110 AURIS-EUDOLICHOTIS. 



compressed, and excavated behind the peristome ; suture rather 

 shallow, regularly descending, somewhat margined below. 



Aperture half the total length or more, long and narrow, the opening 

 very much contracted and sinuous. Peristome white (or deep brown), 

 broadly reflexed ; outer lip arcuate above, then contracted and bear- 

 ing a blunt projection within ; its lower two-thirds widened by an 

 internal thickening; columellar lip reflexed, sinuous, bearing a very 

 strong entering fold ; basal margin contracted, channelled ; parietal 

 callus moderate. 



Alt. 54, diam. 23 mill. 



Alt. 56, diam. 21 mill. 



Puerto Cabello, La Guayra, Caracas, Chino, on banana leaves ; 

 Caripe ; Ejido, etc., Venezuela. 



Auris Midas distorta CHEMN., Conchyl. Cab., x, p. 146, pi. 149, 

 f. 1395-96. Bulimus distortus BRUG., Encycl. Meth., i, p. 344.- 

 PFR., Conchyl. Cab., p. 45, pi. 14, f. 1, 2 ; Monogr., ii, p. 88 ; iii, 372 ; 

 iv, 441 ; vi, 78. REEVE, Conch. Icon., pi. 54, f. 358. MARTENS, 

 Die Binnenmollusken Venezuela's, in Festschrift zur Feier des 100 

 jahrigeu Bestehens der Gesellsch. Naturforsch. Freunde zu Berlin, 

 1873, p. 175. Voluta australis var. DILLW., Descr. Catal., 1, p. 

 500. Helix ( Cochlogena) distorta FER., Prodr., no. 443. Peleko- 

 cheilus distortus BECK, Index, p. 54. Pupa distorta GRAY, Ann. of 

 Philos., n. ser., ix, p. 412. Otostomus (Pelecychilus) distortus SEM- 

 PER, Reisen im Archip. Phil., p. 155, pi. 15, f. 3 ; pi. 17, f. 2 (an- 

 atomy). Plecochilus guairensis JOUSSEAUME, Mem. Soc. Zool. 

 France, ii, p. 244, pi. 9, f. 11 (1889). 



An extremely variable species, differing from its allies mainly in 

 having the mouth more contracted. 



Typical A. distorta (pi. 40, figs. 24, 25, 26) is an abundant spe- 

 cies in the neighborhood of Puerto Cabello. It is large (about 55 

 mill, alt., but sometimes smaller, at times as large as 72 mill.), very 

 distinctly diamond-granuled on the back, with pinched basal keel, 

 a capacious pit and trench behind the outer lip, and an extremely 

 contracted aperture, the very strong, transverse columellar fold ap- 

 proaching near to the boss within the outer lip. In most specimens 

 the lip and columellar fold are white, parietal callus translucent ; 

 but many occur with the fold partly brown, and the parietal callus 

 dark. These lead toward the rarer form in which the whole peris- 

 tome is intense brown (fig. 32, specimen from Arva). 



