HARD WICKES SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



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of diversified aspect, often rugged in the extreme, 

 their beautiful snow-white sands stretching for miles. 

 It is watered by numerous streams, which meander 

 through its wild mountain-ranges and undulating 

 hills that intersect the island, mostly covered with 

 dense vegetation of gigantic trees and almost im- 

 penetrable undergrowth. These natural barriers and 

 the physical character of the island, by dividing it into 

 districts, may to some extent account for the extremely 

 restricted localization of many of the species of land 

 and freshwater shells, which is very marked and 

 noticeable to the conchologist, although the disper- 

 sion of animal life in the other departments of zoology 

 is not so generally restricted. The marine species 

 have received much attention, and the richness of the 

 Tasmanian coasts is well known among the lovers of 

 nature, comprising, among its numerous members, 

 some of the most gorgeous and attractive of the 

 collector's cabinet. Among the number may be 

 mentioned Cyprceaovida umbilkata, Valuta fusi- 

 formis, V. manulla, V. papulosa, V. Sclateri, and 

 V.Augasi, with the beautiful Venus lamellata, Tryonia 

 viargaritifera, Phasianella Australis, and many others 

 of equally attractive appearance. 



Recently many new species have been described in the 

 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, mostly 

 from dredging operations on the coast, comprising 

 species of genera hitherto unrecorded from this island, 

 and some even from Australia. They include new species 

 of Murex, Trophon, Ranella, Siphonalia, Dentalium, 

 Gibbula, Cyclostretna, Scissurella, Margmella, Comes, 

 Pleurotoma, Columbella, Conionella, Styloptygma, 

 Stylifer, Rissoa, Mytilus, Gouldia, Kellia, Macro- 

 schisma, Turbonilla, Clanculus, Diloma, Daphnella, 

 Fustts, T'riforis, Nalica, Crossea, Liolia, Acmcca, 

 Callista, Myadora, Gasterochana, and a new Aslele, 

 a genus of Swainson's, described by that talented 

 naturalist when in Tasmania, in the Proc. Royal 

 Society of Tasmania for 1854. 



The land shells of Tasmania have received a fair 

 share of attention from Australian scientists, ^and 

 numerous species have been described by Dr. Cox 

 and Mr. Brazier. The former, in his monograph of 

 Australian land shells, enumerates twenty-two species 

 as from Tasmania ; the latter gentleman has 

 many descriptions in Proc. Zoological Soc. of London 

 (vide Proc. for June, 1870, &c), and a general cata- 

 logue was published by Mr. Legrand, in 187 1, of 

 all the sorts known up to that year. Since then 

 several additional have been described in the Proc. 

 Linnean Society of New South Wales, and Proc. 

 Royal Society of Tasmania. The number of de- 

 scribed species now known is eighty-seven, dis- 

 tributed in the following genera : Bulimics 2 ; Vitrina 

 2 ; Succinea 2 ; Truncaiella I ; and Helix 80 ; and 

 during my last collecting tour in the northern portion 

 of the island I obtained twenty-two additional 

 species, seven Helices, which are as yet undescribed. 

 The Helices are strikingly different from those of the 



mainland of Australia, although I have collected 

 several undescribed species in Victoria with a some- 

 what general resemblance to some of the Tasmanian 

 species ; nevertheless, the general characteristic 

 difference is very distinct and noticeable. The number 

 of species, more especially of the smaller forms, is 

 surprising, particularly when it is taken into con- 

 sideration that but a very small portion of the 

 island has been searched for land-shells, for the 

 workers in natural history are extremely few in 

 number. I have never, to my recollection, collected 

 in a fresh locality without finding one or more new 

 species, which is certainly a great stimulus for further 

 investigation in this attractive department of science, 

 so that we may reasonably anticipate a great augmen- 

 tation in their number as the unsearched localities 

 are worked up. 



Among the most remai-kable sorts may be men- 

 tioned Helix Launcestouensis, Reese, a fine large 

 and unique form, of a black colour, with a broad 

 yellow band on the under surface. It is confined to 

 the dense myrtle forests in the north-eastern portion 

 of the island, where it is comparatively plentiful 

 about decaying vegetable debris. Helix lampra, 

 Pfr., a pretty glossy wild chestnut shell, found 

 generally distributed along the northern coast-line. 

 Helix lamproides, Cox, which reaches occasionally 

 the size of //. Launcestouensis, and is possibly the 

 H. bisulcata of Pfeiffer. 



Helix dispar, Brazier, is the only species recorded 

 with a tooth in the interior of the aperture, either 

 from this island or Australia. 



Helix vitrinaformis, Cox, a curious form dis- 

 covered by myself on Mount Wellington, with a 

 peculiar Vitrina-like appearance, and Helix Weldii, 

 Tenison Woods (Proc. Royal Soc. of Tasmania, 

 1877), a'very interesting minute shell from Circular 

 Head, as it is the only reversed Helix recorded from 

 Australasia. The majority of the remainder com- 

 prise a group of small Helices very different from 

 those of any other part of the world, of which only 

 three species have been ascertained with any cer- 

 tainty to be common both to the mainland and 

 Tasmania; viz., H. Sydneyensis, Cox, which is 

 abundant in cellars and such-like places in Sydney, 

 New South Wales ; Auckland, New Zealand ; and 

 similar localities in Launceston and Hobart Town. 

 It may possibly be the European H. cellaria, intro- 

 duced by some means. H. Alexandra; Cox, which 

 is abundant in gardens about Sydney, New South 

 Wales, and like localities around Hobart Town. 

 This I consider the acclimatized H. costala of 

 Europe. The other is H. Norti, Cox, which is 

 generally distributed through Southern Australia, 

 and may have been brought over by accident with 

 plants, or by some such means. The identification 

 of this species is somewhat doubtful, for I think, 

 upon careful examination, the Tasmanian specimens 

 will prove to be a distinct species. 



