ossicle in several species. 

The Clausilie would seem to be more at home in the 
South of Europe and Asia Minor than in any other part 
of the world, judging from the statistics given by Char- 
pentier in his Monograph on the genus, which was in- 
serted in the ‘ Journal de Conchyliologie’ for 1852. He 
enumerated 235 species; and this number has since been 
added to by M. Schmidt, who has lately published an 
exhaustive essay on the same subject. None of them 
have been discovered in North America. Three species 
are dextral and inhabit Transylvania. Some of our na- 
tive Clausilie occur in the upper tertiary strata of Essex, 
Suffolk, and Norfolk ; and their origin, as inhabitants of 
Northern Europe, must therefore be very remote. 


A. Shell ribbed or striate transversely: clausiliwm having its 
margin entire. 


1. Crausitt1a RuGO'sa *, Draparnaud. 


C. rugosa, Drap. Tabl. Moll. p. 63. C. nzgricans, F. & H. iv. p. 121, 
pl. cxxix. f. 1, 2. 


Bopy dark-grey or slatecolour, with a tinge of reddish- 
brown, paler at the sides and underneath, indistinctly tuber- 
cled in such a way as to appear wrinkled: tentacles thick, 
minutely speckled with black ; upper pair rather close together, 
with bluntiy rounded bulbs which are darker than the ten- 
tacles; lower pair decidedly conical, and darker than the upper 
ones: foot of a rather clear greyish colour, narrowing gra- 
dually towards the tail, which is tumid and pointed. 


Swett shaped like a long club, but somewhat attenuated at 
the broader end, not thin and scarcely semitransparent, rather 
glossy, light-brown or horncolour, with a few transverse 
streaks and lines of white, marked with numerous and close- 
set but somewhat irregular strie in the line of growth, which 
are curved on the upper and flexuous on the lower whorls, as 


* Wrinkled. 


CLAUSILIA. 279 


well as with a few indistinct spiral strie, the intersection of 
which gives the surface a slightly granular appearance: peri- 
phery angular or ridged: epidermis rather thin: whorls 12-183, 
compressed, regularly increasing in size, the last being equal 
in bulk to about one-third of the shell, but somewhat nar- 
rower than the two or three preceding whorls; the first whorl 
nipple-shaped and quite smooth: spire tapering to an obtuse 
point: suture rather oblique, shght but distinct: mouth almost 
funnel-shaped, compressed on the outer side, and having an 
effuse base, like the lip of a water-jug; teeth or folds as 
follows :—two on the pillar, the upper one of which is promi- 
nent and oblique and forms one of the sides of a channel at 
the outer angle, and the lower one is smaller and more sunk 
or deeply seated, being also oblique and sometimes bifurcate, 
and between these are occasionally from one to three smaller 
folds or ribs; one strong but deep-seated and not very distinct 
crescent-shaped fold (or 1 unella) on the pillar lip; one still more 
sunken and very slight spiral fold near the last ; and occasion- 
ally one or two teeth (like those in Pupa) within the outer lip: 
the outer lip is thick, white, and reflected: basal crest sharp and 
angular, transversely ridged: umbilicus much contracted by 
the intortion of the mouth: clausilium oval-oblong, regularly 
curved, slightly dilated above. L. 0-5. B. 0-1. 


Var. 1. albida. Shell greenish-white, with a few white 
transverse lines. 


Var. 2. Everetti, Miller. Shell smaller. 
Var. 3. gracilior. Shell longer and more slender. 


Var. 4. twmidula. Shell smaller, shorter, and more ven- 
tricose. 


Var. 5. dubia. Shell larger and more ventricose. C. dulia, 
Drap. Hist. Moll. p. 70, pl. iv. f. 10. 


Var. 6. devtrorsa. Shell resembling a Pupa in shape: spire 
dextral. 

Hasirat: On old walls and rocks, as well as under 
stones and on the trunks of trees, throughout these isles, 
from Zetland to Guernsey. Var. 1. Dinton Hall, Bucks 
(Goodall). Var. 2. Bristol (Miller) ; Whalsey Skerries, 
Zetland; Giant’s Causeway and Co. Tyrone (J. G. J.). 
Var. 3. Battersea marshes (J. G. J.). This last variety 
appears to be the C.rugulosa of Ziegler. Var. 4. Brockley 


280 HELICIDA. 


Combe near Bristol, and Connemara (J.G.J.). Var. 5. 
Northumberland and Durham (Alder); Oxfordshire 
(Whiteaves). Var. 6. Sevenoaks, Kent (Smith). This 
species occurs in our upper tertiaries. Its Continental 
range extends from Finland to Portugal and Lombardy. 

The shells of different individuals of this species vary 
considerably in the length of the spire and their com- 
parative solidity, as well as in the degree of sculpture. 
Sometimes a great part of the surface is quite smooth, 
as if filed and polished; and this is the case with living 
specimens. How this effect is produced it is not easy 
to say. Perhaps they lived in a sandy soil, and the 
continual friction of the shells, when trailed along by 
the animal, might account for the abrasion. Such spe- 
cimens were in the collection of Dr. Turton and were 
considered by him (as well as at one time by myself) to 
be the C. parvula of Studer; but the smooth and sleek 
appearance of the last-mentioned shell is very different 
from that of the above specimens. Some curious mon- 
strosities occur, in some of which the spire is distorted, 
or a faint keel or impressed lines encircle the whorls, 
or the mouth is renewed in such a way as to show the 
columellar folds in their incipient state. Lister was the 
first to notice this shell ; and his communication to the 
Royal Society “On the odd turn of some Shell-snails ” 
is one of the earliest on their records. 

It is (partly) the Helix perversa of Miller, Turbo 
didens of Montagu (but not of Linné), 7. nigricans of 
Maton and Rackett, and Clausilia obtusa of C. Pfeiffer. 
Many other names have been given by Continental au- 
thors to different forms of this extremely variable species. 

C. parvula differs from the present species in being 
smaller and quite smooth, with the exception of some 
very faint transverse lines, which are only observable 


CLAUSILIA. 281 


with a lens, or of a few striz near the mouth. It in- 
habits the North of France, as well as every other part 
of the Continent, and may be expected also to be found 
in Great Britain. 


2. C. Rorpy'11*, Gray. 


C. Rolphii, Gray in Turt. Man. L. & F.W. Sh. p. 71, £.54. C. plicatula, 
F.& H. iy. p. 120, pl, exxix. f. 3. 


Bopy dark-brown or dusky, with a reddish hue above, grey- 
ish-brown on the sides and underneath; tubercles blackish, 
arranged in very close lines: mantle thick, yellowish-white, 
with small specks of pure white: tentacles greyish-brown ; 
upper pair rather short and stout, nearly cylindrical as far as 
the bulbs, slightly shagreened and covered with black dots, 
which are so minute as scarcely to be visible with a lens of 
ordinary power, the bulbs thick and nearly spherical; lower 
pair exceedingly short and of a paler hue than the others: 
_ foot very long, narrower in front, ending in a slightly rounded 
tail; sole greyish-white. 

SuHEtt fusiform, rather thinner than the last species but 
searcely semitransparent, slightly glossy, reddish- or yellow- 
ish-brown, with occasionally a few white lines dispersed here 
and there over the surface, marked with strong, sharp and 
somewhat regular transverse strie, of which there are from 
sixty to seventy on the body of the last whorl; these strie 
are curved on the upper and somewhat flexuous on the lower 
part of the shell, becoming fewer and consequently more re- 
mote but stronger towards the outer lip; spiral striz very 
indistinct and scarcely perceptible: periphery angular: ep?- 
dermis rather thick: whorls 9-10, tumid, but somewhat com- 
pressed, the last being rather less than one-third of the shell 
and a little narrower than the two preceding whorls; the two 
or three first whorls are nearly of the same breadth and form 
a short cylinder: spire abruptly tapering and obtuse at the 
point: suture rather oblique, not very deep: mouth subqua- 
drangular, sinuous on the outer side and effuse below ; teeth as 
in C’. rugosa, but in the present species there are often two or 
three small teeth or ridges between the columellar folds, and 
the lower of these folds is less prominent but often cruciate : 


* Named after Mr. Rolph, an English conchologist. 


282 HELICID. 


outer lip thick and rather broad, white or cream-coloured and 
inflected: basal crest short and curved: winbilicus indistinct : 
clausilium oblong, regularly curved, slightly contracted above. 
eGo ey 015. 


Hasirat: Under stones, in the bark of trees, and 
among dead leaves, in Kent, Sussex, and Hants, as well 
as in Gloucestershire, but hitherto found only in a few 
places. This species is one of our upper tertiary fossils. 
It is not uncommon in the North and South of France, 
Belgium, and parts of Germany. Probably it is also a 
member of the Scandinavian fauna, assuming Nilsson’s 
variety 8 of C. plicatula to belong to the present species. 
His diagnosis, although too short and indefinite for 
satisfactory identification, appears to agree with the 
main characters of our shell. 

This species differs from C. plicatula (for which it 
has been mistaken) in being more than twice the size, 
much more ventricose and of a paler colour, in the spire 
beimg more abrupt, and especially in the striz being 
closer and more numerous in proportion to the size of 
the shell. From C. rugosa and its variety dubia this 
differs in being also more ventricose and of a lighter 
colour, as well as in having much coarser striz and in 
being destitute of the distinct spiral striz, which impart 
to the last-mentioned shell a decussated or slightly gra- 
nular appearance. The mouth of the shell in C. Rolphu 
is, besides, larger and broader. The shell in this as well 
as the other species varies considerably in respect of the 
length of its spire and the development of its teeth and 
basal crest. C. Mortillett of Dumont is, according to 
Schmidt, only a synonym of the present species ; although 
Mr. Benson at one time considered that they were 
distinct, and pointed out the difference between them in 
the ‘ Annals of Natural History’ for July 1856. 


CLAUSILIA. 283 


3. C. pretica’ta*, Montagu. 


Turbo biplicatus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 361, tab. ii. f.5. C. biplicata, F. & H. 
iy. p. 118, pl. exxix. f. 4. 


Bopy reddish-grey, dusky or almost black above and paler 
on the sides and underneath; tubercles rather large, but irre- 
gular: mantle minutely speckled with white: tentacles dirty 
reddish-grey ; upper pair subcylindrical and finely shagreened, 
with slightly tumid bulbs; lower pair conical: foot long and 
rather narrow ; tail depressed and bluntly rounded. 

SHett subfusiform and slender, rather thin, but scarcely 
semitransparent, having somewhat of a silky lustre, reddish- 
or yellowish-brown, irregularly streaked with white lines, 
which colour some of the striz and are often more conspi- 
cuous near the suture, imparting a greyish hue to the shell, 
strongly and closely striate in the line of growth, as in C. 
Rolphii; but the striz in the present species are straighter, 
although slightly flexuous on the last whorl: periphery obtusely 
angular: epidermis rather thick: whorls 12-13, compressed, 
the last being very little more than one-fourth of the shell and 
slightly narrower than the preceding whorl; the first whorl 
and a half are quite smooth and glossy, and the second whorl 
is broader than the first : spire slender and gradually tapering, 
obtuse at the point: suture rather oblique, not very deep: 
mouth oval, angular, contracted below, where a narrow but 
deep channel is formed ; outer margin compressed and nearly 
straight ; teeth as in all the foregoing species, but the inter- 
lamellar denticles on the pillar seldom occur or are very slight: . 
outer lip white, expanded, prominent and detached, not so 
thick as in the last species : basal crest strong, nearly straight : 
umbilicus broader than usual in this genus: clausiliwm nearly 


oval, slightly curved, attenuated below. L. 0°65. B. 0-166. 


Hasirat: At the roots and in the bark of old willow- 
trees; Easton Grey, Wilts (Montagu); Clarendon, near 
Salisbury (Bridgman) ; and banks of the Thames near 
London, where this species is not uncommon. These 
appear to be the only localities hitherto recorded or 
known in this country. It has been found in a semi- 
fossil state at Clacton and Grays in Essex. Its foreign 


* Having two folds. 


284 HELICID. 


distribution is not very extensive; but it occurs in many 
parts of France, Germany, and Switzerland. If (as I 
suspect) this is the same species as that which Malm 
has referred to the C. lineolata of Held, it ranges north- 
ward to Sweden. 

This is an inactive mollusk, and seems to drag its shell 
along with difficulty, as if it were an incumbrance. In 
its natural state the shell has often a slight covermg of 
mud or dirt. 

It differs from C. Rolphii in its shell being twice as 
large and much more slender, in the constant presence 
of white lmes or streaks, and in seldom having any 
interlamellar teeth, but chiefly in the form of the aper- 
ture and the distinct channel at its base. In the latter 
respect it also differs from the C. ventricosa of Dra- 
parnaud. 

It is the C. similis of Charpentier. Another of its 
synonyms is the C. vivipara of Held; but I am not 
aware that the organization of the animal warrants this 
last specific name. 


_ B. Shell nearly smooth, glossy : clausiliwm having its margin 
on the lower side notched. 


4. C. pamina’ta *, Montagu. 
3 fe) 


Turbo laminatus, Mont. Test. Brit. p. 359, tab. u. f. 4. C. laminata, 
F. & H. iv. p. 116, pl. exxviii. f. 10. 


Bony slightly narrowed and nearly truncate in front, gradu- 
ally attenuated and rather pointed behind, reddish-black or 
greyish-brown, with a yellow tinge on the upper part, light- 
grey on the sides and underneath ; tubercles somewhat large 
and prominent, more or less deeply coloured: mantle not 
reaching the mouth of the shell, annular and narrow, covered 
with minute and indistinct black dots: tentacles rather short, 
thick and diverging, reddish-brown; upper pair very finely 


* Having plates. 


CLAUSILIA. 285 


granular, with rather tumid bulbs; lower pair more conical 
and deeply coloured than the upper ones, and nearly smooth : 
foot broad and rounded in front, transversely grooved at its 
sides, and ending in a slender but blunt tail. 


SHELL of the same shape as C. biplicata, but semitranspa- 
rent and glossy, yellowish-brown with a faint tinge of red, 
smooth to the naked eye, but under a magnifier delicately 
striate in the line of growth, these striz being more percep- 
tible near the suture; there are also a few coarse wrinkles 
near the mouth and umbilicus, besides irregular pit-marks 
dispersed over the surface : periphery much more rounded than 
in any of the foregoing species: epidermis thin: whorls 12, 
compressed, the last scarcely exceeding one-fourth of the 
shell and a little narrower than the preceding whorl ; the first 
two or three whorls are nearly of the same size and form a 
short cylinder: spire slender and gradually tapering, obtuse at 
the point: sutwre rather oblique and slight : mouth oval or in- 
clined to quadrangular, broad, rounded and effuse at the base, 
and not acutely angled above; columellar teeth more strong 
and prominent than in any of the other species which have 
been above described; there are three or four labial or palatal 
folds, which are conspicuous outside, owing to the shell being 
nearly transparent; but there are no intermediate denticles 
between the columellar folds, nor any lunella: outer lip white, 
expanded and thick: basal crest slight: umbilicus very small : 
clausilium squarish-oblong, flexuous, with a deep notch on its 


side near the base. L. 0:7. 3B. 0-15. 


Var. 1. pellucida. Shell thinner, more transparent, and very 
glossy 


Var. 2. albida. Shell greenish-white. 


