bartsch: classification of helicinidae 649 



There are three species and two subspecies of red and yellow-banded 

 Geophorus which have a granular upper surface, no incised spiral lines, 

 and an excavated columella that forms a decided angle at its function 

 with the basal lip. One of these, Geophorus paracutus Wagner, from 

 the island of Tablas, is a stout conic form, having the whorls but slightly 

 convex and possessing a strong peripheral keel below which the summit 

 of the last two turns falls in such a manner as to leave this in the suture 

 as a frill. The early whorls of this species are yellow while the last 

 has a zone of yellow at the summit and another at the periphery, the 

 rest of the surface being red. The lower surface beyond the peripheral 

 keel, which is of the same color as above, is brown, turning paler at the 

 umbilical callus, which is pale yellow. The inside is brown while the 

 peristome is white, washed on the inner border with brown. A speci- 

 men of six whorls measures: altitude, 8.8 mm.; greater diameter, 14.1 

 mm. 



The banded shells from Jaro, Leyte, Geophorus leytensis n. sp. have 

 the whorls more rounded than those on Tablas and the summit of the 

 last whorl does not fall below the peripheral keel, but is appressed to its 

 edge. The main color of the upper surface is dark red on the later 

 whorls, edged with a narrow zone of bright yellow at the summit and 

 the periphery. The lower surface has a yellow peripneral zone fol- 

 lowed by a broad band of red, while the median half is pale yellow. 

 The interior corresponds with the external color pattern. The type, 

 Cat. No. 219023, has 5.5 whorls and measures: altitude, 8.3 mm.; 

 greater diameter, 13 mm. 



Specimens from Basiao Island, off Samar, closely resemble Geophorus 

 leytensis in outline and coloring but the yellow bands are a Itttle broader 

 and the shell is much smaller. These may be known as Geophorus ley- 

 tensis basiaoensis n. subsp. The type of this subspecies has 5.5 whorls 

 and measures: altitude, 7.5 mm.; greater diameter, 11 mm. 



The third species is the most brilliantly colored and beautiful of all 

 the known Philippine Island Helicinids. The shell is very broadly conic 

 and but moderately elevated, the extreme apex extending scarcely more 

 above the periphery than the anterior tip of the columella extends be- 

 low it. The early whorls are bright yellow. The last has a broad yel- 

 low band on the summit, which is about two-thirds as wide as the dark 

 brown band that follows, which in turn equals the bright yellow zone 

 that bounds the very strongly angulated periphery. The brown band 

 pales as it passes backward from the aperture which, by the way, it 

 does not quite reach, for it terminates abruptly a little behind it and 



