HELIX. 125 



occasional faint streaks of reddish-brown, giving the shell a 

 prettily mottled appearance ; there is also frequently on the 

 last whorl a white spiral band like that in H. riifesceiis; the 

 surface also is transversely striate as in that species ; periphery 

 obtusely and indistinctly keeled; epidermis rather thick, sparsely 

 covered with short white hairs, which are easily rubbed off; 

 whorls 6-7, compact, rather depressed above and slightly con- 

 vex beneath, the last scarcely occupying one-third of the shell ; 

 spire short and blunt ; suture deep ; mouth obliquely semilunar, 

 considerably higher than broad, furnished inside with a sharp 

 white rib, which becomes thicker towards the umbilicus, and is 

 placed near the opening ; outer lip not very thin in adult speci- 

 mens, and somewhat reflected ; timbilicus rather broad, open 

 and deep. 



" Habitat, under stones among nettles and the Arum macu- 

 latum, as well as at the roots of grass in moist places ; generally 

 distributed." — B.C.^ vol. i. pp. 196-7. 



As this shell is indebted to the author of ' British 

 Conchology ' for its name as well as its title to rank 

 as a species, I have transcribed the above minute 

 description which he has given of it. 



Much diversity of opinion prevails among concholo- 

 gists as to whether it is a distinct species, or a variety 

 of H. hispida, and Gwyn Jeffreys himself confesses 

 that at one time, after having described it in the 

 * Transactions ' of the Linnean Society, " he had some 

 misgivings as to its being distinct from some of the 

 numerous varieties of H. hispida^ I incline to the 

 belief that his misgivings were well-founded, because 

 I think the two forms are " so intimately blended 

 together by intermediate links as to make the line of 

 separation too critical " (Introduction to ' British Con- 

 chology,' p. xvii.) ; but whether it be regarded as a 

 species or a variety, it differs from H. hispida in the 

 following respects : the body of the animal is usually 