Hasirat: On the trunks and at the roots of trees 
(especially the beech and ash), as well as among dead 
leaves, and occasionally on mossy rocks, in woods 
throughout a considerable part of these islands, from 
Northumberland to Devon, and also in South Wales and 
Ireland, but not everywhere. Var. 1. Penrice, Glamor- 
ganshire (J. G. J.). It is rather difficult to account for 
the thinness of these shells, as they were found in a 
limestone district, and calcareous material was therefore 


286 HELICIDE. 


not wanting. Var. 2. Box Wood, near Bath (Clark) ; 
Darnwood, Kent (Stephens) ; Clevedon, Somersetshire, 
and Watlington, Oxfordshire (Norman); Surrey 
(Choules) ; Newmarket (Wright). This last variety has 
also been noticed by Malm as occurring in Sweden. C. 
laminata has been found in the upper tertiary strata at 
Copford. Its extra-British range extends from Finland 
to Italy, and (according to Roth) it inhabits Smyrna. 

This pretty land-shell is by no means common, al- 
though it seems to be gregarious in some places. Bou- 
chard-Chantereaux says that its eggs are enormous in 
comparison with the size of the animal, being wider than 
the mouth of the shell, and that their number seldom 
exceeds from 10 to 12. They are laid in August and 
September; and the young are excluded on the twen- 
tieth day, but do not become adult until the end of their 
second year’s growth. According to Des Moulins, these 
snails regularly leave their lurking-places at nightfall 
and climb the trees in search of food, descending at sun- 
rise. In wet weather, however, they may be found 
crawling freely on the trunks of trees in the daytime. 

This is the Helix bidens of Miller (but not of Linné) 
and the Clausilia bidens of Draparnaud, Nilsson, and 
other writers, as well as the C. derugata of Férussac. 

C. labiata was introduced by Da Costa and Montagu 
into the British fauna on the authority of Mr. Swain- 
son ; but both of the localities mentioned by the latter 
(viz. “an osier-ground in Battersea fields” and “ Hyde 
Park near the banks of the Serpentine’’) are more ap- 
plicable to C. diplicata than to the species in question, 
which inhabits dry situations. It is a native of the 
extreme South of Europe. / 

The C. solida of Draparnaud, which has been referred 
by Férussac and all subsequent writers to C. labiata, is 


COCHLICOPA. 287 


very different, and is more like C. papillaris or the Helix 
bidens of Linné. C. solida has been found by Bouchard- 
Chantereaux near Boulogne, and may therefore be dis- 
covered in this country. Possibly this may have been 
Pulteney’s species, which was said to be found in Dorset- 
shire and has been referred to C. papillaris. The last- 
named species has been recorded by Nilsson as Swedish. 
It. is very common in the South of France and in Italy. 


Genus X. COCHLI’COPA*, Férussac. 
PE Velen Ts TEA 


Bopy rather long, gelatinous and lustrous, always contain- 
able, within the shell: tentacles 4; upper pair long and nearly 
cylindrical ; lower pair short and conical: foot rather long and 
narrow. 


SHELL oblong, rather solid, smooth, glossy and transparent: 
epidermis resembling a coat of thin varnish: whorls rapidly 
increasing in size, the last being much larger in proportion to 
the others: spire long: mouth small, obliquely pear-shaped, 
sometimes furnished with teeth and folds as in Clausilia, and 
having the base more or less distinctly notched (especially in 
the young): outer lip thickened by an internal rib, but not re- 
flected, sometimes channeled at its upper angle: wimbzlicus 
wanting in the adult. 


The position of the few European species which are 
comprised in this genus has for a long time been de- 
bateable ground. In 1817 Schumacher instituted the 
genus Glandina for some species of Lamarck’s much 
older genus Achatina, as well as for other species which 
will be presently referred to, the type of Schumacher’s 
genus being the Bulimus glans of Bruguiére. Montfort’s 
genus Polyphemus, which had been previously founded 
on the same type or species, was considered inadmissible, 
because that name had been appropriated to a genus of 


* Having a notch in the shell. 


288 HELICID. 


Crustacea. In 1819 the elder Baron Férussac, in his 
great work (or rather Prodromus to a work) on the Land 
and Freshwater Mollusca, which was continued, edited, 
and published after his death by his son, adopted the 
genus Polyphemus of Montfort, in the synoptical table 
which preceded this part of his work, for the species 
comprised in the present genus, but added other species 
which have no relation to those now under consideration. 
Férussac, however, in a subsequent part of the same 
work, modified this view, and proposed to include this 
miscellaneous assortment of species in a tenth subgenus 
of Helix, which he called Cochlicopa. 'This subgenus 
he divided into two groups, one to contain the species 
of Polyphemus, and the other (Stylotdes) to contain 
certain species of Achatina, as well as the Helix lubrica 
of Miller. In 1826 Risso republished Cochhicopa as a 
separate genus, and restricted it to the above-named 
species of Miller; but the generic characters given by 
him are very insufficient and in many respects incorrect. 
In 1830 I proposed the genus Cionel/a, not being at that 
time aware of Risso’s publication ; and in my “ Synopsis 
of the Pulmonobranchous Mollusca of Great Britain,” 
which appeared in the ‘ Transactions of the Linnean 
Society’ (vol. xvi. p. 347), I gave the following descrip- 
tion of this genus :— 


“ AnrwatL glutinosum. Yentacula inferiora brevissima. 


“Trsta oblonga, seu elongata; anfractu ultimo majore. 
Apex acutiusculus. Colwmella subinterrupta. Apertura cana- 
liculata, ad basin subeffusa, marginibus ineequalissimis. Um- 
bilicus nullus.” 


I also remarked that in this genus the columella forms 
a sinus or channel in the aperture, though it does not 
appear to be accompanied by any corresponding pecu- 
liarity in the animal. The species which I referred to it 


COCHLICOPA. 289 


were the Helix lubrica of Miller, the Buccinum acicula 
of the same author, the Bulimus octonus of Bruguieére, 
and (subsequently) the Turbo tridens of Pulteney. I 
see no reason for altering the opinion which I then 
formed, so far as regards the first and last of these species : 
but as the name of Cochlicopa is prior to mine, I have no 
hesitation in substituting it for Cionella ; and I propose 
to restore the Buccinum acicula of Miller to the genus 
Achatina. 'The Bulimus octonus of Bruguiére belongs 
also to the last-mentioned genus. The Helix lubrica of 
Miller and Turbo tridens of Pulteney agree in all essen- 
tial particulars, except im the latter being furnished with 
teeth ; but it has been shown that in the genus Vertigo 
some species are toothed and others toothless, and that 
even an undoubted species of Helix (H. obvoluta) is pro- 
vided with similar processes. Bulimus tridens, quadri- 
_ dens, and other allied species may also be cited in illus- 
tration of this view, although they do not occur in this 
country. Cochlicopa tridens forms a passage from Clau- 
silia to Achatina; and it is connected with C. lubrica 
through the Achatina dentiens of Rossmassler. Leach 
proposed the genus Azeca for C. tridens, and the genus 
Zua for C. lubrica; but these generic names are of 
recent manufacture. 

The tongue or lingual plate of Cochlicopa resembles 
that of Bulimus; and the members of the present genus 
would therefore seem to be also herbivorous. They in- 
habit wet and shady situations. 

The British species of this genus form two artificial 
sections, which I propose to define, as in other genera, 
from characters furnished by the shell. These corre- 
spond with the genera Azeca and Zua of Leach. 


290 HELICIDA. 


A. Mouth furnished with teeth and folds: outer lip sinuous 
or notched: inner lip thickened. 


1. CocHLICOPA TRI DENS*, Pulteney. 
, “'f 


Turbo tridens, Pult. Cat. Dors. Sh. p. 46, pl. xix. f. 12. » Azeca tridens, 
F. & H. iy. p. 128, pl. exxv. f. 9. 


Bopy greyish-slatecolour with a faint tinge of yellow, closely 
coyered with small black specks, which impart a dusky or 
sooty hue, strongly wrinkled: mantle rather thick, milk-white 
or greyish: tentacles somewhat transparent ; upper pair very 
slender, with bulbs occupying about one-fifth; lower pair 
rounded at their extremities: foot long, rounded in front and 
slightly projecting beyond the mouth of the shell; sides edged 
with white, and minutely speckled with milk-white ; tail very 
pointed. 

SHELL subeylindrical or shaped like a chrysalis, nearly trans- 
parent, very shining and of almost an opaline lustre, light 
yellowish-brown with a tinge of red, faintly and indistinctly 
wrinkled in the line of growth and marked with extremely 
minute spiral lines, which are only perceptible by the aid of a 
powerful lens: periphery rounded in the adult, but sharply 
and strongly keeled in young specimens: epidermis very thin: 
whorls 7, rather tumid, the last and preceding whorl being 
nearly of equal breadth, and much larger in proportion than 
the others, which form a blunt cone : spire produced, rounded 
at the point: suture slight, with a transversely wrinkled border: 
mouth narrow, angularly curved or channeled at the base and 
subtruncate in the young, and also channeled at the upper 
angle ; it is still further contracted by the teeth or plate-like 
folds, which are as follows :—one principal fold on the pillar, 
which is twisted round the inner lip,its crest sometimes notched, 
and extends like a screw far into the interior, and there is 
usually also a second small tooth or denticle close to the prin- 
cipal fold and nearer the outer lp; a strong fold winding 
round the pillar lip, the end of which appears like a sharp and 
prominent tooth; and a sharp tooth-like tubercle on the 
middle of the outer lip and placed on the inside edge of this 
hp; besides this last, there are occasionally two small and 
scarcely perceptible denticles placed below it: outer lip sinuous 
and (as well as the inner lip) encircled by a narrow rib, which 


* Having three teeth. 


COCHLICOPA. 291 


is often reddish-brown or flesh-colour,—a nearly complete 
peristome being thus formed, the interruption being caused by 
the narrow channel at the upper angle of the mouth. L. 0-25. 
BEAL: 


Var. erystallina, Dupuy. Shell greenish-white and trans- 
parent, like glass. 


Hasrirat: Among herbage and on damp moss in woods, 
but sparingly distributed, in many of the English counties 
from Northumberland to Devon. I am not aware of its 
having been found in the eastern counties, Wales, or 
Ireland. According to Dr. Fleming it inhabits Scotland, 
but only on the authority of Capt. Laskey, who is said 
to have found it in Carline Park near Leith. The variety 
is from Wheeley Castle, Worcestershire (Clark) ; on 
Mercurialis perennis near Stansted, Kent (Smith); Taw- 
stock Woods, near Barnstaple; and Brockley Combe, 
Somersetshire (J. G. J.).. This species is one of our 
upper tertiary fossils. It does not appear to have an 
extensive range abroad—Germany and France being the 
only countries in which I can find any notice of its 
occurrence. A variety of it (the Azeca Nouletiana of 
Dupuy) has been found by Boissy in the Pyrenees; and 
the variety crystallina is also recorded as inhabiting the 
South of France. 

Searcely anything is known as to the habits of this 
curious snail. It appears to be gregarious and to love 
shade and moisture. Mr. Alder justly observes that it 
“seems to form a link between Bulimus and Clausilia, 
resembling the former in shape and general appearance, 
but approaching more nearly to the latter in having the 
margin completely surrounding the aperture, and also 
more particularly in having a longitudinal plate on the 
columella considerably within the aperture, similar in 
situation and making a slight approach in form to the 

o2 


292 HELICIDA. 


clausium of the genus Clausilia, though attached through 
its whole length and inflexible.” 

This species has been placed by different writers in no 
less than eight genera, and has received six specific 
names. On the Continent it is more generally known as 
Bulimus Menkeanus, i. consequence of there being an- 
other B. tridens ; but if the present species is not to be 
placed in that genus, there can be no objection to retain 
the original name given to it by Dr. Pulteney. 


B. Mouth destitute of teeth or folds: outer lyp entire: 
mmner lip thin. 


2. C. tu'Brica*, Miller. 


Helix lubrica, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 104. Zua lubrica, F. & H. iv. 
p. 125, pl. exxv. f. 8, and (animal) pl. G. G. G. f. 5. 


Bopy broad and rounded in front, gradually narrowing and 
very pointed behind, black or dark greyish-slatecolour above, 
of a paler grey on the sides and underneath, slightly tubercled : 
mantle greyish-brown, closely speckled with milk-white: ten- 
tacles broad at their base and slightly transparent ; upper pair 
slender, finely and distinctly granulated, with very globular 
bulbs ; lower pair of the same length as these bulbs and rather 
thick: foot somewhat angular in front, not extending beyond 
the neck ; sides very delicately edged with a dusky line and di- 
stinetly speckled with milk-white ; tail pointed and rather flat. 


SHELL subcylindrical, with an approach to a turreted shape 
in consequence of the base being wider than the top, nearly 
transparent, very shining and lustrous, light yellowish-brown, 
quite smooth and polished to the naked eye, but under a lens 
marked with slight and curved transverse strie, especially near 
the suture, and under a microscope very closely and faintly 
striate in a spiral direction: periphery rounded in the adult, 
very slightly angular in young specimens: epidermis exceed- 
ingly thin: whorls 5 or 54, tumid, gradually increasing in 
size, the last occupying about one-half of the shell: spire 
produced, but rounded at the point: suéwre moderately deep, 


* Slippery. 


COCHLICOPA, 293 


with a transversely wrinkled border: mouth placed obliquely, 
proportionally much larger than in the other species: outer lip 
very thick and strengthened by a broad inside rib, which is 
usually reddish-brown or flesh-colour: pillar-lip apparently 
furnished with a blunt tooth which forms the notch: inner lip 
consisting of a slight deposit of shelly matter, which is spread 
on the pillar. L. 0:25. B. 0-085. 


Var. 1. hyalina. Shell greenish-white. 
Var. 2. lubricoides, Fér. Shell smaller and more slender. 


Var. 3. viridula. Shell shaped like the last variety, but 
greenish-white. 


Var. 4. fusca. Shell smaller and thinner, reddish-brown. 
Var. 5. ovata. Shell much smaller and oval: spire shorter. 


Hasitat: Woods, hedges, fields, gardeus, and every- 
where in the country, under stones and logs of wood 
(especially when sunk deep in the ground or decayed), 
as well as among moss and dead leaves, and at the 
roots of grass in meadows (frequently after being irri- 
gated), from Unst to Guernsey. Var. 1. Tawstock, near 
Barnstaple (J.G. J.). Var. 2. Bath (Clark) ; Church 
Stretton, Salop; Clifton-Hampden, near Oxford ; Raw- 
leigh, near Barnstaple; Minlough Castle, Co. Galway ; 
Dunboy, Co. Cork (J. G. J.). Var. 8. Dunboy (J. G. J.). 
This and the last variety appear to be the variety @ of 
Nilsson. It has much the aspect of a distinct species, if 
placed by the side of the typical form; but they are con- 
nected by mtermediate gradations. Var. 4. Guernsey 
(Lukis). Var.5. Cardiff (J.G.J.). This species is very 
common in our upper tertiary deposits. It has almost a 
world-wide range (or is what has been erroneously termed 
“‘ cosmopolitan ”’), being found in Kamtschatka and on 
the steppes of Siberia, in the South of Italy, Algeria, 
Madeira and the Azores, North America, Cashmere and 
Thibet, and probably in every other part of Europe, Asia, 
Africa, and America. 


