58 THE NAUTILUS. 



that of a family, must stand according to its first spelling, how- 

 ever erroneous. Should it ever come into general favor it would 

 lead to some strange results. 



The International Code alone must write the "finis" to a 

 discussion of this sort. 



ON THE OCCURRENCE OF PYBA.MIDULA BTJPESTRIS IN MAINE. 



BY EDWARD 8. MORSE. 



Forty years ago while collecting land shells alongside the 

 road in Riley, Maine, 17 miles north of Bethel, I found two 

 specimens of a small Helix, which at the time I mistook for 

 a variety of Planogyra astericus, heing devoid of the elevated 

 rings following the lines of growth ; it was apparently the 

 same size, form and color of P. astericus. Instead of being 

 found in an alder swamp in wet ground, a common habitat 

 of P. astericus, it was found in a hard-wood growth on the 

 side of a hill associated with S. labyrinthica, S. arborea, S. 

 exigua and other common species. Under the microscope I 

 found the proportions of the shell different, as the accompany- 

 ing drawings will show. Fig. 1 is the new form ; fig. 2 is P. 

 astericus drawn on the same scale. Realizing that the shell 

 was new to this country, if not a new species, and not deem- 

 ing it prudent to describe a new species from two specimens, 



Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 



I visited the region again in 1891 in company with Major 

 John M. Gould, who was with me the first time. We searched 

 the woods in vain for a specimen of the shell. In August of 

 this year Major Gould again visited the place but could not 

 find the shell. A recent study of European species leads me 

 to regard this nova as the old Helix rupcstris of Draparnaud, 



