CHONDEIN^E OF THE ALPIC CENTER. 25 



ing the last 80 years. Pupa avena var. maior and var. minor 

 Menke, Synops. Meth., 1828, p. 18, were not defined or local- 

 ized, and in using var. minor for the present form, Ross- 

 maessler admitted that he was in the wrong, as there is no 

 evidence that Menke ever saw the Rossrnaesslerian form, and 

 apparently intended merely to designate small examples of 

 avenacea. T. hordeum Sttider, mentioned in this connection, 

 is an undetermined Swiss species, certainly not the Dalmatian 

 form. After Rossmaessler, Beck was the first to name the 

 shell, his Torquilla spelta being based upon Rossmaessler 's 

 figures, one of which is copied in our pi. 48, fig. 6. This an- 

 ticipated the subsequent names nana, miihlfeldtii, obscnra and 

 quin-queplicata. 



The typical form of spelta is small, length 2 lines according 

 to Rossmaessler 's text, 5 mm. in the natural-size figure on his 

 plate. There are but two palatal and no basal plicae, and the 

 angular lamella is distinct but not long, entering but little be- 

 yond the anterior end of the parietal lamella. This form is 

 also represented by pi. 48, fig. 9, length 5, diam. 2.5 mm., 7% 

 whorls. Another of the same lot is 5.4 mm. long. 



Kiister (1870) notes that this species "is found almost 

 everywhere in middle Dalmatia, from the interior (Verlika) 

 to close to the coast, on cliffs, common in places, as on the fine 

 cliffs near Almissa ; also on the islands, where I obtained it on 

 Lissa and Lesina. It appears to remain active also in summer. 



"Two forms of this species occur, sometimes in the same 

 places, sometimes segregated, the one double the size of the 

 other, 6-6!/o mm. high, 3 mm. wide; the smaller one only 4 

 mm. high, 2 broad. The larger form is usually darker even 

 deep cherry-brown, with 6 to 8 folds in the aperture, there 

 being a little plica above the two normal palatal plicae, and a 

 fourth, rarely developed, in the base. The small form is 

 brownish corneous-red, normal examples with 6 folds, 2 in the 

 palate, 2 on the columella and 2 on the parietal wall are often 

 present; but not rarely one disappears from each of the last 

 two pairs, or only the lower columellar fold is lacking. 



"At Ragusa I found both forms, but not together; on Le- 

 sina an intermediate form ; the largest are at Spalato ; fur- 