294 HELICID2. 


This is a hardy but sluggish and impassive little mol- 
lusk, and lives on the highest mountains as well as in 
the lowest plains. These habits and the capability of 
enduring different conditions of climate and temperature 
may account for the great extent of time and space 
which it has enjoyed as a species. It is also in some 
degree amphibious. In consequence of Geoffroy having 
stated that it was killed by bemg put in water, and that 
by this means the animal could be removed from the 
shell, Miller tried some experiments, which convinced 
him that the French naturalist was more imaginative 
than accurate. One of these snails, which Miller had 
forced to withdraw into its shell, was plunged into a cold 
bath, and it immediately thrust out its body ; but, per- 
haps catching sight of the philosophical experimentalist, 
and apparently as if resigned to its fate, it staid three 
hours in the water, when it crawled out and (seemingly 
pleased at reaching dry land) put out its horns and 
walked off. However, although they do not mind an 
occasional soaking, they are often washed down by heavy 
floods of rain or the overflow of rivers, and their shells 
occur in great numbers in alluvial deposits. This cir- 
cumstance will perhaps explain how certain kinds of 
land-shells so frequently occur in fluviatile, estuarine, 
or even lacustrine strata. Young shells of C. lubrica 
are oval or almost globular, and have a slight umbilical 
perforation. Full-grown specimens vary considerably in 
size and the length of the spire. The epiphragm is very 
thin, glistening and iridescent. That made in summer 
has a small respiratory hole. In France this shell bears 
the appropriate name of “la brillante.” 

This species differs from C. ¢ridens in being turreted, 
instead of spindle-shaped, in the whorls being more con- 
vex and the suture consequently deeper, but especially 


ACHATINA. 295 


in the mouth being much larger and never furnished with 
teeth or folds. 

It seems not to have escaped the keen notice of Lister. 
Whether Linné was also acquaimted with the present 
species is another question. Some writers consider it to 
be the Heliz subcylindrica of his ‘ Systema Nature ;’ but 
that shell is described as mhabiting fresh water and 
having the inside lip or margin of the aperture reflected, 
neither of which characters 1s applicable to C. lubrica. 
It is, however, the Turbo glaber of Da Costa. 


Genus XI. ACHA’TINA*, Lamarck. 
Pl. VII. f. 18, 19, 20, 21. 


Bopy long and slender, always containable within the shell: 
tentacles 4; upper pair having small bulbs ; lower pair exceed- 
ingly short: foot narrow. — 

_ Setz long and cylindrical, thin, glossy and smooth : whorls 
rapidly increasing in size: spire long: mouth oval or oblong, 
without teeth or folds, but notched and nearly truncate at the 
base: outer lip thin and plain: wmbilicus wanting. 


L. Pfeiffer described, fourteen years ago, no less than 
157 species of Achatina; and in these days of species- 
‘making and foreign enterprise, we may fairly assume 
that this number has since been considerably increased. 
In our own country we have only a solitary representa- 
tive of this numerous genus, and that scarcely exceeding 
in length one-sixth of an inch. Risso constituted out 
of this minute species a new genus, which he named 
Acicula. Beck proposed another genus (Cecilioides) for 
its reception; and Bourguignat has, in his ‘ Aménités 
Malacologiques, given another generic name (Cecilia- 
nella), as well as divided our species into several. One 
of these species he has called “ Anglica,’ and distin- 


* Agate. 


296 HELICIDA. 


guished the French shell from it under the name of 
Liesvillet. Whatever difference of opinion may, however, 
exist as to the scientific value of the species which this 
last-named author has so prodigally described, his biblio- 
graphical learning and laborious research cannot fail to 
command our admiration. The two generic names of 
Cecilioides and Cecilianella are founded on a peculiarity 
which does not appear to be shared by any other British 
land or freshwater snail; although in the famous caves 
of Adelsberg many of such instances occur. It is, that 
this snail is eyeless. This remarkable fact, with respect 
to the Achatina acicula (which will be presently de- 
scribed), was first noticed by Nilsson, and it has been 
fully confirmed by subsequent observation. The A. aci- 
cula always lives underground ; and the conditions of its 
habitat are therefore similar to those of the several spe- 
cies of Zospeum, living in the mmost recesses of the 
Illyrian caverns, into which the light of day never pene- 
trates. Itis true that Testacella, which is also a sub- 
terranean mollusk, is not deficient in those organs which 
are called eyes; but this animal passes some of its 
time (especially in the pairing-season) above ground, 
while our little Achatina has never been observed on 
the surface in a living state. Similar exceptions of eye- 
less species, belonging to genera the animals of which 
are usually ocellated, occur (although very rarely) among 
our marine Cephalic Mollusca—as, for instance, Eulima 
stenostoma and Mangelia nivalis; but these are deep- 
water species, and very little is known as to the extent 
to which light penetrates into the abysses of the ocean, 
or as to its action on the sensorial organs of inverte- 
brate animals. In all probability the A. acicula lives 
upon animal matter; for, in the spots where it has been 
found living, no underground fungus or other vegetation 


+ 


* 


ACHATINA. 297 


appears to exist, and the form of the shell would induce 
a belief that this snail is not only zoophagous but pre- 
daceous. The shells of all the true species of Glandina, 
which are carnivorous, have the same kind of notch or 
truncature at the base as the present species of Acha- 
tina. ‘The structure of the lingual plate or tongue of 
Glandina is similar to that of Buccinum and other ma- 
rine Proboscidiferous Mollusea, which also have a notch 
or canal in the mouth of their shells and are exclusively 
predaceous. The present genus is closely allied to Co- 
chlicopa through C. lubrica, the habits of which are partly 
subterranean; but the notch in that shell is not so 
strong or well marked as in this. 


AcHaTINA acr’cuLa *, Miller. 


Bueccinum acicula, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 150. A. acicula, F. & H. 
_ iv. p. 130, pl. exxviii. f. 4. 


Bopy quite white and nearly transparent, tubercled or gra- 
nulated in lines: mantle rather thick, marked with a raised 
longitudinal line in the middle: tentacles cylindrical ; upper 
pair destitute of eyes or black specks; lower pair forming 
almost imperceptible bulbs: foot compressed, pointed behind, 
and ending at the penultimate whorl of the shell when the 
animal is crawling. 

SHett turreted and slender, transparent, very thin, highly 
polished and iridescent, ivory-white, with a yellowish tinge on 
the upper part in fresh specimens (owing to the colour of the 
liver), perfectly smooth and polished when examined with a 
lens of ordinary power, except a few faint and irregular wrin- 
kles in the line of growth, but under a microscope exhibiting 
delicate and close-set spiral striae: periphery rounded: epi- 
dermis exceedingly thin and forming a mere film: whorls 54, 
not convex, but compressed and drawn out, rapidly increasing 
in size; the last. occupying about one-half of the shell: spire 
very obtuse and rounded at the point: sutwre moderately deep 
and oblique, apparently margined on the under side by reason 
of the upper part of the succeeding whorl being seen through 


* A hair-pin, used by Roman women. 


- 


O00 


298 HELICIDA. 


the pellucid shell : mouth oblong, contracted by the penultimate 
whorl, narrowing above into an acute angle, slightly widened 
and rounded below, but interrupted by a deep notch at the 
base of the pillar lip: outer lip thin and flexuous: pillar lip 
thick and curved: inner lip consisting of a slight deposit of 
shelly matter, which is spread on the pillar.  L. 0-175. 
B, 0-04. 

Hazirat: Under stones and at the roots of bushes 
and grass, but usually some inches beneath the surface, 
in various parts of the country from Yorkshire to Guern- 
sey, as well as in Wales and Ireland. It occurs in our 
upper tertiary strata. On the Content it ranges from 
Sweden to the South of Italy; and it has been also 
noticed in Greece, Algeria, and Madeira. It is widely 
diffused, but rather local, and difficult to find m a living 
state. 

Nilsson has given a good description of this curious 
hittle mollusk, and has noticed that, im consequence of 
the transparency of the shell, the irregular motion of its 
breathing could be easily observed under a microscope, 
and that, when the respiratory cavity was shut, the 
motion ceased, but was resumed on the chamber being 
again opened ; and he likened this alternate expansion 
and contraction of the breathing-organ in this snail to the 
pulmonary action of vertebrate animals. He supposed 
that the A. acicula fed on the tender and juicy fibrils of 
the roots of grass. Mr. Pickering informed me that a 
considerable number of live specimens were once pro- 
cured by a gentleman in Hertfordshire, while digging up 
potatoes. His friend, not beimg a conchologist, thought 
at first that they were little white maggots. It has been 
stated that this species is only found in calcareous soils ; 
but, besides the last instance, its occurrence has been 
noticed by Mr. Bridgman at Norwich, “on a sunny 
bank near the Thorpe toll-bar, adhering to the roots of 


CARYCHIID#. 299 


grass, in the loose earth between the stones.” The epi- 
phragm is very thin and glistening. The eggs are said 
to be large in comparison with the size of the shell. 

This is the Buccinum terrestre of Montagu; but it 
can scarcely be the Helix octona of Linné (as some au- 
thors have supposed), because that shell is described as 
having eight whorls and a roundish mouth. The last 
species is common in the West Indies, but in former 
times found its way into collections of British shells, 
owing to Dr. Pulteney having mistaken it for the Limnea 
glabra, or Helix octona of Pennant. 


Family IV. CARYCHIID. 


Bopy long and spirally coiled: mantle covering the front or 
anterior part: snowt prominent: tentacles 2 (besides rudiments 
_ of a second or lower pair), contractile: eyes at the base of the 
developed tentacles and somewhat in their rear: foot oblong, 
distinct from the rest of the body. 

SHELL spiral, oval-oblong, enveloping the whole body: 
mouth somewhat ear-shaped, furnished with columellar folds 
and a tooth-like tubercle on the outer lip: wmbdlicus narrow 
and indistinct. 


This family forms part of an incongruous assemblage 
of Mollusca, which Lamarck called Auricula or Auricu- 
lacea, the type of which is the Bulimus fibratus or Auris- 
Mide. As, however, Miller had long previously indi- 
cated the characters of the present family by his de- 
scription of the genus Carychium, it would seem to be 
an act of common justice to the memory of that great 
naturalist that the patronymic or family name should 
be taken from that of his original genus, and not from 
Auricula, which was subsequently founded. A few am- 
phibious Mollusca which belong to this family, and to 
the genera Melampus (or Conovulus) and Otina, being 


300 CARYCHIID#. 


excluded from the category of land-shells and placed 
with those having a marine habitat *, there only remains 
a single genus, containing a solitary species, for present 
consideration. This is one of our smallest terrestrial 
Mollusca. 

There are several points of resemblance between this 
family and the Limneide. The contractility of their 
tentacles and the position of the eyes and reproductive 
organs are nearly the same in each of these families ; 
and the only British member of the Carychitde is semi- 
aquatic in its habits and can live a long time under 
water. Every individual of both families is male as well 
as female. 


Genus CARY’CHIUM f, Miller. PI. VIII. f. 1, 2, 3, 4. 


The characters of the body and shell are given in the 
above definition of the family. 


CaRYCHIUM mI’NIMUM {, Miller. 
C. minimum, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt.ii. p.125; F.& H. iv. p. 198, pl.exxv..6. 


Bopy bilobed in front and rounded behind, transparent, 
yellowish-white : snout as long as the tentacles and triangular : 
tentacles very close together, thick and conical, with somewhat 
rounded extremities: eyes rather prominent, exceedingly black 
and distinct: foot rounded in front, very finely speckled with 
black and milk-white, terminating in a blunt and thick tail. 


Seti subfusiform, transparent, but not very thin, glossy, 
whitish, finely and closely striate in the line of growth, with 
a few obsolete or indistinct spiral lines; the transverse striz 
are flexuous and stronger towards the suture, and they are 
sometimes partly decussated by the spiral lines in such a 


* T accidentally omitted to notice, in my account of the Slugs, that one 
of them also ( Onchidium Celticum) is marine. 
+t From its resemblance to a Murex or kind of whelk. + Smallest. 


CARYCHIUM. 301 


manner as to give the surface an appearance similar to that 
which is observable on the shells of several species of Limncea 
(showing the conchological relation between that and the 
present genus): periphery rounded: epidermis not very thin : 
whorls 54, convex; the last occupying nearly one-half of the 
shell, and the penultimate whorl fully equalling (if not ex- 
ceeding) it in breadth: spre moderately pointed: sutwre deep : 
mouth obliquely oval, contracted below into a narrow channel, 
furnished with a strong spiral fold or plait on the middle of 
the pillar, and with another on the pillar lip: outer lip ex- 
ceedingly thick and reflected, having on the middle of its 
inside edge a strong tooth or tubercle which projects into the 
mouth; upper edge considerably inflected: inner lip thickened 
in adult specimens and forming with the outer lip a complete 
peristome: umbilicus consisting of an oblique slit. L. 0-07. 
b. 0-035. 

Hasirat: Under stones and logs of wood, at the roots 
of grass, and among moss and dead leaves, in woods 
and damp places, everywhere from the Moray Firth 
district to the Channel Isles, as well as throughout 
Wales and Ireland. It is a member of our upper ter- 
tiaries. Gerstfeldt has recorded it as a Siberian species, 
Philippi as Sicilian, Morelet as inhabitg Algeria; and 
it seems to be universally distributed over every part of 
the Continent. 

This is an exquisitely beautiful creature, both alive 
and dead; and Miller did scant justice to it im calling 
it a “ bestiola,’ when he was apparently provoked by its 
shyness. Its eyes are so exceedingly black and piercing 
that they are visible through the shell, when the animal 
is not disposed to venture out of doors. It inhabits 
mouutainous tracts as well as plains, but seems to prefer 
the vicinity of water. Dr. Lukis informs me that it 
makes its winter domicile in the hollow stems of the 
larger marsh umbelliferous plants. The plaits or folds 
are in course of formation at a very early period of 
growth; and young shells have the columella notched 


302 CYCLOSTOMATID A. 


at the base, as in Cochlicopa and Achdtina. The. epi- 
phragm is extremely thin and glistening. The spire is 
complete ;. and in this respect it differs from that of the 
shells belonging to. species which British conchologists 
place in the genus Conovulus. 'The Rev. M. G. Berkeley 
supposed that C. menimum might have the sexes distinct ; 
but the anatomical details of its structure given by Mo- 
quin-Tandon prove that such is not the case, and that this 
animal agrees in its mode of reproduction with all the 
other members of the inoperculated Pulmonobranchs. 


The second section of the British Pulmonobranch 
Mollusca comprises only the following— 


Family V. CYCLOSTOMATID. 


Bopy long and spirally coiled: mantle covering the front or 
anterior part, and encircling the neck with an extremely thin 
fold: snout strong and elongated : tentacles 2 only, contractile : 
eyes at the external base of the tentacles: foot long, distinct 
from the rest of the body. 


SHELL spiral, oval or cylindrical, and enveloping the whole 
body : mouth round or oval: wmbilicus small and narrow: 
operculum paucispiral, testaceous or horny. 

This extremely numerous family has its home in the 
tropics. Only two members of it inhabit this country ; 
and each of these is included in a separate genus. As I 
have before observed, many characters of organization 
are common to the present family and the Pectinibranch 
Mollusca. They are dicecious: their tentacles are two 
in number and contractile: their eyes are placed at the 
base of these tentacles: and their shells are furnished 
with opercula. But their respiratory system is very 
different, and corresponds with that of other families of 
Pulmonobranch Mollusca. 


CYCLOSTOMA. 3038 


Our Continental neighbours are richer than ourselves 
in genera as well as species belonging to this family. ° 
Of the typical genus, Cyclostoma, two well-marked spe- 
cies are common in France, although one of them (C. 
sulcatum) is confined to the South. As to Acme they 
boast of having four species to our one; but none of the 
three which we want are found in the North of France. 
Of a third genus, Pomatias, no less than six species are 
French, while we have no representative of the genus. 
Two of these last species (viz. P. septemspiralis or macu- 
latus and P. obscurus) have been lately detected in the 
extreme North of France ; and it is therefore not impos- 
sible that they may be also met with in the South of 
England. Their operculum is horny, instead of shelly as 
in Cyclostoma; and the genus to which they belong 
appears to bear nearly the same analogy to Cyclostoma 
as Hydrobia does to Bythinia among the Pectinibranch 
Mollusca. 

The British genera comprised in this family may be 
thus divided. 


