NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 331 



Notes on the Terrestrial Mollusks of the Peninsula of California. 

 BY W. G. BINNEY. 



Our knowledge of the air-breathing mollusks of Lower California is derived 

 almost entirely from the labors of Mr. John Xantus. The specimens collected 

 by him, and from which the following descriptions are drawn, are deposited 

 in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. 



The South American type of Bulimus appears to prevail, while the presence 

 of undoubted specimens of B. proteus and pallidior is an interesting fact in the 

 study of geographical distribution. 



Helix areolata Sowb. Cerros Island. (Dr. Veatch.) 



Helix Pandora Forbes. Margarita Island. (My cabinet.) San Juan ? 

 (Forbes.) 



Bulimus excelsus Gould. La Paz. (California Acad. Nat. Sc. coll.) 

 Bulimus vesicalis Gould. Lower California. (Gould.) 



Bulimus pallidior Sowb. (B. vegetus Gould.) Mr. Xantus found it at Cape 

 San Lucas and 350 miles above. For an account of its habits see that of B. 

 inscendens described below. It appears to inhabit the whole peninsula, as 

 Carpenter quotes it from San Diego, and Gould at San Juan. It is found in 

 very great quantities. Sowerby is undoubtedly wrong in giving " South Sea 

 Islands" as locality. Pfeiffer gives S. America on Cumings' authority. 



Bulimus proteus Brod. Cape San Lucas. (Xantus.) One large specimen 

 agreeing with the figure of Deshayes and Ferussac, pi. 139, figs. 1 and 2, and 

 numerous immature ones, were collected by Mr. Xantus. The colored bands 

 are longitudinal and not transverse as in Reeves' fig. 100, Con. Icon., which is 

 also 8 mill, longer than Mr. Xantus' largest specimen. B. proteus is referred 

 to the mountains of Peru by Pfeiffer. 



Bulimus Xantusi, n. s. T. rimata ; oblongo-ovata ; calcarea ; 

 striis creberrimis flexuosis longitudinalibus et lineis minutis interci- 

 dentibus notata ; sutura impressa ; anfr. 5 convexi, ultimus 5-7 

 long, testae aequans ; columella arcuata ; apertura obliqua, ovalis ; 

 perist. simplex, acutum, marginibus approximatis, columellari re- 

 flexo ; paries aperturalis callo tenui induta. Long. mill. 21, lat. 

 8. Ap. 10 longa, 6 lata. 



Habitat promont. San Lucas, paeninsulae California. Exempla 4 

 collegit J. Xantus. 



Shell rimate, oblong-ovate ; chalky-white ; marked with numerous longi- 

 tudinal wavy stria? and decussating minute revolving lines ; suture impressed ; 

 whorls 5^, convex, the last 5-7ths the length of the shell ; columella arched ; 

 aperture oblique, oval ; perist. simple, sharp, its ends somewhat approach- 

 ing, that of the columella reflected ; the parietal wall of the aperture covered 

 with a light callus. 



The four specimens collected are very uniform in outline, size and mark- 

 ings. The peculiar wavy striae and minute revolving lines are its chief cha- 

 racteristics. 



Bulimus Artemisia, n. s. T. rimata ; subeylindrica, versus apicem 

 obtusam, distincte liratam attenuata ; tenuis, diaphana, laeviuscula, 

 longitudinaliter vix rugosa ; sutura impressa ; anfr. 8, planiusculi, regu- 

 lariter accrescentes, ultimus J long, testae sequans ; apertura obliqua, 

 ovalis ; perist. simplex, vix incrassatum, marginibus approximatis, 

 callo crasso, exstante junctis, columellari dilatato. Long. 23, diam. 

 6 ; ap. 7 long, 5 mill. lata. 



Habitat ad promont. San Lucas, paeninsulse Californiae, in Artemisia 

 degens. (J. Xantus.) 



1861.] 



