SuTER. — On Neio Zealand Molhisca. 127 



A short time ago I examined the dentition of thirty-two 

 land- shells from Tasmania, and found them mostly to belong 

 to the sections Flaminulina, Gerontia, Phacussa, Allodiscus, 

 Thalassohelix, and Phrixgnatluis, hitherto known from New 

 Zealand only. Afterwards I had an opportunity of examining 

 the dentition of a land-shell from South Africa, a typical form 

 of the section Pella, Albers, which, to my great surprise, 

 showed the very same peculiarities iu jaw and radula as are 

 characteristic of our genus FlammuUna. All this leads me to 

 think that FlammuUna and allied forms belong to the antarctic 

 fauna, which at a very remote period may have lived on the 

 supposed antarctic continent, and of which remnants are now 

 found in New Zealand, Tasmania, South Africa, and — why 

 not South America also ? 



I hope that some day the dentition of the Amphidoxa 

 species from Juan Fernandez will be made known, and I 

 should not be astonished to see them (and perhaps Stcplianoda 

 also) nearly related to those forms I now include in the genus 

 FlammuUna. 



10. Thalassohelix ignifiiia, Eeeve, and Th. obnubila, 



Eeeve. 



Professor Hutton was the first to recognise the absolute 

 identity of the two species (Trans. N. Z. Inst., vol. xvi., p. 203). 

 In the "Eeference List" (Z.c, p. 636), by Mr. Hedley and 

 myself, however, my friend made Th. obnubila a variety of 

 Th. igniflua. This difference of opinion caused me to look 

 once more at the specimens in my collection, and to compare 

 them carefully with the diagnoses of the two species. It was 

 easy to pick out a few specimens corresponding with each of 

 the species mentioned, extreme forms ; but, besides these, 

 there were many intermediate forms, and I again came to the 

 same conclusion as Professor Hutton, that they are all one 

 and the same species, and that there is" not even a possibility 

 of making out -a constant variety. Th. igniflua, the large, 

 brighter, and smoother form, is found in open country, amongst 

 shrubs, tussocks, &c. ; whilst the smaller, dark-coloured, and 

 strongly striated and plaited Th. obnubila occurs in the dark 

 native bush. The differences in the shell seem to be due to the 

 influence of the habitat only. The dentition is the same iu 

 both. 



An example of similar variability is Thalassohelix fordei, 

 Brazier, of Tasmania, of which no less than about tivelve 

 species have been made; 



11. Endodonta, Albers. Plate XV., figs. 12-14. 



The first New Zealand species of this genus made known 

 to science is E. cryptobidens, Sut. (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 



