PYEAMIDELLID^]. 395 



the present animal is locally common, it is malacologically an 

 almost unrecorded rarity. We may all blush for our careless- 

 ness in not noticing this interesting and unique species, which, 

 though within the range of many naturalists, would still, pro- 

 bably, have remained in obscurity, if it had not been deterre 

 and forced into notice by our invaluable friend. 



PYHAMIDELLID.E. 



This family forms an important section in the ranks of 

 British malacology, and consists of numerous species, which, 

 though many of them have long been known to our older 

 conchologists, have scarcely, until very lately, attracted the 

 attention of continental naturalists, in consequence of their 

 minuteness and the difficulty of obtaining the animal for 

 examination. The only recent authors who have paid much 

 attention to the malacology of these interesting objects are 

 the Rev. T. Lowe, M. Loven, M. Philippi, and Professor 

 Forbes. 



The British genera comprise upwards of forty species, more 

 than half of the animals of which I have examined, and think 

 that detailed accounts of them will be acceptable to mala- 

 cologists. These species have run the gauntlet through nearly 

 the entire range of the British Gasteropodous molluscan 

 genera in search of a resting-place. It is needless to allude 

 to these ancient and variable depositaries; I will therefore 

 only mention the recent genera in which they appear to have 

 obtained that sort of improved provisional settlement, which is 

 usually the precursor, from the many malacological facts that 

 have been obtained, of a definitive natural position. 



The more recent receptacles of these interesting objects 

 are, Mr. Lowe's genus Partkenia, Dr. Fleming's Odostomia, 

 M. Philippi' s Chemnitzia, and the Truncatella and Eulima of 

 Risso, with M. Loven's Turbinella and Ac/is. The admirable 

 manner in which Mr. Lowe has described the animal and 

 illustrated his Parthenia, causes much regret that we must 



