1902.] 



NATURAL SCIENX'ES OF PHILADELPHIA. 



4:]9 



12 spei 



" Hab. iu the mouutains of Xortli Carolina; more thti 

 meus taken by Rugel. 



" Obs. very close to H. alter nata, but distinguished by the 

 stronger ribs which are 1 mm. apart. U. cumberlandiana Lea 

 (perhaps a wholly abnormal form) in which the carina is similar, 

 diffei-s (according to the figure) iu having the >;hell only lightly striate, 

 not cost ate." 



^Nlany attempts to identify this form liave been made by Binney 

 and others, but, as stated by one of us,^^ the shells usually labeled 

 mordax are referable to another strongly ribbed form of alternatf, 

 and do not fulfill the requirements of Shuttleworth's diagnosis given 

 above. 



As this was the only species of land snail belonging to the East- 

 ern fauna that had uol been satisfactorily determined, the discovery 

 by Mr. Ferriss of specimens agreeing almost exactly with the orig- 

 inal description of viordax is a matter of great interest. These 

 specimens were found in Tyson's Cove (alt. 4,000 feet), whicli lies 

 between the Great Craggy mountains and the Pinnacle of the Blue 

 Ridge and at the southern extremity of the Black mountain chain, 

 and in Bee Tree Cove (alt. 3,500 feet), which lies just west of the 

 Great Craggy mountains. As both Tyson's and Patton's Knob 

 were Avell-known resorts long before the Civil War, it is quite likely 

 that this is the original locality. Of course this is a mere supposi- 

 tion, but the fact that the form has never been fomid elsewhere, 

 and that in Shuttleworlh's time the locality was one of the few 

 accessible to the ordinary traveler, would seem to i-endcr it quite 

 probable. 



There would seem to be no question but these shells are the long- 

 lost mordax. They agree exactly with Shuttleworth's description 

 in having heavy ribs, fully a millimeter apart at the periphery, and 

 which extend on the under side into the umbilicus. The carina is 



18 Nautilus, XV, 



