'90 THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE LTNNEAN SOCIETY 



with only one deep purple brown narrow baud and no other band 

 or color. Generally the bands at each side of the darker band 

 vary from almost dull chrome to almost white. In fact it would 

 be difficult to imagine anything like the varied pattern which 

 are produced by the moderate materials of brown and yellow 

 spiral bands. 



We might further enquire what are the purposes served by 

 these bands of color. My own idea is that they are in some 

 way connected with the organs of reproduction. I have called 

 attention in a paper read before the Society at the last meeting 

 to a similar feature in the Liitorince. The same peculiarity is 

 observed in many of the Australian Bulimi. In B. Baconi there 

 are two broad conspicuous chestnut bands, though from what we 

 have seen in B. Bufresnii, we might expect them to be one or 

 two, or broad or narrow, according to the individual. Bulimus 

 AngasioMus^ Pfr., has two yellow bands; but we learn from Mr. 

 Masters, through Dr. Cox, that there is a variety at its habitat 

 (Port Lincoln, S.A.) which is of a beautiful bright yellow color 

 with indications of a single spiral reddish line. In B. melo, 

 Quoy and Gaimard, we have another variable species with spiral 

 lines. Dr. Cox says with reference to this shell that " it differs 

 from B. Kingii in diversity of markings, conspicuously differs 

 from it in the first instance by its greater solidity and less 

 lengthened form. Menke specifies four varietes. Pfeiffer gives 

 descriptions of six, and ray own collection could furnish others.*" 

 B. Bidwilli is another species with spiral bands. The three just 

 named are from Western Australia, but banded forms of coloring 

 seem to be peculiar to the South of Australia and Tasmania, and 

 spreading westward. All the Bulimi found on the east side of 

 the continent are of entirely different style of coloring. 



It must be remarked that when it said that the pattern of the 

 coloring is constant within certain limits, that is because naturalists 

 have regarded those without any bands of color to be of different 

 species. There is a Bulimus without bands in Tasmania, which 



* Dr. Cox, loc. cit., p. 75. 



