LAND AND FRESHWATER MOLLUSCA. 143 
Hab. “Fainu, North Mahlos, also Male, North Male Atoll, but nowhere else in the 
group” (Gardiner). 
The specimens from the above localities agree in all respects with those from the 
mainland of India, whence they have probably been transported by human agency. In the 
present species the concentric or spiral striation upon the upper surface is very faint, and 
scarcely visible to the naked eye. In X. vwitellina Pfeiffer, which should, I think, be 
considered a variety, it is rather more distinct. In other respects I can detect no difference. 
Helix belangeri Deshayes, united with this species by Blanford', appears rather different. 
The shell described and figured in the Voyage aux Indes orientales, p. 413, pl. 1. 
figs. 1, 2, 3, is almost double the size of average examples of bombayana and very different 
in form. The sculpture upon the upper surface also is finer than in the shell depicted 
by Deshayes. 
5. Rhachis punctatus (Anton). 
Bulimus punctatus Anton: Reeve, Conch. Icon. vol. v. pl. Lxv. fig. 452; Pfeiffer, Conch. 
Cab. ed. 2, p. 229, pl. Lx. figs. 22—24; Hanley, Conch. Ind. pl. xx. fig. 10. 
Hab. Turadu, Heddufuri, Cumfinadu, and Mahdu, all South Mahlos Atoll; Fainu, 
North Mahlos Atoll; Hulule, North Male Atoll; also Midu, Addu Atoll: Minikoi, Laccadive 
Islands. 
This species is widely distributed in India, being recorded from near Calcutta, Poona, 
Bombay, Benares, Trichinopoly, Orissa, ete. also Ceylon, Zanzibar and Mozambique. 
During aestivation it might easily be transported almost any distance attached to 
grasses or herbage of any description, hence its wide distribution. The Maldive specimens 
are quite normal in every respect. 
6. Opeas gracilis (Hutton). 
Bulimus ? gracilis? Hutton, J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. 11. pp. 84, 93 (1834); Reeve, 
Conch. Icon. vol. v. pl. Lx1x. fig. 495; Pfeiffer, Conch. Cab. ed. 2, p. 79, pl. xx. figs. 18 
and 19; Hanley, Conch. Ind. pl. xxu. fig. 4. 
Hab. Heddufuri and Mahdu, South Mahlos Atoll; Fainu, North Mahlos Atoll; Hulule, 
North Male Atoll; also Midu, Addu Atoll: Muinikoi, Laccadive Islands. 
Widely distributed in India, Burmah and Ceylon, also recorded from Sumatra, Java and 
Borneo. The species of Opeas and some allied genera are notorious for their wide 
distribution, and it is evident that they are capable of surviving transportation for long 
distances. The eggs, imbedded in earth attached to plants, might very easily be carried 
from place to place. 
1 Proc. Malac. Soc. vol. tv. p. 245. 
