THE NAUTILUS. 11 



BIOLOGIA CENTRALI-AMERICANA: MOLLUSCA, by E. von Mar. 

 tens. After an interval of several years, during which no parts of 

 this work appeared, its publication has been resumed, we hope to 

 be continued without interruption ; two parts having been issued 

 in November and December, 1897. These treat mainly of the Cyl- 

 indreUidce, comprising the genera Eucalodium, Ccelocentrum, Holo- 

 spira, Cylindrella, Macroceramus. 



The most remarkable feature of von Marten's treatment of thi& 

 family is not what he has to say about it, which, so far as it goes, is 

 well enough, but what he leaves out. It would seem that the Berlin 

 authorities are not only excluding American fruit, but have been 

 excluding American malacology as well for several years past. 

 Papers published in periodicals as well known as the Proceedings of 

 the U. S. National Museum and of the Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia, seem to be quite unknown in Berlin. 



Eucalodium is divided into several sections, based upon size, color 

 and external form. Of these sections Resupinata, for E. spcciosum, 

 edwardsianum and deshayesidnum, is new, and Anisospira of Strebel 

 is regarded as another section. The division based upon the pres- 

 ence or absence of a strong spiral plait upon the colutnella, and the 

 dentition, published in September, 1895, is not mentioned, and the 

 sectional name then proposed for E. blandianum and its allies is 

 ignored, even in synonymy. 



Some fine new species of Ctelocentrum are described, while others 

 made known by Dall are omitted. 



It is in the genus Holospira, however, that eccentricity seems most 

 pronounced. An American malacologist, whom we had supposed 

 was not unknown in Berlin, published a new classification of 

 this genus in September, 1895 (two years and three months before 

 the appearance of the genus in the Biologia), in which the species 

 were distributed into some six sections or subgenera according to the 

 presence and arrangement or absence of folds, laminre or plaits 

 within the shell. This was a great advance in the study of the 

 genus, as the species are so similar externally that their determina- 

 tion without such an aid as this was difficult and uncertain ; to say 

 nothing of the gain in knowledge of the interrelations and descent 

 of the species. In the Biologia not only are these subgenera com- 

 pletely ignored denied a line in the synonymy but even the facts 

 of nature which they represent are unnoticed in the tables of specific 

 characters. After this it does not seem worth while to mention such 



