240 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



me for inspection a single immature specimen from 

 Kouei-Tchou, which he doubtfully referred to the 

 present species. Mr. Mabille, who was kind enough 

 to compare the shell for me with the type of P. 

 alphonsi in the Paris Museum, has confirmed its 

 identity with P. alphonsi, and subsequently the 

 writer had an opportunity of inspecting the type 

 specimen. Unfortunately there was only one 

 specimen in the museum, so that I was unable 

 to examine the details of the armature. Five 

 horizontal palatal folds are visible through the 

 shell-wall, but probably there are six folds, the first 

 near the suture being seldom visible from without. 

 In general form, as well as in the palatal armature, 

 P. alphonsi appears to be allied to P. stenochila. 

 The present species was described by Mr. 

 Deshayes as follows : 



" Shell depressed, orbiculate-discoid, thin, fragile, 

 corneous-brown, yellowish-white, obliquely lineate 

 and irregularly punctate ; spire depressed, scarcely 

 convex ; whorls seven, narrow, sub-equal, finely 

 plicate and concentrically sub-striate above ; the 

 last angulate above, convex below, polished, widely 

 umbilicated ; the perspective umbilicus a little 

 deflected at the aperture ; aperture semi-lunate, 

 oblique, slightly compressed ; peristome sinuous, 

 reflected ; columellar margin wide, with a denti- 

 form thickening. — Major diameter, g millimetres ; 

 minor diameter, 8 millimetres ; altitude, 35 

 millimetres." 



Mr. Gredler's specimen, shown in fig g^a-c, has 

 the peristome just formed, but is not quite mature. 

 It does not possess any armature, but only shows 

 a few denticles in that part of the shell where the 

 palatal folds would be expected to occur ; it has 

 besides some traces of denticles at a spot where a 

 former set of immature barriers might be expected 

 to have existed. This is the first case of a Pkctopylis 

 without any armature which has come under my 

 observation. 



Pkctopylis hanleyi was described by Lieut. -Col. 

 Godwin-Austen, in the " Annals and Magazine of 

 Natural History" (5) iv. (1879), p. 164. No 

 figure has been published, and only one specimen 

 is known. This is in the collection of Mr. 

 Sylvanus Hanley, but I have been unable to 

 inspect it, and I am therefore only able to 

 copy the original description. The same remark, 

 unfortunately, applies to the next two species. 



The description of Pkctopylis hankyi runs thus : 



" Shell sinistral,. depressedly conoid, openly umbili- 

 cated, probably hirsute when young. Sculpture 

 coarse, irregular, transverse ridges. Colour uni- 

 form ochraceous. Spire conoidal ; apex blunt, 

 smooth. Suture well marked. Whorls six, close- 

 wound, convex ; aperture semicircular, diagonal ; 

 peristome somewhat thickened, white, with a thin 

 callus on the parietal margin [wall (?)] not to the 

 extent of a ridge. Size. — Major diameter, 55 ; 

 minor diameter, 5 ; altitude, 3 millimetres. 



" Parietal vertical lamina simple ; palatal plicae 

 in two rows, four long in front, four short behind, 

 and one basal long- 



"This shell is very distinct; it has somewhat 

 the form oi P. plectostoma, but is not so angular on 

 the periphery, while the internal plication is quite 

 different, besides being so very much smaller in 

 size. Sikkim (?) ; no history. Only one specimen, 

 in the collection of Mr. Sylvanus Hanley." 



Pkctopylis vallata was described by Mr. Heude, 

 in the "Journal de Conchyliologie," xxxvii. (i88g), 

 p. 45. I translate the description as follows : — 



" Helix vallata. Shell discoid, laciniate at the 

 periphery; below furnished with acute distant plaits, 

 interspersed with minute striae trellis-like ; lat. 10, 

 alt. 5 millimetres. Tchen Keou. This Pkctopylis 

 recalls P. stenochila, but its dimensions are nearly 

 double. Apart from the presence of the peri- 

 pherial fringe, it may be stated that the inferior 

 plaits are more numerous, and that their inter- 

 vening spaces are trellised. These characters 

 separate it from its congener of the right 

 bank." 



Plectopylis jugatoria was described by Mr. F. C. 

 Ancey in the " Bulletin de la Societe Malacologique 

 de France," 1885, p. 127. The diagnosis may be 

 thus translated : — 



" Shell widely and deeply umbilicated, depressed, 

 scarcely convex above, apex very prominent, some- 

 what solid, brownish-red, angulated, the upper 

 oblique lines decussated with spiral ones (except at 

 the apex), produced into laciniate cilia at the peri- 

 phery ; below smoother, spiral lines finer. Whorls 

 six, slowly increasing, separated by a linear suture, 

 almost flattened, the first altogether flat, the last 

 widened around the umbilicus, strongly descend- 

 ing at the aperture, rather acutely angulated 

 above, perspectively convex round the umbilicus 

 below ; aperture strongly oblique, not wide ; semi- 

 lunate ; basal margin regularly rounded, scarcely 

 angled at the periphery ; peristome thickened and 

 reflexed all round, but chiefly at the base, whitish; 

 the margins connected by an appressed plate, on 

 both sides at the junctions slightly channelled 

 similar to Helix achatina Gray. Palate provided 

 below with five parallel plates with another strong 

 nail-shaped plate opposite the parietal margin; 

 if others exist I have not been able to examine 

 them. 



"Major diameter, 125-1325; minor diameter, 

 11-5-12; altitude, 55; width of aperture, 4-5 milli- 

 metres. Province of Kouei-Tchou. 



" The shell which I have before me is a near 

 relative of Helix fimbriosa'Ni&xiens, of the Provinces 

 Hoo-Nan and Kiang-Si. It can easily be dis- 

 tinguished from that species by the last whorl 

 strongly descending at its extremity, its still more 

 oblique aperture, the fine concentric striae of the 

 lower surface, which is also marked with stronger 

 lines of growth, and especially by the two margins 

 of the aperture being united by a calcareous plate 

 similar to that of the Indian Plectopylis, such as 

 P. achatina, kiophis, cyclaspis, brachypkcta, etc. At 

 the junction of the two margins exists a little 

 channelled fold as in those species. I believe 

 these internal plates are much like those in P. 

 fimbriosa ; but the small number of specimens which 

 I had at my disposal did not allow me to sacrifice 

 one to examine the fact completely." 



Subsequently Mr. Ancey appears to have modi- 

 fied his view as to the nearest allies of P. jugatoria, 

 for he informs me in a letter that this species is 

 allied to P. laminifera. 



(To be continued.) 