* Shell oval: operculum testaceous. CycLostoma. 
** Shell cylindrical : operculum horny. Acs. 


The position of the male organ of reproduction is also 
different in these genera. 


Genus I. CYCLO’'STOMA *, Draparnaud. 
Pl V Pte eae 


Bony oblong, always containable within the shell: tentacles 
cylindrical, with slightly swollen tips : foot small and broadish., 

Suet. oval, rather solid: whorls rapidly increasing in size : 
spire short: mouth round: umbilicus oblique: operculum 
roundish, testaceous and solid, with a nearly central spire. 


* Round-mouth. 


304 CYCLOSTOMATID &. 


More than a century ago, Guettard made known, 
‘through the Academy of Sciences at Paris, the appa- 
rently anomalous fact that a land-snail was furnished 
with an dperculum. The genus Cyclostome was founded 
by Lamarck in 1789 and reproduced m 1801, for the 
reception of certain marine Gasteropoda which are now 
referred to the genera Scalaria and Delphinula. But it 
is to Draparnaud that science is indebted for the esta- 
blishment of the genus Cyclostoma on a more correct 
basis, although he comprised in it, besides the true 
members of this genus, many freshwater species belong- 
ing to the genera Paludina, Bythinia, and Hydrobia, and 
even a species of Truncatella which is exclusively marine. 
The present genus is restricted to those land-shells which 
have a round mouth and a solid operculum; and the 
structure of the animal is in strict accordance with that 
of the shell. 


CycLosToMA E'LEGANS*, Miller. 


Nerita elegans, Mill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 177. C. elegans, F. & H. iv. 
p- 201, pl. exxii. f. 3. 


Bopy very thick, blunt and strongly bilobed in front, rounded 
behind, dusky greyish-brown or almost black above, of a paler 
hue underneath, coarsely wrinkled in front and finely tubercled 
behind: mantle semiannular,rather tumid and smooth,speckled 
with milk-white except at the sides: snout projecting beyond 
the rest of the body, strongly bilobed in front, divided trans- 
versely by distinct wrinkles, which are finely streaked with 
grey: tentacles dark-coloured, strongly wrinkled across, with 
nearly hemispherical bulbs, which are more transparent and 
clear than the tentacles: eyes placed on reddish or whitish 
tubercles, a little behind the tentacles: foot rounded in front 
and divided into two equal parts by a longitudinal groove, 
very dusky, especially on the sides; tail rounded, and to a 
great extent covered by the operculum. 


* Elegant. 


CYCLOSTOMA. 305 


SHELL globose-oval, rather solid and opaque, scarcely glossy 
(owing to the strong sculpture), yellowish-brown with more or 
less of a reddish tinge and often marked with irregular streaks 
or spots of reddish-brown or purple, sometimes plain yellow or 
fawn-colour; the spots sometimes form three or more in- 
distinct and interrupted rows on the body whorl ; sculpture 
consisting of strong spiral ribs, of which there are about forty 
on the last whorl, and of much finer but more numerous trans- 
verse ribs, which do not cross the main ribs but intersect the 
interstices, giving that part of the surface a somewhat reti- 
culated appearance: periphery rounded: epidermis thin: whorls 
47, exceedingly tumid, the last occupying considerably more 
than two-thirds of the shell; upper whorls purple or yellow- 
ish-brown and quite smooth: spire bluntly pointed: suture 
very deep: mouth circular, with the exception ofa slight angle 
at the upper part: outer lip and inner lip rather thick, very 
slightly reflected, and forming a complete peristome: wmbili- 
cus twisted, but rather deep: operculum flat, composed of about 
five whorls, strongly and closely marked with oblique and flex- 
_ uous strize ; nucleus depressed, smooth, and of a darker colour, 
like the nucleus or apex of the shell. L. 0-6. B. 0-4. 


Hasirat: Under stones and at the roots of fern and 
furze in many parts of England, Wales, and Ireland, 
from Yorkshire to Alderney. It appears to frequent 
chiefly the sea-coast and calcareous soils ; but it occurs 
in Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire (inland counties), 
as well as in parts of Norfolk where there is no chalk. 
It has not been recognized with any degree of certainty 
as a fossil of our upper tertiaries. Its foreign range is 
southern, and includes Central Germany, France, Italy, 
and Portugal ; and it extends to the Canaries. Donegal 
Bay appears to be its most northern limit. 

Lister gave, nearly two centuries ago, some excellent 
details of the physiology of this mollusk; and in 1828 
another of our countrymen (the Rev. M. G. Berkeley) 
published, in the ‘ZoologicalJournal’ (vol. iv. p. 278-284), 
further particulars ofits anatomy. According to Moquin- 
Tandon it is a vegetable feeder; and the structure of its 


306 CYCLOSTOMATID &. 


tongue is the same as that of other phytophagous Mol- 
lusca. The bulbs or points of the tentacles are sup- 
posed to be olfactory organs. This species does not 
make its appearance until the first warm days of spring ; 
and in dry weather it buries itself in the earth. It is an 
exceedingly timid animal. Montagu says that its strong 
and muscular proboscis is of considerable service in 
removing obstacles, and especially the earth when the 
animal retires to its hibernaculum; and he adds that it 
is also used in crawling, to hold by, in order to bring 
forward the body. Dr. Gray has described a remarkable 
peculiarity in its mode of walking, as follows :—“ The 
foot is formed of two longitudimal portions: as the 
animal walks, the portion on one side is first advanced, 
while the animal holds on by the other; and then holds 
on with the advanced portion as the other side is gradu- 
ally advanced before it.’ This alternate action of the 
two sides of the foot is nearly similar to that which 
was observed by Adanson as to his genus Pedipes, of 
which we have a representative in Melampus; but in 
that case the foot is divided into two transverse instead 
of longitudinal sections, and the action 1s more like that 
of a caterpillar, or what is called “looping.” Villa has 
noticed that great numbers of C. elegans are devoured 
by predaceous beetles, especially by those belonging to 
species of Cychrus, which contrive to get into the shell 
in spite of the solid and close-fitting operculum. This 
curious lid or mouth-piece is as hard as a stone, and 
covered on both sides with a thick and tenacious epi- 
dermis, a double fringe of which completely encircles it 
and causes the operculum to appear laminated. This is 
one of our handsomest land-shells, and, if it were rare, 
would be highly prized—like many other too familiar 
objects of equal beauty. 


ACME. 307 


The “ Cyclostoma marmorea” of Capt. Brown appears, 
from the description and figure in the ‘Edinburgh Journal 
of Natural and Geographical Science’ for October 1829, 
to be a specimen of C. elegans which had been worn 
smooth by attrition. 

The C. ferrugineum of Lamarck was erroneously in- 
troduced by Dr. Turton into the British fauna. It is a 
native of the extreme South of Europe, and has not even 
been found in France. 


Genus II. AC’ME *, Hartmann. 
PRY Pe, SEOs Veer] Be 


Bopy elongated, always containable within the shell: ten- 
tacles awl-shaped, without bulbs or swollen extremities: foot 
narrow. 


Suect cylindrical, rather thin: whorls gradually increasing 
- In size: spire long, but ending in a blunt point: mouth oval: 
umbilicus straight: operculum oblong, horny and thin, with 
an excentric spire. 

This singular genus of minute operculated land-shells 
was first distinguished by Hartmann, and described by 
him in the ‘ Neue Alpina’ of Steinmiiller for 1821 under 
the name of Acicula. However, for some reason or other 
which does not appear, Hartmann changed this name 
for Acme, and redescribed the genus at considerable 
length in the sixth volume of Sturm’s ‘ Deutschlands 
Fauna,’ which was published also in 1821. Risso having, 
as before stated, in 1826 used the name Acicula for 
another genus with Achatina acicula as its type, and the 
original founder having discarded it, there seems to be 
no alternative but to adopt the second name given by 
Hartmann to the present genus. It takes precedence of 
a somewhat similar generic name(Acmea) which has been 


* Point. 


308 CYCLOSTOMATIDA. 


ascribed to Eschscholtz and used for the reception of some 
marine shells which are allied to Patella. The present 
genus was (according to Charpentier) named Pupula by 
Agassiz. 


AcME LINEA TA *, Draparnaud. 


Bulimus lineatus, Drap. Tabl. Moll. p. 67. A. lineata, F. & H. iv. p. 204, 
pl. exxv. f. 7. 


Bopy milk-white speckled with brown, nearly transparent ; 
mantle dark-brown: snout very narrow, tumid, and curved, 
marked transversely with flat, parallel and indistinct wrinkles : 
tentacles nearly cylindrical, diverging, whitish, very finely 
wrinkled across, each of them encircled at its base by a ring 
of dark spots; their extremities nearly pointed: foot rounded 
in front, with a narrow tail. 

SHELL oblong-cylindrical, semitransparent and glossy, yel- 
lowish-brown, marked in the line of growth with remote curved 
grooves or deep striz, of which there are from twenty to thirty 
on the body whorl, as well as with a few slight and obscure 
spiral lines: periphery rounded: epidermis of moderate thick- 
ness: whorls 6-7, compressed, the last occupying about two- 
fifths of the shell: spire rounded at the point: swtwre distinct, 
but not deep: mouth pear-shaped, effuse at the base, and con- 
tracted above into a rather acute angle: outer lip thin and 
flexuous: pillar lip reflected: inner lip spread on the colu- 
mella: wmbilicus small and nearly concealed by the reflexion 
of the pillar lip: operculum flat, sunk deep within the mouth, 
marked with faint and irregular radiating stri#; spire formed 
of only two whorls and a half. L. 0-085. B. 0-035. 


Var. 1. alba. Shell white or colourless and transparent. 


Var. 2. sinistrorsa. Spire reversed. 


Hasirat: Among decayed leaves in open drains, and 
under stones which lie close to the ground, in woods 
throughout a great part of these isles, from Lanark- 
shire to the extremity of Cornwall, and also in Wales 
and Ireland (Kast, West, North, and South), but not 
everywhere or abundantly. Var. 1. Rejectamenta of 


* Marked with lines. 


ACME. 309 


the River Avon at Bristol; Ballmahinch, Co. Galway 
(J.G.J.) ; Killarney (Barlee). Var. 2. A single speci- 
men among the refuse of the Avon at Bristol (J. G. J.). 
This species, as well as the reversed variety, has been 
found in our upper tertiary beds at Copford. Gerstfeldt 
has recorded it from Western Siberia, and Villa from 
Normandy; but, although it occurs in intermediate 
countries, I do not find any notice of it as Scandinavian. 
It inhabits France, Germany, and Switzerland. 

A living specimen, which I observed in the North of 
Ireland, did not seem to be shy or inactive while kept 
in the shade; but when it was exposed to the glare of 
the sun’s rays, it immediately shut up and disappeared. 
Dr. Gray says that “the animal walks with its shell 
nearly perpendicular, twisting it round in a very odd 
manner, and then letting it suddenly fall again.” The 
~ strize on the shell are very irregular in respect of num- 
ber; and in a specimen now before me they are entirely 
wanting in some parts; so that I should not be much 
surprised if the 4. fusca of Beck (which he separated 
from our species on account of its wanting the striz) 
should prove to be merely a smooth variety of the 
present species. Brown has apparently described and 
figured this variety, in his ‘Illustrations of the Land 
and Freshwater Conchology of Great Britain and Ire- 
land’ (p. 29, pl. iv. f. 16), under the name of A. minuta. 

The present species was first made known by Walker 
(Test. min. rar. litt. Sandv. p. 12, f.42), and was described 
by Montagu as Turbo fuscus, but subsequently to the 
date and publication of Draparnaud’s ‘'Tableau des Mol- 
lusques.” Moquin-Tandon considered Walker’s shell to 
be distinct from that of Draparnaud, and has described 
the former as quite smooth; but Jacob’s diagnosis in 
Walker’s work distinctly mentions its being striated. 


310 SPECIES OF DRAPARNAUD ; AND ERRATA. 


After the foregoing part of this volume had been 
printed, I received a communication of considerable im- 
portance as regards the determination of some of the 
species described by Draparnaud. It consisted of the 
original types or specimens of that author, from the 
public museum at Montpellier, and which, through the 
great kindness of the Director, M. Michaud, I have now 
had an opportunity of examining and comparing with 
my own specimens. The following is the result of this 
examination. 


Species Species 
described by Draparnaud. described in this work. 

Cyclostoma simile. Hydrobia similis. 

C. anatinum. H. ulvee. 

Clausilia plicatula. One specimen is C. Rolphii. 
(The rest are C. plicatula.) 

Helix glabella. H. rufescens. 

H. sericea. One specimen is H. hispida, 


var. subglobosa; and the 
other is H. revelata. 


H. plebeium. H. hispida, var. 
H. pygmea. H. pygmeea. 
H. nitidula #6. Two specimens are Zonites 
radiatulus, and another is 
Z. purus. 
ERRATA. 


Page 49, at the end. The specimen of Dreissena polymorpha referred to 
by M. Ch. D’Orbigny appears to be recent, and not fossil. 
55, line 15 from top, for “ they” read ‘‘some of them.” 
55, line 25. Virrina. The accentuating mark ought to be over the 
first syllable, and not over the second one which is short. 
,, 200, line 25 from top, for “ plebeia” read ‘“ plebeium.” 
278, line 19, for ‘ C. rugosa” read “ Pupa rugosa.” 


99 1 


9 


ESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS. 311 


Thus far I have treated this branch of my subject in 
a scientific point of view, and I have at the same time 
endeavoured to illustrate some of the curious ways and 
instincts of the Mollusca which inhabit the surface of 
this country. I am not without hope that many others, 
who possess better opportunities than I have at present, 
may be induced to institute similar researches, and thus 
to improve what I have done, as well as correct those 
errors which have unavoidably occurred in a rather ex- 
tensive investigation. 

There is, however, another aspect in which the matter 
may be considered; and that is, with reference to our 
own esthetic ideas of these humble works of our Com- 
mon Creator. Other divisions of animated nature have 
received a large share of attention from philosophers 
and poets; and their best works in ancient and modern 
times abound in references to the larger animals, as well 
as to birds and insects, but more especially to flowers, 
the simple yet ornate beauty of which appears to affect 
the mind ina peculiar manner. But the less conspicuous 
and attractive assemblage of snails, which have been 
exhibited in the foregoing pages, (although equally in- 
teresting to the naturalist) have not been honoured with 
much notice by the philosopher or poet; and I would 
venture to make this appeal to such on behalf of my 
little favourites, trusting that their claims, as our fellow- 
creatures, to a share of that sympathy which animates 
the great and stirring intellects of this age may not be 
entirely overlooked. A gifted and well-read friend has 
kindly sent me the following result of his examination of 
the subject in a poetical sense, which will, I hope, be 
acceptable to some of my fair readers. 


ale ESTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS. 


Tur SNAIL IN PoETry. 


