1890.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF rHILADELPIIIA. 41 



ON THE ANATOMY OF AEROPE CAFFRA Fer. 

 BY H. A, PILSBRY. 



In the Proceedings of this Academy f'^>' 1889, p. 277, the writer 

 gave an account of the anatomy of a hoath African land snail. 

 Helix knysnamsis of Pfeiffer, which was there placed provisionally 

 in the genus Aerope, pending fuller knowledge of the organization 

 of A. caffra, the only species heretofore referred to that genus. 

 Through the continued kindness of Mr. John Ponsonby, of London, 

 I am enabled now to describe, a specimen of A. caffra, which was 

 mailed living at London, but encountering some untoward accident 

 en route, reached me with the shell broken and the softer tissues of 

 the animal in such a condition that the parcel was regarded with 

 suspicion and aversion by the Post-office official who gave it me. 

 Upon dissecting the snail — a fine, large specimen — I found it in com- 

 paratively good condition, but somewhat softened by decomposition 

 although I had placed it in alcohol as soon as received. 



The foot is shaped like that of A. kmjsnaensis, and measures about 

 42 ram. in length, 20 in greatest breadth. The sinus separating the 

 sole from the head is quite deep. The sole is whitish ; the upper 

 surface of the foot and head is blackish. The dorsal grooves, usu- 

 ally prominent in Agnafha, are inconspicuous. There are, of course, 

 no epipodial grooves nor caudal mucous pore.^ The buccal mass is 

 very large and long, measuring 35 mm. in length. The radula (pi. 

 I, fig. a) is 40 mm. long, 4^ wide. The formula of teeth is about 

 16-1-16. The rhachidian tooth (pi. I, fig. c, r, and b) is narrow, 

 lanceolate, its basal-plate narrow, emarginate, but not nearly so dis- 

 tinctly forked as in A. ktiysimensis. The laterals are large, set in 

 very oblique rows, and increase rapidly in size from the inner to the 

 fifth, which is very large. The basal-plates of the inner laterals are 

 oblong, but those of the outer (fourth and fifth laterals) are nearly 

 square. Outside of the fifth lateral tooth there are about a dozen 



1 Two notices of the animal of A. caffra have been published : a short no e by- 

 Morch, reprinted in the footnote of my previous paper on Aerope (Proc. A. N. S.. 

 Phila., 1889, p. 177) ; and a description of the external appearance and habits of the: 

 animal by Mr. J. S. Gibbons tin the Journal of Conchology, III,p. 95, July, 1880).. 

 The species was collected at Port Natal and Port Elizabeth by Mr. Gibbons. 

 There are short, thick, conico-triangular labial tentacles visible in the livmg ani- 

 mal, as in Glandina, etc. These are wholly retracted in alcoholic specimens. 



