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SOME INDIAN FRESHWATER SHELLS. 



BY 



Gordon Dalgliesh. 



The fresh waters of India are particularly rich in Molluscan fauna, and as 

 the hobby of shell collecting is a favourite one with many people, I venture to 

 think that this paper may be of service to some of our members. The great 

 drawback to collecting in India is the want of a good and well illustrated work 

 on the subject. Our mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes and insects have been 

 well studied as is shown by the series of excellent volumes on the Fauna of 

 British India, but one of the most interesting branches of Natural History, 

 namely, the Mollusca, have been somewhat neglected. There is an excellent 

 work on the subject by Messrs. Theobald and Hanley, though now somewhat 

 out of date, on the Land and Freshwater Shells of India, which contains 

 beautifully coloured figures, but I fancy only second-hand copies are now 

 obtainable and even these are very expensive and quite beyond the means of 

 the ordinary student. My best thanks are due to Captain Peile, R.A., for 

 specimens and much kindly help, also to Messrs. Sowerby and Fulton for 

 many interesting species, and to Mr. Waterhouse, Librarian of the Zoological 

 Library, London, for allowing me to consult Works of reference, without the 

 help of which I could not have attempted this paper, and lastly to Mr. E. A. 

 Smith of the British Museum for the trouble he has taken in naming specimens 

 for me. 



Collecting Shells. 



For the formation of a collection of freshwater shells few implements are 

 needed. These are : a water net, a small dredge, an iron hook attached to the 

 end of a stout stick, and a number of chip boxes. The water net should con- 

 sist of a strong iron ring to which is attached a bag of fairly thick canvas, the 

 net, of course, secured to a stick of convenient length.* This will be found 

 ndispensable for sweeping among weeds, and for capturing any stray snail 

 that may be floating on the surface of the water. A dredge will be found 

 useful for collecting bivalves which lie buried in the mud, and is made exactly 

 on the same principle as that used by fishermen at home for oysters, etc. The 

 hook will come in handy for drawing to the bank masses of weed which 

 should be thoroughly examined for small specimens entangled therein. For the 

 capture of large Unios (Mussels) out of arm's reach the following method is 

 recommended : Cut a long stick to a fine point and carefully insert the pointed 

 end into the inhalant syphon ; the animal immediately closes the valves of 

 the shell, and with such firm pressure that it clings to the improvised fishing- 

 rod and may be bodily withdrawn from the water. This method, which is 



* All the implements mentioned can be obtained from any dealer in Natural History 

 Apparatus. The Army and Navy Stores in Bombay and Calcutta supply apparatus of all 

 kinds for the use of naturalists. 