The snail has been but rarely the subject of poetical 
treatment. Minor poets would be afraid of touching it ; 
and even in the hands of those great masters to whom 
it has been given to interpret the deeper harmonies of 
the universe, it is only upon rare occasions that this 
little animal could fittingly present itself as a link in 
the chain of their conceptions. One would naturally 
first look for it in those descriptive poems which deal 
with agriculture and gardening. But neither Cowper 
in his ‘Garden’ nor Virgil in his ‘ Georgics’ appear to 
have honoured it with their notice. Nor does it enter, 
I believe, into the pious yet discursive meditations of 
George Herbert. Nor does Milton make it the subject 
of any special reference in his magnificent description 
of the six days’ work, and varied wonders of creation. 
It is not the snail, but the worm, which is there taken 
as the type of that lower region of animal life. Indeed 
there appears no great congeniality between the tribes 
of the “ Helicide” and the atmosphere which has been 
deemed suitable for epic or for serious poetry; they 
do not readily live and flourish on Parnassus. Never- 
theless their cause, as judged at the tribunal of the 
Muses, is not to be pronounced hopeless; it must be 
stated, on the contrary, that their humble pleadings 
have been listened to, and that they have been admitted 
into the realms of song. They have certainly been 
neglected by the smaller fry of poets; but they have 
not been overlooked by the very greatest masters of the 
art. It is instructive to observe the manner in which 
the snail has been treated by Homer, Shakspere, and 
Goethe ; from whom, in default of other instances, our 
examples must needs be drawn. We shall there find 


ASTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS. obo 


the snail, not as the uninviting little creature it would 
appear to the common eye, but under the light of imagi- 
nation’s ray. We may enter the realms of fantasy, and 
we shall find it among those intruders which had to be 
chased from the cradle of the fairy-queen. We shall 
find it, centuries earlier, in Homer’s mock-heroic poem, 
where the belligerent frogs are represented as using the 
shells of water-snails for their helmets. But the snail 
has been raised to a much higher eminence in the poetic 
sphere. Indeed, could a lonely snail be discovered on 
the loftiest peak of Teneriffe or Chimborazo, would not 
the little animal, elated at that extreme height, become 
a fit object for surprise and wonder, and partake of the 
sublimity of the situation? Well—supposing only that 
we pass from the material to the moral world—in a simi- 
lar situation Goethe has placed it, in that wild vision of 
the Walpurgis-night. There, upon the top of the Harz 
mountains, amidst that enchanted throng and tumul- 
tuous rabblement of witches, sorcerers, demons, owls, 
bats, and all creatures of the night celebrating high 
festival under the melancholy moon, in the “region of 
misery and tribulation,” did an adventurous and preter- 
naturally sensitive snail detect the presence and unmask 
the incognito of no less a person than Mephistopheles 
himself, who in these words describes the occurrence :— 
“ Siehst du die Schnecke da? Sie kommt heran gekrochen ; 
Mit ihrem tastenden Gesicht 


Hat sie mir schon was abgerochen. 
Wenn ich auch will, verlaugn’ ich hier mich nicht.” 


This is beyond a doubt the most imposing appearance 
which the little animal has made in literature. 

The cases above cited, in which the snail appears as 
actually taking part in the movement of the poem, in 
which she is, so to speak, one of the characters of the 

P 


3l1A4 ASTHETIC CONSIDERATIONS. 


drama, must of course be distinguished from those in 
which she appears only by way of simile, or comparison ; 
the movement of the poem being meanwhile interrupted. 
The most interesting of the latter class is to be found in 
Shakspere’s ‘ Venus and Adonis,’ a piece in which the 
rich romantic or quasi-mythological colouring is so high 
as to permit the introduction of such imagery without 
any perceptible loss of poetic dignity. The following is 
the simile alluded to :— 
‘‘ Or as the snail, whose tender horns being hit, 
Shrinks backward in his shelly cave with pain, 
And there, all smother’d up, in shade doth sit, 
Long after fearing to creep forth again ; 
So, at his bloody view, her eyes are fled 
Into the deep dark cabins of her head.” 


It would be difficult to find another equally beautiful 
reference to the sensitive characteristic of the animal. 
We cannot fail to observe that Homer, in accordance 
with the sculpturesque tendency of Greek art, fixes 
his attention more on the outward shelly covering ; but 
the modern poets, in obedience to their more ‘ subjective’ 
tendencies, give theirs rather to the inner sentient nature 
of the inhabitant of the shell. 


But after taking this hurried glance from the summit 
of Mount Parnassus, we must descend mto the plains 
of prose; and having thus refreshed ourselves with a 
draught from the Castalian spring, we will present the 
Geologists with a distant retrospect, which may be more 
interesting to most of them than the view we have been 
enjoying, although some of that learned body are not 
ungifted with a vivid imagination. 

The difficult and vexed problem of geographical dis- 
tribution is so intimately connected with the science of 


TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION. 315 


Geology, that any reliable information with respect to 
the present range of the European Mollusca cannot fail 
to aasist in the elucidation of this question ; but I would 
again venture to express an earnest hope that, until suffi- 
cient data have been collected, no more theories, crude 
although plausible, may be put forth. It may be said that 
they are easily made, and that by their discussion some 
useful results are obtained ; but it must not be forgotten 
that the eyes of our scientific compeers in Europe are 
upon us, and that our reputation for accuracy, as well 
as our position as naturalists, may be compromised if 
we erect a fine superstructure on a foundation of sand, 
instead of digging patiently, but steadily, until we reach 
the solid rock. 

I propose to show, in the following Table, 

Ist, All the species of land and freshwater Mollusca 
- now living in the British Isles, arranged in the natural 
order of their classification. 

2ndly, The extra-British distribution of any of these 
species, north of a line drawn m the meridian of Bordeaux, 
which may be assumed as an arbitrary point of demarca-. 
tion between the two extremes of climate in Europe~*. 
These species may be termed “ northern” forms. 

drdly, The like distribution, of any of the species com- 
prised in the first category, south of the same line—being 
therefore “southern ” forms. 

And 4thly, The occurrence of any of the above-men- 
tioned species in a subfossil state, in the upper tertiary 
strata of this country. With respect to the term “ Upper 
Tertiaries,’” Mr. Prestwich has kindly supplied me with 


the following definition :— 
“By our upper Tertiaries I should be disposed to 


* Draparnaud, in his “Tableau des Mollusques,” proposed nearly the 
same line of division between the North and South of France, the latter 
being the olive-district. 

P2 


| Spherium corneum......... —|— 


316 TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION. 


mean all the Pliocene and Pleistocene strata, i. e. all the 
beds from the Coralline Crag inclusive up to the Alluvial 
and Peat deposits. This division is convenient, as the 
tertiary strata of the Isle of Wight end with upper Eocene, 
or possibly lowermost Miocene, whilst im the London 


district there are no traces of Miocene, and even the. 


upper Eocene is wanting; the gap, therefore, between 
what may be called the Lower Tertiaries and the Upper 
Tertiaries in this country is very considerable and well 
marked.” 


TaBLE showing the species of Land and Freshwater Mol- 
lusca which have been described in the foregoing part 
of this volume—their foreign range—and the occur- 
rence of any of them as Upper Tertiary fossils. This 
mark ( —) signifies their occurrence in the district 
indicated by the column. 


rs : 
i i Po wih ay boy og re 
‘ a ie o Distribution in other parts of 
Species. = $s i}ee the world. 
° ° =) ® 
A 2) a 
BIvaLyves. 


— | Siberia (Gerstfeldt). 


Aquatic. 

PEVIEOU 6s ntinese cng se —|— | — | Stberia. Only one specimen 
found, and that was in the 
nasal cavity of a fossil skull 
of a Rhinoceros. 

Siweeoiis..2...... See, — 

arr Sy : Meee. — | — | — | Siberia and Kamtschatka. 

Pisidium amnicum.......... — | —— | 1 Siberia. 

fombinale ieee. 552. .p00% — | — | — | Siberia and Lake Baikal. 

pipe bases oe. 3s. «5:2: —}|—}— 

Tid uke ee ee 2 ere 

PORCINE 5 88 seco tees ie 44. a eo 

Unio fomidus, ..2.4...<.:°... er eee 
plctorum- titalas,..2. —|— | — | Siberia and Lake Baikal. 
margaritifer ............ weep oe | 

Anodonta cygnea............ —}— | — 
anintana 3015.5. 2S = Siberia. 

Dreissena polymorpha...... — | 


| 
| 
| 


TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION. 317 


ee) 


Bel BW cies 
gilta. & | 3 | 2] Distribution in other parts of 
pecies. .> € | as the world. 
| ze ie 
ae ss —— SS | 3. ooo =| 
Aguitic (continued). | 
UNIVALVES. | 
| Neritina fluviatilis .......,. 1 | 
| Paludina contecta ......... cel teal 
| MINIDARE, “ec.casacensnns =H ae 
| Bythinia tentaculata ...... — | — 4+-— -Siberis. | 
| Leachii ......... A. sie fr fo iS 
| Hydrobia similis ............ — |-— 
UETIEROSE fo cone sciences <4e ar he ea fa Ve aa 
Valvata piscinalis .........| — | — |— | Siberia. Var. depressa, Rene 
| eristata .....sROeseithh.. -— | — | — | Siberia and Kamtschatka. 
Planorbis lineatus ......... Se ee 
PUMA TIS <n 9 50 se s'se sia ae ode — | — | — | Siberia. 
Nautilens ........5 4 wee] — | — | — | Siberia. 
| 11ST a Re aRG RR API — | — | — | Siberia and Kamtschatka. 
| RANGE Oc sheit sists -« de sas 7h veneer] oy mech be 
SPIPOEDIN s/s Sct. s ned: — | — | — |-Siberia. 
V0 2s a a —- | — | — | Siberia. 
carinatus ........ = ELE — | — | — | Siberia and mouth of the 
River Ussuri. 
complanatus............ — |—- |-— |-Siberia. 
EORNGUSE b. icteten a. cdeeas — | — | — | Siberia and Steppes of Kirgis. 
CONGOTUAS, )canensis seanss- — | — | — | Siberia, 
Physa hypnorum......,.....) — | — | — | Siberia; North America. 
FOMGMNANS occ sec eoce ss te — |— | ? | Siberia. ; | 
Limnea glutinosa ......... a | 
involuta ...;.... fear 
iSigetihe ane Sea — | — | — | Siberia; Afghanistan. 
BUTICUIATIA. .cosncdcs.-. — | — | — | Siberia. } 
BEASNALIS: 6 ...--<0ndaisO — | — | — | Siberia. . | 
palustriasise J. .. Uses — | — | — | Siberia and Kamtschatka. 
truncatula............... — | — | — | Siberia ; Afghanistan. 
OG i a RS — | — Irkoutsk. 
Ancylus fluviatilis ......... Sa coe aly er 
DESCTISUEES carn os oe oases ome — | — + — 
Number of aquatic spe- |-—— = 
GICs ie So ocho ays 47 | 45 | 45 | 34 
Terrestrial. 
PLOW AOE are teadsledncice «5 —}|— Siberia. 
HGTtGHSISN *. BER 8040.: — | — 
Geomalacus maculosus ... ? 
TDMA BAGALEE ase se ceeds 0: —|— 
marginatus ............ mete Mee a 
PAIRS et ote ian a uote —|— 


318 TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION. 


‘EN 8 OS SIR 
; oa i3 ee Distribution in other parts of 
Species. % 3 | at the world. 
ala Pe 
Terrestrial (continued). 
UNIVALVES, 

Limax agrestis .............4. — | — | — | Siberia. 

BPOOruMm 2.2. e.eestt, - 
PAGRUTGS Shen fit veseie —|— 

Testacella Haliotidea ...... —|— 

| Succinea putris ............ — | — | — |! Siberia; Afghanistan. 

PIPC RNS ios 536s key amet — | — | — | Afghanistan. 

6) JE os: eae aaa ae aa — -— 

Vitrina pellucida............ —|— | Siberia. 

Zonites cellarius ............ — | — | — | N. America. | 
PUSS 0 sty oie <b Linas 6 — i} = 
MUMGWINS —..5..2>- Poe —|—|— 
preeras 51555415 0 — | — | — | Siberia. | 
radiatulus............... oa Sanaall (heat 
WANTING 5 5 urd abled dde's —|—!— | 
excavatris 1.2... 248 —|— 
crystallinus ............ —|—|— | 
Talvaee Od, TA. WIR — | — |} — | Siberia; N. America. | 

Helix lamellata ............ — — 
aculeata.s. . 2.6. 52.0 RN —}—|— 
pomatia vi at 
ASPCPSA .....-.eeeeceerees is | 
nemoralis ............... — | — | — | N. America. 
arbustorum ............ — i — b— 

MAGIA: 4..hieev sess — {| — 

Cartusiana ............ — | — Siberia. 
rufescens ..........0.00. —|—|;— | 
concinnA ........./82% —}—|— 
hiopida 5.226510. Alin — | — | — | Siberia. | 
Berices ' 16025, LIAS — | — | — | Irkoutsk; Caucasus. 
revelate:(0(.25/3..4 800 — | 
TUBCH .2....... 05.0 —|— 
REIT fd.» 5 cu oda --- 
WEIN, vein oss nentansene = | 
CAPOTAIA, « .......0ss0yeee — 
ericetorum ............ — | — 
TOLUNOABUD «055.05... .000% —|—}— 
FHPOSREIN TA gcc pede... —|— 
PY SURE Cocasedncaee>.- —|— Siberia. | 
pulchella ©..:..ssccateres — | — | — | Siberia. | 
lapiotdat.s:. ..cssmeiete>- —\|—-)|}— 
obwolatia: sc... eamptee. | - | 

Bulimus acutus ............ —i|—|? 
mOnbanis set. Ly. cess —|—|— | 
OWMGTIEIIAD.;,526>..00venes — | — | — | Siberia. 

Pape secale us icnvsssHek. 95% — | -- | 


{ 


ee ee ee 


TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION: 319 


B : 
Pe Distribution in other parts of 
aS the world. 
Pe 


Species. 


Northern. 
Southern. 


—— — 


a ee ee 


Terrestrial (continued). 
UNIVALVES. 


Pups FINgens ©... icscacss <0: —|— 
umbilicata ............ — | — | — 
¥ MALLING... oder -ssns — | —.| — | Siberia. 
Vertigo antivertigo ......... — |} — | — 
Moulinsiana............ — | — 
PYZMLA.........sesseeeee —}|—|— 
HOPOSEPES, ic ghiveble i's. —|—]|? 
substriata ............06. aa oo 
PMT Pb cettin dah ae —|—|— 
BIGUGMOR® 229 ie. sscd- —|—-|— 
edentula ..........0.56. —|—|— 


Siberia. 


N. America ? 


Siberia. 
Balia perversa ..........+.+ —|—|]— 
Clausilia rugosa ..........+. —|—}]— 
OLDIE . sin. theese a —}|—|— 
BIpeat ae. sig oiacnds ses —}|—|— 
Lam AbAG vies icsn0's S50 —}|— | — 


B 
2 
= 
iS) 
| 
| 
| 


Smyrna. 


TEUIPTOS Sei acen ie camnc coins — | — | — | Asia, Africa, and America. 
Carychium minimum ...... —|—|— 
Cyclostoma elegans......... —|—]|? 
GIA: TINGED GAs a26 ois Yok Kies =e | at Siberig. 
Number of terrestrial | 
BTISCIOR Foie bed. fie: 
Total number of 
Spewiedess car... <4 121 |113)115| 80 
N.B. Doubtful cases are 
not reckoned. 


Siberia. 


Besides the species enumerated in the above list, four 
more occur in our upper tertiary strata, but are not now 
found living in this country. One of them (Hydrodia 
marginata) is aquatic and inhabits the South of Europe. 
The other three (viz. Helix fruticum, H. mcarnata, and 
H. ruderata) are terrestrial and inhabit both the North 
and South of Europe. H. fruticum and H. ruderata are 
also Siberian species. 

It will be seen that, with only two exceptions (viz. 


320 TABLE OF DISTRIBUTION. 


Zonites alliarius and Pupa ringens), all the species which 
occur in our upper tertiaries are northern forms, and 
that very few are exclusively northern or southern. 

In the body of this work the term “ North of Europe” 
has been used in the ordinary sense, and not with refer- 
ence to the somewhat arbitrary line of demarcation 
proposed in the foregoing Table. The authority can be 
given for every locality ; but to have done this would 
have taken a great deal of extra space and unnecessarily 
encumbered the work. 


321 


ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS 
REFERRED TO OR CONSULTED 


IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS VOLUME. 


