Mr. R. T. Lowe on a new Madeiran Helix. 43 



glens of the inner mountain mazes and recesses of the island, — 

 reduced perhaps, as in the case of the abundant Porto- Santan 

 fossil, H, coronata, Desh., and of the rarer H. Lowei, Fer., to a 

 few individuals surviving in a single spot. 



Except the discovery in July 1855, by Mr. Wollaston and 

 myself, in Madeira, of living H. tiarella, Webb, and of a single 

 live example of H. Lowei, Fer., in 1857, by Sr. J. M. Moniz, in 

 the Ilheo de Cima, off Porto Santo, this fine new Helix is by far 

 the most important and interesting addition made of late years* 

 to the Madeiran Helicological fauna, whose treasures are thus 

 proved to be by no means exhausted. My first impression, on 

 its discovery, was indeed that of utter astonishment how so large 

 and striking a species could have escaped previous detection. It 

 was found alive, on the 17th and 18th of April last, in a single 

 spot, on the surface of the somewhat moist, loose, friable, black 

 vegetable mould, amongst tufts of grasses, ferns, &c, on a steep, 

 dry, sunny bank clothed with shrubs of Vaccinium and Heath 

 (Erica arbor ea, L.), mixed with a few scattered trees of Laurus, 

 at the foot of perpendicular crags, along the new Levada called 

 the Levada da Fajaa dos Vinhaticos, about three miles below its 

 source in the bed or stream of the Ribeiro do Fayal, a little 

 below the top or ridge on the S.W. slope of the great lateral 

 spur or buttress through which the principal or longest tunnel 

 has been perforated. Searching here for common sylvan species 

 with my Portuguese attendants, the first example was discerned 

 by one of them, Jose Rodriguez of Machico, whose good fortune 

 was almost simultaneously shared by the rest of us ; for, though 

 apparently quite local, and confined here to a short and narrow 

 band of a few yards wide, reaching down the mountain-side 

 some fifty yards or more, it seemed tolerably abundant on the 

 spot; and a reward of at first a pistreen (10d.), and then a 

 bit (5d.) for each example, soon procured a fair supply of living 

 specimens. In association with it, I found H. actinophora, H. 

 bifrons, and Vitrince abundantly. H. membranacea and erubes- 

 cens also occurred more sparingly. 



In the first moments of surprise at the sight of these examples 

 lying on the black mould of the bank, under dead leaves amongst 

 the grass and herbage, I imagined that I had either found some 

 extraordinary new Cyclostoma of the discoidal group typified by 

 C. planorbula, Lam., or discovered at last the long-desired 

 recent shell of H. Delphinula. Presently undeceived as to the 

 former notion by the protrusion of the animal, I perceived almost 

 as soon the untenableness of the latter; for, though in size and 

 general aspect, no less than in the open spirally-grooved umbi- 



* H. coronata, Desh., was discovered alive by. Mr. Wollaston in 1848. 



