THE NAUTILUS. 



VOL. XXIV. APRIL, 1911. No. 12 



COLLECTING IN MEXICO. 



BY A. A. HINKLET. 



At San Dieguito, State of San Luis Potosi, February 5th, 1909, 

 after an hour's walk to the north of town, 2 o'clock found the writer at 

 the foot of a mountain on which a perpendicular wall of rock faces the 

 west. It is more or less broken by openings or small ravines and 

 shelves. Above and below the bluffs there is more or less timber, 

 with undergrowth and creepers. From a distance it looked like a 

 good place to find ffolospira, Macroceramus, Helicina, Streptostyla, 

 etc. 



The first part of the way up the mountain was over a burned-over 

 tract, where an occasional dead specimen of Helicina and Pratico- 

 lella was to be seen, but search under loose rocks failed to disclose 

 living specimens of either. Crossing the burned tract a heavy growth 

 of grass was entered, through which walking was difficult. Some 

 search was made in the grass for shells, but with no success. 



When the timber was entered progress was still slower, owing to 

 the creepers, all of which seemed to be supplied with thorns. As the 

 bluffs were neared loose rocks became more numerous, the search here 

 for a while producing nothing. Finally on turning a rock there lay 

 exposed to view a single shell entirely new to me. With a thrill of 

 delight it was picked up and examined. It was an inch and a-half 

 long, not quite as thick as a common lead pencil, truncated at the 

 summit, about 12 whorls remaining. Had all the whorls been 

 present it would have exceeded two inches in length. The trun- 

 cated summit, cylindric shape and color of the shell somewhat re- 

 sembles Stenogyra decollata. Close hunting over considerable ground 