Apanson, Micuen. Histoire Naturelle du Sénégal. Coquillages. Paris, 
1757; 4to, with 19 plates and a map. 

Ausers, J.C. Die Heliceen nach natiirlicher Verwandtschaft systema- 
tisch geordnet. Berlin, 1850, 8vo. 

AuprEr, JosHua. A Catalogue of the Land and Freshwater Testaceous 
Mollusca found in the vicinity of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with remarks. 
In Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Northumb., Durh. and Newe. Newcastle, 
1850, 4to, pp. 16 (published separately). 

AupeEr, J. Supplement to the above Catalogue. 1833, 4to, pp. 5. 

- Annats oF Naruran History from 1838 to 1840; and ANNALS AND 
MaaazinE or Narurau History, Ist, 2nd, and 3rd Series, from 1841, 
and still in progress ; containing many interesting contributions on the 
subject of the British Land and Freshwater Mollusca by Messrs. 
Gray, Hanley, Thompson, Eyton, Lonsdale, W. Clark, Hincks, Rey. 
A. M. Norman, and others. 

Antuony, J.G. On the Byssus of Unio. In Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 
(1841) vi. p. 77. 

Arapas e MAcetorr. Catalogo ragionato delle Conchiglie viventi e fos- 
sili di Sicilia. 1839. 


Baupon, Aveusre. Catalogue des Mollusques du Département de I’ Oise. 
In Mém. Soe. Acad. Oise, 1853. Beauvais, 8vo, pp. 20 (published 
separately). 

Baupon, A. Essai monographique sur les Pisidies Francaises. Paris, 
1897, 8vo, pp. 55, with 5 plates of beautifully executed figures. 

Becx, H. Index Molluscorum presentis xvi, Musei principis augus- 
tissimi Christiani Frederici. Hafn., 1838, 4to. 

Benoit, Lure. LIlustrazione sistematica critica, iconografica de’ Testacei 
estramarini della Sicilia ulteriore e delle isole circostanti. Napoli, 
1857-1860, 4to, quaderni 3 (still in course of publication). 

Benson, W. H. Occurrence of Clausilia Mortilleti, Dumont, in Kent. 
In Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. July 1856, p. 74. 

Brrxevey, Rev. M.G. A description of the Anatomical Structure of 
Cyclostoma elegans. In Zool. Journ. iv. p. 278, pl. xxxiv. 

Berta, Epoarpo pz. Malacologia terrestre e fluviatile della Valle di 
Non nel Tirolo Italiano. Parte 1. Molluschi terrestri. Verona, 1852, 
8vo, pp. 144, with a plate. . | 

Pd 


See LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS QUOTED. 


Binney, A. The Terrestrial Air-breathing Mollusks of the United States 
(edited by A. Gould). Boston, 1851, 8vo. 

BuarnviniE, H. pe. Manuel de Malacologie et de Conchyliologie. Paris, 
1825, 2 vols. 8vo. 

Boruase, Witi1aM. The Natural History of Cornwall. Oxford, 1758, 
folio, with 20 plates. 

Bovsésr, Nérée. Bulletin d’Histoire Naturelle de France, pour servir a 
la statistique et a la géographie naturelle de cette contrée. Premicre 
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BovcHARD-CHANTEREAUX. Catalogue des Mollusques terrestres et fluvia- 
tiles observés jusqu’a ce jour a l'état vivant, dans le Département du 
Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne, 1837, 8vo, p. 142-230, with a plate (in Mém. 
Soc. d’ Agric. &c. de Boul.). 

Bovcwarp-CnanTerREAvx. “Ponte de l Ancylus fluviatilis. In Act. Soc. 
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BovcwaRrD-CHANTEREAUX. Observations sur les Hélices Saxicaves du 
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with a plate. 

Boureurenat, J. R. Aménités malacologiques. In Guér. Rev. et Mag. 
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Boureurenat, J. R. Etude synonymique sur les Mollusques des Alpes 
maritimes publiés par A. Risso en 1826. Paris, 1861, 8vo, with a 
plate. 

Brarp, C. P. Histoire des Coquilles terrestres et fluviatiles qui vivent 
aux environs de Paris. Paris and Geneva, 1815, 12mo, with 10 co- 
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Brown, Tuos. Illustrations of the recent Conchology of Great Britain 
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Bruauiére, J.G. Encyclopédie Méthodique, tome vi. (Hist. Nat. des 
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Brumati, Leonarpo (Abate). Catalogo sistematico delle Conchiglie ter- 
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8vo, with a plate. 


CaituiauD, Fréeperic. Des Clausilies et de leur Clausilium. In Journ. 
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CHARPENTIER, JEAN DE. Catalogue des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles 
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LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS QUOTED. oee 


Coxe, WiuurAM. Travels in Switzerland. London, 1789, 3 vols. 8vo. 
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Draparnavp, J. P. R. Tableau des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles 
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Durvy, D. (l’Abbé). Essai sur les Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles et 
leurs Coquilles vivantes et fossiles du Département du Gers. Auch and 
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Duprvy, D. (Abbé). Histoire Naturelle des Mollusques terrestres et d’eau 
douce qui vivent en France. Paris, 1847-52, 4to, with 51 plates. 


Favure-Biever. Sur une nouvelle espece de Tes¢acelle. In Bull. Soe. 
Philom. Paris, 1802, p. 98, pl. v. 

' Ferussac, J. B. L. p’AupEBARD Baron pr. Concordance Systématique 
pour les Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de la Grande Bretagne, avec 
un apercu des travaux modernes des Savants Anglais sur les Mollusques. 
In Journ. Phys. xc. 1820 (published separately in 4to, pp. 28). 

Fervssac (pére et fils). Histoire Naturelle générale et particuliére des 
Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles, tant des espéces que l’on trouve 
aujourd’hui vivantes, que des dépouilles fossiles de celles qui n’existent 
plus; classés d’aprés les caractéres essentiels que présentent ces animaux 
et leurs coquilles. CEuvre posthume. Paris, 1819, 2 vols. folio, followed 
by Tables and a Prodromus, and 168 plates. 

Fiemine, Joun, D.D. A History of British Animals. Edinburgh, 1828. 

Forses, Epwarp. Malacologia Monensis: a Catalogue of the Mollusca 
inhabiting the Isle of Man and the neighbouring sea. Edinburgh, 1883, 
8vo, pp. 63, with 3 plates. 

Forses and Hantzy. A History of British Mollusca and their Shells. 
London, 1853, 4 vols. 8vo, with 64 plates of animals and 152 plates of 
shells. 


GasparD, B. Mémoire physiologique sur le Colimagon (Helix pomatia). 
In Majendie, Journ. Physiol. ii. p. 295 (and an abstract of the above, 
with notes by Professor T. Bell, in Zool, Journ. i. 1824, p. 93; 11, 1824, 

hE). 

Glidéres ae Fiscuer. Monographie du genre Testacelle. Paris, 1856, 
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qui se trouvent aux environs de Paris. Paris, 1767, 12mo. 

GerstreLpT, G. Ueber Land- und Siisswasser-Mollusken Sibiriens und 
des Amur-Gebietes. Petersburg, 1859, 4to, pp. 44, with a plate. 


O24 LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS QUOTED. 


Guein, J. F. Caroli a Linné Systema Nature. Leipzig, 1788, 10 vols. 
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326 LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS QUOTED. 


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MaAtakozoo.ociscuE Biatrer (a continuation of the Zeitschrift fiir Mala- 
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328 LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS QUOTED. 


Reéaumur, R. A. F. pp. Des différentes maniéres dont plusieurs espéces 
d’animaux de mer s ey au sable, aux cone et les uns aux autres. 

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Reaquign, HE. Catalogue des Coquilles de l’Ile de Corse. Avignon, 1848, 
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Revuz et Magasin DE Zootocie. Edited by Guérin-Méneville. Paris, 
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Risso, A. Histoire Naturelle des principales productions de |’ Europe 
méridionale, et particuliérement de celles des environs de Nice et des 
Alpes maritimes. Paris, 1826, 5 vols. 8vo, with plates and a map. 
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Rossmassuer, E. A. Iconographie der Land- und Siisswasser Mo!lusken 
mit vorztiglicher Beriwcksichtigung der europaischen noch nicht abge- 
bildeten Arten. Dresden and Leipzig, 1835-54. 

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2 plates. 


Satnt-Simon, AuFRED DE. Miscellanées Malacologiques. Premiére dé- 
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Sauucy, F. pz. Listes des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles trouvés dans 
la vallée de Baréges (Hautes-Pyrénées). In Journ. Conch. iv. 1853, 
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Scaccut, ArcaneeLo. Catalogus Conchyliorum regni Neapolitani que 
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Scumrpr, Apotr. Die kritischen Gruppen der europaischen Clausilien. 
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Scuoutrz, Herricu. Schlesien’s Land- und Wasser-Mollusken. Breslau, 
1843, 8vo ; and Supplement, 1855. 

Scuroéter, J.S. Die Geschichte der Flussconchylien welche in den Thurin- 
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ScuumacueEr, C.F. Essai d’un nouveau systeme des habitations des Vers 
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Scorout, J. A. Introductio ad Historiam Naturalem, sistens genera Lapi- 
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libus donata, in tribus diyisa, subinde ad leges nature. Prage, 1777, 
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SuepparD, Revert, Rev. Descriptions of seven new British Land and 
Freshwater Shells, with observations upon many other Species, in- 
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Suutriewortu, R.J. Diagnosen neuer Mollusken. In Mittheil. Naturf. 
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Luganese. Lugano, 1845, 8vo, with 3 plates. 

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LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS QUOTED. 329 


Stuprr. Faunula Helvetica. Vermes testacea. In Coxe’s Travels in 
Switzerland. London, 1789, 3 vols. 8vo. 

Swainson, Witi1AM. A Treatise on Malacology, or the Natural Classifi- 
cation of Shell-fish. London, 1840, 8vo. 


Terver. Catalogue des Mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles observés dans 
les possessions Frangaises au nord de |’ Afrique. Paris et Lyon, 1839, 
8vo, with 4 plates. 

Toma, C., Dr. Verzeichniss der im Herzogthum Nassau, insbesondere 
in der Umgegend von Wiesbaden lebenden Weichthiere. Wiesbaden, 
1849, 8vo. 

Tuompson, Winur1am. Description of Limneus involutus, Harvey, with 
an account of the Anatomy of the animal by John Goodsir. In Ann. 
& Mag. Nat. Hist. v. 1840, p. 21, with a plate. 

Troscuet, F. H. Ueber die Gattung Amphipeplea, Nilss. In Wiegm. 
Arch. ii. 1836, p. 257, pl. ix. x. 

Turton, Witu1am. A Conchological Dictionary of the British Islands. 
London, 1819, 12mo, with 28 plates. 

Turton, W. Conchylia Insularum Britannicarum. Exeter, 1822, 4to, 
with 20 plates. 

Turton, W. Description of new British Shells. In Zool. Journ. ii. 1825, 
p. 361, pl. xiii. 

Turton, W. Conchological Notices. In Zool. Journ. ii. 1826, p. 564. 

Turton, W. <A Manual of the Land and Freshwater Shells of the British 
Islands. London, 1831, small 8vo, with 10 plates. 


Vinx, A. & G. B. Catalogo dei Molluschi della Lombardia. In Notiz. 
nat. e civ. Lomb. i. 1844. Milano, 8vo, published separately, pp. 10. 
And Supplement, 1853. 


Watker, Gzorer. Testacea minuta rariora, nuperrime detecta in arena 
littoris Sandvicensis ; a Gul. Boys. London (1784), 8vo, with 3 plates. 

Wuirstaves, J. F. On the Land and Freshwater Mollusca inhabiting 
the neighbourhood of Oxford. Oxford, 1857, 8vo, pp. 20. 

Wireman, A. F. A. Archiv fiir Naturgeschichte. Berlin, 1835-44. 

Woop, Szartes V. A Monograph of the Crag Mollusca (Palontogra- 
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plates. 


ZEITSCHRIFT FUR MAaLaAKozootociz, by Menke and afterwards in con- 

junction with L. Pfeiffer. Hanover and Cassel, 1844-53, 8vo, with 
lates. 

Pesteeokt JourRNAL, THE. London, 1824—35, 8vo, with plates. 

Zooxocist, Tue. London, 1848 to the present time, and still in course 
of publication; containing many interesting contributions on the subject 
of the British Land and Freshwater Mollusca by the Rev. Dr. Gordon, 
Rev. A. M. Norman, Messrs. Stretch, Smith, Ashford, Tapping, King, 
Taylor, Bridgman, Templer, E. J. Lowe, Hawker, Choules, Captain 
Hutton, and others. 


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INDEX to VOL. I. 


The synonyms, as well as the names of spurious species, and of species, 
genera, and other groups which are ndét described in this volume, are in 
italics.—The figures in smaller type refer to the page in which the descrip- 


tion of species, genera, and higher groups will be found. 


Acuatina, Lam., 149, 150, 287, 288, 
289, 295, 296, 297, 302. 
acicula, Mill., 296, 297, 298, 307. 
dentiens, Rossm., 289. 

Acicula, Risso, 295, 307. 

Acicula, Hartm., 307. 

Acmea, Esch., 307. 

Acme, Hartm., 307. 
fusca, Beck, 309. 
lineata, Drap., 308. 
minuta, Brown, 309. 

Alasmodon, 31. 

Alea, Jeffr., 265. 
revoluta, Jeffr., 269. 
substriata, Jeffy., 261. 

Alasmodonta 
margaritifera, F. & H., 37. 

Ammonite, 78. 

Amphipeplea, 101, 104. 

Ainplexus, 174. 

Ancyuus, Geoffr., 71, 118. 
Capuloides, Jan, 120. 
deperditus, Ziegl. (& Dup.), 121. 
fluviatilis, Mill., 119, 120, 121, 

122, 128. 
gibbosus, Bourg., 120. 
lacustris, Linn., 120, 122. 
oblongus, F. & H., 122, 123. 
spina-rosé, Drap., 123. 

Anoponts, Lam., 39. 
anatina, Linn., 43. 

Cellensis, C. Pfeiff., 43. 
complanata, Ziegl., 44. 
cygnea, Linn., 41. 
cygnea (part.), F. & H., 43. 
ponderosa, C. Pfeiff., 43. 
rostrata, Kok., 42. 
ventricosa, C. Pfeiff., 44. 
Aplexa, Flem., 98. 
Aplysia, 78. 


: 


| Assiminia 


Aquatic, 1. 

Arion, Fér., 126, 150, 
ater, Linn., 127, 128, 139. 
Empiricorum, Fér., 127. 
fasciatus, Nilss., 128. 
flavus, Fér., 127. 
hortensis, Fér., 128. 


Grayana, 65. 
Auricula, Klein, 5. 
Auricula, Lam., 299. 


| Auriculacea, Lam., 299. 


zeca, Leach, 289. 
Nouletiana, Drap., 291. 
tridens, F. & H., 290. 


| Balea, Leach, 272, 273. 


Balea, Prideaux, 271, 273. 


fragilis, F. & H., 278. 
Sarsii, Phil., 275. 
Batra, Prid., 149, 150, 271, 272. 
perversa, Linn., 273. 
Bithinia, Gray, 59. 
humilis, Boub., 638. 
Leachii, 61. 
tentaculata, 60. 
ventricosa, Gray, 62. 
BIVALVES, 1. 
Buceinum, 297. 
acicula, Miull., 289, 297. 
glabrum, Mill., 117. 
glutinosum, Mill., 102. 
palustre, Mill., 113. 
peregrum, Miill., 104. 
terrestre, Mont., 299. 
truncatulum, Mull., 115. 


Bulimi, 174, 282. 


