1919- ] H. H. Godwin- Austen : A new species of Margaritanopsis. 205 



found them in the Daleswari. They are much sought after, and 

 esteemed as a great delicacy by the Uriya cooHes in the tea gardens. 

 My first specimen was obtained from a couple of Uriyas, who had 

 been out with axes, splitting up the hard blue shale rock to obtain 

 them. The rock in question is soft as rocks go, and is recent 



Tertiary, possibly Pliocene The specimens found by me seem 



to prefer fairly rapid running water. Their borings are generally 

 on the outside of curves or bends, where the current is fairly 

 high. They seem to change about from hole to hole, descending as 

 the river falls. I am not certain how they bore, but they periodically 

 eject muddy water from their holes, of the colour of the rocks in 

 which they live. I have seen them doing this in the cold weather, 

 when the water in the river is quite clear I think the speci- 

 mens I found under the laterite rocks, in the centre of the Barak in 

 Silchar, must have been casual specimens, swept down by some big 

 flood." This is possible, that is to say if U.soleniformis occurs 

 in the Barak and more likely in the Sonai from the south — they 

 could not have been derived from the Daleswari, which joins the 

 Soorma many miles below Silchar. 



1 know the Daleswari valley and ascended the river by boat 

 to close up to the Looshai country (Sookpilal's of that time). I was 

 fully occupied at a reconnaissance survey so had very little time 

 for collecting and missed seeing this interesting species of Unio. 



Mr. Ede feels certain that they make the holes they occupy. 

 Some further examination of these holes is required to ascer- 

 tain their depth, proximity, and section. The animal would 

 lie with the inhaling and exhaling siphons pointing upwards, 

 throwing out as he describes the dirty water in their bodies into 

 the clear water of the river. 



It would be interesting to know also how far up the Daleswari 

 the species is to be found and still more to know its exact distribu- 

 tion in South Cachar, whether it is to be found in the Sonai and 

 Barak. The Daleswari is of considerable length some 60 miles to 

 Gootur Mukh. The embryonic forms of any colony would be carried 

 down stream, but after attaching themselves to their hosts, such 

 as species of Mahsir, they would at the proper season and rise of 

 the rivers be carried far up into the hills and start their existence 

 as Unios wherever the conditions were suitable : thus the range on 

 this river may be very great. 



ADDENDUM. 



Further Note on the Burrows of Solenaia soleniformis. 



By N. AnnandalE, D.Sc, F.A.S.B. 



As Col. Godwin Austen has referred to the burrows of Solenaia 

 soleniformis^ I have added to his manuscript a note based on a 

 specimen in the Indian Museum. This specimen is a block of 

 friable sandstone 5i'5 cm. long by 13 cm. broad by 175 cm. deep 

 and contains four burrows in which the shells have been replaced. 



