AZOREAN GROUP. 5 



A good deal has been ui'ged about the ' American affinities ' 

 of the Azorean species of Zonites (i. e. Hyalina) ; but, when we 

 look closer into the matter, it seems to me to be scarcely worth 

 consideration. For, out of the six members of that genus which 

 have hitherto been brought to light, half are ordinary European 

 ones, — namely, the cellaria, crystallina, and fulva (the first 

 and second of which occur likewise at the Madeiras and Cana- 

 ries, the cellaria ranging even to St. Helena) ; so that, after all, 

 there are but three remaining, and those bear, confessedly, only a 

 superficial resemblance to certain American forms from which 

 they are specifically quite distinct. Moreover the Hyalinas and 

 Patulas are subject to considerable development in these various 

 Atlantic groups, — the former having at the Canaries 6 extra- 

 European exponents' (^besides 2 Em'opean ones), and the latter 

 11, all of which are ea^^ra-Em'opean ; whilst even in the Madeiran 

 archipelago there are 1 (3a;^ra-European and 2 European Hya- 

 linas, and 7 ea;ir«-European and 2 Em-opean Patulas. Therefore 

 the presence of 3 Hyalinas (ex^ra-European) at the Azores 

 which are primd facie somewhat suggestive of American ones 

 (though the H. atlantica alone appears to me to be worth 

 even mentioning) is hardly a matter, I think, of sufficient geo- 

 gTaphieal significance to warrant a serious discussion on the 

 ' American element ' in the fauna. 



But as I must reserve any mere speculative observations for 

 the final section of this volume, our present duty being simply to 

 investigate the facts, I will not do more now than refer to Mr. Tris- 

 tram's remark that ' The class of Grasteropods is by far the most 

 numerous of all the forms of life in the Azores; and among them 

 are found a larger proportion of peculiar species than in any other 

 class,' — for it seems to me that it is a conclusion which is not 

 warranted by what has hitherto been ascertained concerning the 

 Natural History of the islands. For instance, how about the 

 plants ? 47 8 exponents of which (including 40 which are strictly 

 endemic) are registered in ]Mr. H. C. Watson's latest catalogue ; 

 whereas the Land-shells have reached liitherto but 71 species 

 (33 of which, at the utmost, are peculiar). Or, if animal life 

 was meant, and not vegetable, what about the Coleoptera ? of 

 which even already 212 representatives have been recorded in 

 Mr. Crotch's carefully prepared list. 



Also, in commenting upon the total absence of the freshwater 



African continent.' But here, again, I am sorry that I cannot agree with 

 him ; for, despite the little that we know (comparative!}') of tlie Afi-ican 

 famia, there are certainly 14 of the Azorean species, and probably many more, 

 which abound in Algeria and Morocco : — namely, the Umax agrestig, Hyalina 

 cellaria and crystallina, Helix asjjcrsa, lactea, jnsana, ajncitia, armillata, and 

 lenticulu, Buliwvs veutHcosus, Stenogyra decollata, Aeliatina I uhrica. Auricula, 

 fequalis, and Pedipes afra. 