Buumvs, Scopoh, 114, 149, 150, 231, 
232, 241,.253, 276, 289, 291. 
acutus, Mill., 282, 233. 


332 


Buummus (continued). 
anatinus, Poir., 66. 
articulatus, Lam., 235. 
articulatus, Turt., 225. 
auris-Mide, 299. 
clavulus, Turt., 240. 
decollatus, 61, 240. 

Jibratus, 299. 

glans, Brug., 287. 
Guadaloupensis, Brug., 239. 
Lackhamensis, F. & H., 235. 
leucostoma, Poir., 118. 
lineatus, Drap., 308. 
Menkeanus, 292. 

montanus, Drap., 235, 239. 


INDEX. 


CLavsiLia (continued). 
Mortilleti, Dum., 282. 
nigricans, Mat. & Rack., 278. 
obtusa, C. Pfeiff., 280. 
papillaris, Drap., 287. 
parvula, Stud., 280. 
plicatula, Drap., 281, 282, 310. 
Rolphii, Gray, 236, 281, 282, 283, 

284, 310. 

rugosa, Drap., 275, 278, 281, 282. 
rugulosa, Ziegl., 279. . 
similis, Charp., 284. 
solida, Drap., 286, 287. 
ventricosa, Drap., 284. 
vivipara, Held, 284. 


obscurus, Mill., 236, 237,289,248. | Clausilie, 276, 278. 


octonus, Brug., 289. 
quadridens, 289. 
tridens, 289, 292. 
tuberculatus, Turt., 239. 
ventricosus, Drap., 232, 234. 
Bulin, Adans., 5,231. 
Bulla 
fluviatilis, Turt., 99. 
fontinalis, Linn., 98. 
hypnorum, Linn., 96, 97. 
rivalis, Mat. & Rack., 100. 
Bythinella, Moq.-Tand., 63. 
Bytuinta, §9, 304. 
Leachii, Shepp., 61. 
tentaculata, Linn., 60. 


Cecilianella, Bourg., 295, 296. 
Anglica, Bourg., 295. 
Lnesvillei, Bourg., 296. 

Cecilioides, Beck, 295, 296. 

Cardium 
Casertanum, Poli, 24. 

Carocolla, 174. 

Carycuip.2, 124, 299, 300. 

Carycuium, Miill., 299, 300. 
minimum, Miill., 269, 300, 302. 

Chilotrema, 174. 

Cionella, Jeffr., 288, 289. 


Cocuutcopa, Risso, 149, 150, 287, 
288, 289, 297, 302. 
lubrica, Miill., 289, 292, 294, 295, 
297. 
tridens, Pult., 289, 290, 294. 
CONCHIFERA, 1. 
Conovulus, Lam., 5d, 76, 299, 302. 
Corbicula, 3. 
Crepidula, 45, 
Cyclas, Drap. 
caliculata, Drap., 10. 
cornea, F. & H., 5. 
flavescens, Macg., 6. 
fontinalis, Drap., 20. 
fontinalis, Nilss., 25. 
lenticularis, Norm., 22. 
nucleus, Stud., 6. 
ovalis, Fér., 8. 
rhomboidea, Say, 10. 
rivalis, Dup., 6. 
rivalis, Drap., 7. 
rivicola, Leach, 7. 
Ryckholtii, Norm., 11. 
Scaldiana, Norm., 6. 
solida, Norm., 3. 
CycLosToMA, 303, 304. 
acutum, Drap., 68. 
anatinum, Drap., 59, 63, 510. 


CravsiiA, Drap., 149, 150, 272, 275, contectum, Millet, 56. 


276, 277, 287, 289, 291, 292. 
bidens, Drap., 286. 
biplicata, Mont., 283, 285, 286. 
derugata, Fér., 286. 
dubia, Drap., 279, 282. 
Everetti, Mill., 279. 
labiata, 286. 
laminata, Mont., 284, 286. 
lineolata, Held, 284. 


elegans, Miull., 304, 506, 307. 
ferrugineum, Lam., 307. 
impurum, Drap., 61. 
marmorea, Brown, 307. 
simile, Drap., 62, 64, 310. 
sulcatum, 303. 
vitreum, Drap., 68. 
CyYCLOSTOMATID&, 302. 
Cyclostome, Lam., 304. 


Cyrena, 3. 
fluminalis, 3. 
Cyrenastrum, Bourg., 3. 


Delphinula, Lam., 304. 
DretssenA, Van Bened., 46. 
polymorpha, Pall., 47. 

DREISSENID, 45. 


Elisma, Leach, 282. 
Hulima 
stenostoma, 296. 


GASTEROPODA, 51, 304. 


Gromaacus, Allm., 129. 
maculosus, Allm., 129. 
Glandina, Schum., 287, 297. 
Gulnaria 
lacustris, Leach, 105. 


Helices, 173, 174, 218, 282. 
Heticipa, 124, 149. 


Meiix, Linn., -149, 150, 158;- 172, 
174, 232, 248, 246, 253, 269, 


288, 289. 

~ aculeata, Mull., 176. 
acuta, Miull., 233. 
albella, Linn., 229. 
albella, Flem., 229. 
alliaria, Mill., 161. 
Altenana, Kickx, 195. 
aperta, Born, 184, 185. 


arbustorum, Linn., 186, 188, 190. 
aspersa, Mull., 178, 181, 182, 184, 


185. 
auricularia, Linn., 108. 
bidens, Chemn., 172. 
bidens, Mill., 286. 
bidens, Linn., 287. 


Bulimoides, Moq.-Tand., 232. 


célata, Stud., 196. 
candidula, Stad., 211. 


Cantiana, Mont., 190, 193, 194, 


209. 
caperata, Mont., 213, 215. 
Carthusiana, Drap., 191. 
Carthusiana, F. & H., 192. 
Carthusianella, Drap., 194. 


Cartusiana, Miull., 191, 192, 231. 


cellaria, Mill., 159. 
cespitum, Drap., 218. 
chersina, Say, 171. 
cingenda, Mont. 209. 


INDEX. 


| HeEwrx (continued). 
circinnata, Stud., 196. 
clandestina, Hartm., 196. 
clara, Held, 169. 
cochlea, Brown, 92. 
complanata, Linn., 91, 92. 
concinna, Jeffr., 196, 198. 
conica, Drap., 282. 
conspurcata, Drap., 215. 
contorta, Linn., 94. 
cornea, Linn., 93. 
Corvus, Gmel., 114. 
costata, Miull., 225. 
crenella, Mont., 225. 
depilata, C. Pfeiff., 198. 
Draparnaudi, Shepp., 84. 
edentula, Drap., 172. 
electrina, Gould, 165. 
elegans, Drap., 216. 
ericetorum, Miull., 216. 
ericetorum, Nilss., 217. 
excavata, Bean, 168. 
explanata, Mull., 229. 
fasciolata, Poir., 215. 
fossaria, Mont., 117. 
fragilis, Mont., 111. 
fruticum, Mill., 174. 
fulva, Mill., 171, 172. 
fusca, Mont., 204, 205. 
fusca, Poir., 206. 

Gibbsiz, Leach, 194. 
Gigaxit, Charp., 214. 
glabella, Drap., 196, 310. 
glabra, Stud., 162. 
glaphyra, Say, 160. 
globularis, Jetfy., 202. 
Goodallii, Mill., 239. 
granulata, Ald., 202. 
grisea, Linn., 184. 
Hammonis, Strom, 165. 
Helmii, Gilb., 163, 164. 


202, 310. 
hortensis, Penn., 184. 
hortensis, Miull., 186, 187. 
hybrida, Poir., 186. 


instabilis, Ziegl., 217. 
intersecta, Poir., 215. 
Itala, Linn., 218. 

Kirbii, Shepp., 224. 
Lackhamensis, Mont., 286. 
lamellata, Jeffr., 175, 2405. 


333 


hispida, Linn., 196, 197, 198, 200, 


incarnata, Mill., 174, 202, 206. 


334: 


Hetix (continued). 

lapicida, Linn., 227. 

limbata, Drap., 192. 

limosa, Linn., 108. 

lineata, Walk., 79. 

lineata, Olivi, 211, 213. 

lubrica, Mill., 288, 289, 292. 

lucida, Pult., 161. 

lucida, Drap., 161. 

lucorum, 178. 

lutea, Mont., 105. 

maritima, Drap., 211. 

minuta, Stud., 224. 

montana, Stud., 196. 

Morton, Jetir., 171. 

muscorum, Linn., 248, 249, 251. 

muscorum, Mont., 248. 

muscorum, Mill., 252. 

Naticoides, Drap., 185. 

neglecta, Drap., 211. 

nemoralis, Linn., 151, 185, 187, 
207. 

Nilssoniana, Beck, 217. 

nitens, Gmel., 164. 

nitens, Mat. & Rack., 164. 

nitens, Mich., 163, 164. 

nitida, Drap., 161. 

nitida, Miull., 167. 

nitidosa, Fér., 167. 

nitidula, Drap., 163, 164, 167, 
310. 

obliterata, Hartm., 217. 

obscura, Miull., 237. 

obvoluta, Miull., 229, 280, 231, 236, 
289. 

occidentalis, Récl., 204. 

octanfracta, Mont., 118. 

octona, Linn., 68, 299. 

octona, Penn., 299. 

pallida, Don., 191. 

paludosa, Da Costa, 227. 

perversa, Mull., 280. 

petronella, Charp., 169. 

picea, Ziegl., 189. 

Pisana, Mill., 207, 215. 

planorbis, Linn., 91. 

plebeium, Drap., 200, 310. 

pomatia, Linn., 177, 178, 182. 

Ponentina, Mor., 204. 

pulchella, Mill., 224, 227. 

pupa, Linn., 239. 

pura, Ald., 164. 

putris, Linn., 151. 


INDEX. 


Hewix (continued). 


pygma, Drap., 223, 310. 
radiata, Da Costa, 220. 
radiatula, Ald., 166, 169. 
revelata, Mich., 202, 204, 206, 207, 
310. 
revelata, Fér.; 202, 204. 
revelata, Bouch.-Ch., 204, 206. 
rhodostoma, Drap., 209. 
rhombea, Turt., 91. 
rotundata, Miull., 218, 229. 
rotundata, Turt., 220. 
ruderata, Stud., 174. 
rufescens, Penn., 191, 194, 195,196, 
197, 198, 2380, 310. 
rufescens, Gmel., 196. 
rufescens, Grateloup, 196. 
rufilabris, Jetfr., 193. 
rupestris, Stud., 220, 223, 224. 
Scarburgensis, Ald., 175. 
seminuluim, Rossm., 175. 
sericea, Mull., 198, 201, 202, 
204. 
sericea, Ald., 199. 
sericea, Drap., 204, 310. 
sericea, Phil., 200. 
Somershamiensis, Shepp., 229. 
spinulosa, Mont., 176. 
spirorbis, Linn., 84. 
stagnalis, Linn., 111. 
striata, Mull., 215. 
striata, Drap., 215. 
striatula, Linn., 167, 215. 
striatula, Mull., 167, 215. 
striatula, Olivi, 167. 
striatula, Gray, 167. 
subcylindrica, Linn., 295. 
submaritima, Rossm., 211. 
tentaculata, Linn., 60. 
terebra, Turt., 92. 
terrestris, Penn., 215. 
Trochiformis, Mont., 172. 
Trochilus, Mull., 239. 
Turtoni, Flem., 219. 
umbilicata, Mont., 220, 222. 
umbrosa, Partsch, 198. 
unifasciata, Poir., 211. 
variabilis, Drap., 213. 
ventricosa, Miill., 243. 
virgata, Da Costa, 210, 211, 212, 
2138, 214, 215, 218, 234. 
viridula, Menke, 168, 169. 
witrina, Fér., 168, 169. 


Henix (continued). 
vitrina, Wagn., 169. 
vivipara, Linn., 57, 58. 
vortex, Linn., 88. 
zonaria, Penn., 209. 
Hyprosia, Hartm., 63, 304. 
Ferussina, 69. 
marginata, Mich., 64, 69. 
similis, Drap., 64, 310. 
ulve, 67, 310. 
ventrosa, Mont., 66. 


Kelidide, 2: 


LAMELLIBRANCHIATA, 1. 
Limacella, Brard, 132. 
concava, Brard, 134. 
obliqua, Brard, 136. 
parma, Brard, 139. 
unguiculus, Brard, 133. 
Limacipe, 124, 125. 
Liiax, Linn., 130. 
agrestis, Linn., 134, 135, 139. 
anguiformis, Mor., 129, 130. 
antiquorum, Fér., 139. 
arboreus, F. & H., 135. 


arborum, Bouch.-Ch., 133, 1365, 


138. 
ater, Linn., 127, 182. 
brunneus, Drap., 139. 
brunneus, Bouch.-Ch., 159. 


carinatus, Risso (& Leach), 183. 


cinctus, Mull., 129. 
cinereo-niger, Nilss., 138. 
cinereus, Mill., 137, 138. 
filans, Hoy, 136. 
flavus, Linn., 133, 1490. 
flavus, Mull., 127, 134. 
fuscus, Miull., 129. 
gagates, Drap., 131, 153, 145. 
Livonicus, Schrenck, 136. 
marginatus, Miull., 132. 
maximus, Linn., 137, 138. 
parvulus, Norm., 189. 
Sowerbii, Fér., 132, 135. 
tenellus, F. & H., 189. 
tenellus, Mill., 140. 
variegatus, Drap., 134. 
Limnaa, Brug., 1o1. 


auricularia, Linn., 108, 109, 110, | 


115; 
Burnetti, Ald., 108, 104. 
cornea, 115. 


INDEX. 


335 


Linn&a (continued). 
glabra, Miull., 112, 117, 299. 
glutinosa, Mull., 102, 108. 
involuta, Thomps., 103. 
palustris, Mull., 108,113. 
peregra, Miull., 104, 107, 111, 112, 

117, 119: 

stagnalis, Linn., 111, 112, 118. 


truncatula, Mull, 114, 115. 
119. 
LIMN#IDA, 77, 300. 
Limneus 


auricularius, F. & H., 108. 
Burnetti, F. & H., 104. 
glaber, F. & H., 117. 
glutinosus, F. & F., 102. 
anvolutus, KF. & H., 108. 
lineatus, Bean, 106. 
palustris, KF. & H., 118. 
pereger, BF. & H., 104. 
stagnalis, F. & H., 111. 
truncatulus, F. & H., 115. 
Limnea 
intermedia, Fér., 105, 107. 
Limneus 
acutus, Jeffr., 109. 
elongatus, Drap., 118. 
minutus, Drap., 117. 
ovatus, Drap., 105, 106. 
tinctus, Jeffr., 114. 
Lithoglyphus 
Naticoides, Fér., 70. 
Lntiopa 
bombyx, 68. 
Intea, 101. 
Lymnea, Brug., 101. 


Mangelia 


nivalis, 


296. 


| Margarita, 71. 


Margaritana, 31. 
Melampus, Montf., 55, 76, 299, 
306 


Murex, 300. 


Mya 
margaritifera, Linn., 37. 
ovalis, Mont., 33 
pictorum, Linn., 34. 
Mysca 
Batava, Turt., 37. 
_ Mytilide, 29, 46. 
Mytilus, 29, 46. 
anatinus, Linn., 403. 


336 


Mytilus (continued). 
avonensis, Mont., 40, 45. 
eygneus, Linn., 41. 
dentatus, Turt., 42. 
incrassatus, Shepp., 42. 
paludosus, Turt., 42. 
polymorphus, Pall., 47. 
radiatus, Miull., 42. 
stagnalis, Ginel., 42. 
Zellensis, Gmel., 42. 

Myzas, 101. 


