The Ottawa Naturalist. 



Vol. IX. OTTAWA, DECEMBER, 1895. Nog 



THE LAND AND FRESHWATER SHELLS OF ALBERTA. 

 By Rev. Ceo. \V. Taylor, K. R. S. C. (Nanaimo, B. C.) 



Very little has been published up to the present time on the 

 Mollusca of the District of Alberta. - 



The first naturalist to pay any attention to the subject was, I 

 believe, Dr. G. M. Dawson, who, 20 years ago (1873-74), was acting as 

 naturalist to the British North American Boundary Commission, and 

 who published (in 1875) as an appendix to his report, a list of the land 

 and freshwater shells that he had obtained during the progress of the 

 boundary expedition. 



Though most of his shells were collected in the neighbourhood of 

 the Lake of the Woods and in other places in Manitoba and Assiniboia, 

 Dr. Dawson obtained a few species in Alberta, the most notable being a 

 fine variety of Patula strigosa which was found near Waterton Lake 

 at the base of the Rocky Mountains and just within the boundaries of 

 the district. At the time this shell was thought to be an undescribed 

 species and was named by Dr. Dawson Helix limitaris. 



Since the date of Dr. Dawson's explorations Alberta has on several 

 occasions been visited by members of the staff of the Geological Survey 

 and I have seen in the Museum at Ottawa some interesting species 

 collected by them ; but as no record of these shells appears to have 

 been published, and I am ignorant of the precise localities whence they 

 came, I do not like to include them in the present list. 



Three years ago Mr. T. E. Bean, the well known lepidopterist of 

 Laggan (which place is close to the Western boundary of Alberta) began 

 to investigate the shells of his neighbourhood and very kindly gave me 

 specimens e>f all the species he observed. In the autumn of 1893 I 

 had the pleasure of spending two days at Laggan in Mr. Bean's 