Natica 

Kingiti, F. & H., 70. 
Nautilus, 80. 

lacustris, Lightf., 81. 
Nerita, 53, 638. 

elegans, Mill., 304. 

fasciata, Mill., 57. 

fluviatilis, Linn., 53. 

obtusa, Stud., 74. 

piscinalis, Mull., 72. 
NERITIDA, 52. 
Neritina, Lam., 52, 63. 

Betica, Lam., 54. 

fluviatilis, Linn., 53. 
Neritostoma, Klein, 5. 


Onchidium 
Celticum, 300. 
Otina, 76, 299. 


Paludestrina, D’ Orb., 64. 
Pautvupina, Lam., 55, 304. 
anatina, 62. 
contecta, Millet, 56. 
diaphana, Mich., 68. 
Listeri,F. & H., 56. 
marginata, Mich., 69. 
meridionalis, Risso, 65. 
muriatica, Lam., 68. 
similis, 62. 
ventricosa, Menke, 60. 
viridis, 62. 
vivipara, Linn., 58. 
Paludinella, Pfeiff. & Lov., 64. 
PALUDINIDA, 55. 
Parmacella, 141. 
Patella, 119, 308. 
fluviatilis, List., 121. 


lacustris, Linn., 121, 122, 123. 
PECTINIBRANCHIATA, 51. 


Pedipes, Adans., 306. 


INDEX. 


Puysa, Lam., 95. 


acuta, Drap., 98, 100. 
alba, Turt., 100. 

contorta, Mich., 100. 
elongata, Say, 97. 
fontinalis, Linn., 98, 99. 
hypnorum, Linn., 96. 
Sowerbyana, D’Orb., 100. 
subopaca, Lam., 100. 


Pinna 


fluviatilis, Sander, 49. 


Pisrpium, C. Pfeiff., 16. 


amnicum, Mill., 20. 
arceforme, Malm, 28. 
australe, Phil., 22. 
cinereum, Ald., 21. 
conicum, 4. 

fontinale, Drap., 20. 
Henslowianum, Jen., 20, 21. 
nitidum, Jen., 25. 
obtusale, C. Pfeitf., 24. 
pallidum, Gass., 22. 
pulchellum, Jen., 21. 
pusillum, Gmel., 23. 
Recluzianum, Bourg., 4. 
roseum, Scholtz, 26. 
sinuatum, Bourg., 26. 
tetragonum, Norm., 28. 
ventricosum, Prime, 24. 


PLANoRBIS, Guett., 78, 228. 


albus, Miill., 83, 85, 86. 
carinatus, Miull., 89, 92. 
complanatus, Linn., 91. 
compressus, Mich., 89, 90. 
contortus, Linn., 94. 
corneus, Linn., 93. 
cristatus, Drap., 82. 
disciformis, Jeffr., 90. 
Draparnaldi, Jeffr., 84. 
glaber, Jeffr., 85, 88. 
gyrorbis, v. Seck., 86. 
intermedius, Charp., 93. 
lacustris, F. & H., 79. 
levis, Ald., 86. 
leucostoma, Mich., 88, 151. 
lineatus, Walk., 79, 82. 
lutescens, Jeffr., 90. 
marginatus, Drap., 84, 91, 92. 
Nautileus, Linn., 82. . 
nitidus, Mill., 80, 81. 
Rossmiissleri, Auersw., 86. 
rotundatus, Poir., 88. 
similis, Miull., 94. 


INDEX. 


PLANORBIS (continued). 
spirorbis, Miill., 87, 89, 93. 
spirorbis, Moq.-Tand., 87. 
spirorbis, Drap., 84. 
submarginatus, Crist. & Jan, 93. 
turgidus, Jeftr., 93. 
turritus, Miull., 98. 
umbilicatus, Mill., 92. 
vortex, Linn., 38, 90, 93. 
PNEUMONOBRANCHS, 76. 
Polyphemus, Montf., 287, 288. 
PULMOBRANCHS, 76. 
PULMONATES, 76. 
PULMONIFERS, 76. 
PULMONOBRANCHIATA, 76. 
PULMONOBRANCHS, 76. 
Pura, Lam., 149, 150, 240, 241, 
243, 251, 252, 258, 264, 272, 
276, 279. 
Anglica, F. & H., 244. 
Anglica, Moq.-Tand., 257. 
antivertigo, Drap., 253. 
arctica, v. Wall., 257. 
- avena, 248. 
avenacea, 243. 
bigranata, Rossm., 250. 
borealis, Mor., 261. 
Callicratis, Scacchi, 271. 
Charpentieri, Shuttl., 257. 
columella, v. Mart., 269. 
costulata, Nilss., 271. 
cylindracea, Da Costa, 249. 
Desmoulinsiana, Jeffr., 257. 
doliolum, 241. 
edentula, Drap., 268. 
fragilis, Drap., 275. 
énornata, Mich., 269. 
marginata, Drap., 241, 248, 249, 
252, 253. 
milium, Gould, 262. 
minuta, Stud., 271. 
minutissima, Hartm., 251, 270. 
Moulinsiana, Dup., 255. 
muscorum, F. & H., 249. 
muscorum, Drap., 271. 
obtusa, Flem., 271. 
ovata, Say, 255. 
pusilla, Biv., 254. 
pusilla, F. & H., 263. 
pygmea, Drap., 257. 
ae Jeffr., 241, 244, 246, 248, 
D1. 
ringens, Mich., 246. 


337 


Pupa (continued). 
rugosa, Drap., 310. 
secale, Drap., 238, 241, 242, 246. 
Sempronit, Charp., 248. 
Shuttleworthiana, Charp., 261. 
substriata, F. & H., 26]. 
tridens, 241. 
triplicata, Stud., 271. 
umbilicata, Drap., 222, 241, 245, 

246, 248, 251, 252. 

Venetzit, F. & H., 265. 

Pupe, 240, 255. 

Pupula, Agass., 308. 


Rissoa 
anatina, F. & H., 64. 
castanea, Jeffr., 69. 
ventrosa, F. & H., 66. 
Rissoe, 68. 


Scalaria, Lam., 304. 
Segmentina, Flem., 80. 
Solarium, 220. 

SPHARIID®, I. 

SpH2£RivuM, Scop., 4. 
Brochonianum, Bourg., 11. 
citrinum, Norm., 6. 
corneum, Linn., 5. 
lacustre, Mill., 10. 
ovale, Fér., 8. 
pallidum, Gray, 8. 
Pisidioides, Gray, 6. 
rivicola, Leach, 7. 

Stagnicola 
elegans, Leach, 112. 

Styloides, Fér., 288. 

Succinea, Drap., 149, 150, 156. 
abbreviata, Mor., 155. 
arenaria, Bouch.-Ch., 155. 
elegans, Risso, 153, 154. 
gracilis, Ald., 154. 
oblonga, Drap., 153, 154, 150. 
Pfeiferi, Rossm., 154. 
putris, Linn., 150, 151, 153, 154. 


Tellina 
amnica, Mill., 20. 
cornea, Linn., 95. 
Henslowana, Shepp., 21. 
lacustris, Mill., 10. 
pusilla, Gmel., 22, 23. 
rivalis, Miull., 7. 

Teredo, 49, 229, 276. 


008 


Terrestrial, 124. 
TESTACELLA, Cuv., 140 é¢ seq. 
Alte-ripe, 147. 
Deshayesti, 147. 
Europea, De Roissy, 147. 
Haliotidea, Drap., 145, 147. 
Maugei, Fér., 144, 147, 148. 
Medii-Templi, Tapp., 146. 
scutulum, Sow:, 145, 147. 
Testacelle, 144, 156. 
TrsTACELLIDA, 124, 140, 149. 
Testacellus, Faure-Big., 141. 
Theba, Risso, 209. 
Tichogonia 
fluviatilis, Erichs., 46. 
Trochus, 71. . 
perspectivus, 220. 
sylvaticus, List., 248. 
Truncatella, 304. 
Turbo 
bidens, Mont., 280. 
biplicatus, Mont., 283. 
chrysalis, Turt., 252. 
fasciatus, Penn., 235. 
glaber, Da Costa, 295. 
Helicinus, Lightf., 227. 
juniperi, Mont., 243. 
laminatus, Mont., 284. 
Leachit, Shepp., 61. 
Nautileus, Linn., 82. 


nigricans, Mat. & Rack., 280. 


Offtonensis, Shepp., 269. 
perversus, Linn., 273. 


seadentatus, Mont., 255, 259. 


stagnorum, Baster, 68. 

: thermalis, Gmel., 68. 
tridens, Pult., 289, 290. 
ulve, Penn., 66. 
ventrosus, Mont., 66. 
vertigo, Mont., 267. 

Turtonia 
minuta, 4. 


Unto, Philipps., 31. 
amnicus, Ziegl., 37. 
Batavus, 31. 
curvirostris, Norm., 39. 
littoralis, 31. 
margaritifer, Linn., 37. 
margaritiferus, F.& H., 37. 
nand, Lam., 37. 
nanus, Dup., 37. 
Philippi, Dup., 36. 


INDEX. 


| 
| 


Unio (continued). 
pictorum, Linn., 34. 
rhomboideus, 31. 
Roissyi, Mich., 38. 
sinuata, Lam., 38. 
tumidus, Philipps., 32 

Unionipa&, 28. 

UNIVALVES, 51. 


. Vallonia, 174. 


Vatvata, Mill., 72. 
antiqua, Morr., 73. 
cristata, Mull., 74. 
depressa, C. Pfeiff., 72. 
minuta, Drap., 75. 
piscinalis, Mull, 72. 
planorbis, Drap., 75. 
spirorbis, Drap., 75. 

VALVATID&, 70. 

Vertico, Miull., 149, 150, 251, 252, 

253, 256, 260, 264, 272, 289. 
alpestris, Ald., 258, 259. 
alpestris, Fér., 261. 

Anglica, Fér., 246. 
angustior, Jeffr., 265. 
antivertigo, Drap., 253, 256, 257, 

259, 264. 
curta, Held, 262. 
cylindrica, Fér., 271. 
edentula, Drap., 264, 268, 270. 
hamata, Held, 267. 
heterostropha, Leach, 264. 
minutissima, Hartm., 270. 
Moulinsiana, Dup., 255, 257, 258, 

259. 
nana, Mich., 267. 
nitida, Fér., 269. 
octodentata, Stud., 255. 
palustris, Leach, 255. 
plicata, A. Mill., 267. 
pusilla, Miull., 252, 253, 263, 266, 

267, 268. 
pygmea, Drap., 252, 255, 256, 257, 

259, 260, 261. 
rupestris, 255. 
septemdentata, Fér., 255. 
substriata, Jeffr., 255, 261, 264. 
Venetzii, Rossm., 567. 

Vitrina, Drap., 150, 155, 159. 
depressa, Jeffr., 157. 
diaphana, Drap., 156, 158. 
Dillwynii, Jeffr., 157. 
Draparnaldi, Cuy., 157. 


INDEX. 


ViTRINA (continued). 
Draparnaldi, Setfy., 157. 
major, Fér., 157. 
pellucida, Miill., 156, 158. 
semilimax, Fér., 141. 

Vitrine, 143, 158. 


Zonites, De Montf., 143, 150, 156, 
158, 160, 220. 
alliarius, Mill., 161, 162, 168. 
cellarius, Mill., 159, 160, 161, 162, 
164, 230. 
erystallinus, Mull., 170. 


339 


ZONITES (continued). 
excavatus, Bean, 168, 169. 
fulvus, Mull, 171. 
glaber, 162. 
nitidulus, Drap., 163, 165. 
nitidus, Mull., 165, 165, 167, 170. 
purus, Ald., 164, 166, 169, 310. 
radiatulus, Ald., 166, 168, 310. 
Zospeum, Bourg., 296. 
Zua, Leach, 289. 
lubrica, F. & H., 292. 
Zurama, 174. 


EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 


ea ee 


FRONTISPIECE. 


Unio margaritifer, and pearl. 


PLats I. 


Figure 1. Spherium rivicola, showing the double tube and foot. 
2. Hinge of the shell. 

8. Pisidium amnicum, showing the single tube and foot. 
4, Hinge of the shell. 

5. Unio pictorum, showing both orifices and the foot. 
6. Hinge of the shell. 


PuatTE II, 


Figure 1. Anodonta anatina, showing both orifices and the foot. 
2. Hinge of the shell. 

3. Dreissena polymorpha, showing the two orifices and tubes 
in an inverted position and the byssus attached to the 
fragment of a valve of an Anatina. 4. Shell. 5. Inside 
of hinge. 


PuatTeE ITI. 


Figure 1. Neritina fluviatilis, showing the snout, tentacles, position 

of the eyes, and the foot. 2. Shell. 3, 4. Operculum. 

5. Paludina vivipara. 6. Shell, showing the operculum in 
situ. 

7. Bythinia tentaculata. 8. Shell, showing the operculum 
in situ. 9, Back view of shell. 

10. Hydrobia similis. 11. Shell, showing the operculum im 
situ. 12. Natural size. 

13. Valvata cristata, showing the branchial plume and fila- 
ment. 14, Shell of V. piscinalis. 15. Operculum of 
same. 


PuateE IV. 


Figure 1. Planorbis corneus, showing the body and attachment of 

the foot. 2, 3. Shell. 

4,5. Physa fontinalis, showing the digitated lobes of the 
mantle. 6, 7. Shell. 

8. Limnea peregra, showing the respiratory opening to the 
right. 9, 10. Shell of i. shitpia eae oT 

11, 12. Ancylus fluviatilis, showing the front and under 
side. 13, 14. Shell. 


EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 341 


PuaTe V. 


Figure 1. Arion ater, showing the tentacles, eyes, shield, position 

of the respiratory opening, and slime-gland at the tail. 
2. Same at rest. 

3. Geomalacus maculosus (from Brit. Moll. pl. F. F, F*. f. 5). 

4, Limax maximus, showing the position of the respiratory 
opening. 5. Shell or Limacella. 

6. Testacella Haliotidea, showing the labial palps (below the 
tentacles) and the position of the shell. 7. Shell. 
8. Ege. 


PLatTE VI. 


Figure 1, Succinea putris. 2. Shell. 
3. Vitrina pellucida. 4. Shell. 
5. Zonites cellarius. 6. Shell. 

7. Helix aspersa. 8. Shell. 


Puate VII. 


Figure 1. Bulimus acutus. 2. Shell of var. inflata. 

3. Pupa umlilicata. 4. Shell. 5, Natural size. 

6. Vertigo pygmea, showing the two tentacles. 7. Shell. 
8. Natural size. 

9. Bala perversa. 10, Shell. 11. Natural size. 

12. Clausilia laminata. 13. Shell. 14. Clausilium. 

15. Cochlicopa lubrica. 16. Shell. 17. Natural size. 

18. Achatina acicula. 19. Head and tentacles. 20. Shell. 
21. Natural size. 


PuatsE VIII. 


Figure 1. Carychium minimum, showing the position of the eyes. 
2. Shell. 3. Natural size. 
4, Cyclostoma elegans, showing the snout and position of the 
eyes. 5, Shell. 6. Operculum. 
7. Acme lineata, showing the position of the tentacles and 
eyes. 8,9. Shell. 10. Natural size. 11. Operculum 
magnified. 


THE END. 


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Planorbts. 


Pf FA9'. 


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Limnea 


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4-5 LaTAaZ. 


2.Geomalacus 


6-3 .Testacella 


'z- 
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1-2 “Succimea. 


5-4: Vitrina 
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/-8. Helix. 


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Plate VII. 


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[-Z.dhimius. 3-5 Fuga 6-8.Verugo. 9-Ul.Balta 
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Plate VIil. 


1-3. Carychium. 7-6. Cyclostoma 


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