96 Mr. W. H. Benson on new Land Sliells from Ceylon. 



" The animal is dark brown, mottled, about 9 lines long, 

 5 broad ; tentacles two, brilliant scarlet tipped with brown, 3 lines 

 long, sharp-pointed ; eyes two, black, situated at the outside of 

 the tentacles. The moUusk is very slow in its motions, crawling 

 with the shell plane over its back, resting on the operculum ; 

 this is round and fits into the mouth ; it is retractile when the 

 animal is much irritated, but does not close the siphon and 

 canal ; when crawling, the flesh of the mollusk does not touch 

 the canal. After placing them in boiling water to clean, I thrust 

 a needle into one and pierced the operculum accidentally ; judge 

 of my astonishment, when in attempting to withdraw the instru- 

 ment, the operculum unfolded revolution after revolution till I 

 counted nine ! " Subsequently Mr. Layard counted nineteen 

 whorls in one operculum ; and he has aptly likened it to the 

 horn toy, made to resemble a snake by slicing it spirally from 

 end to end, so as to form a laminar centreless screw. 



At the request of the discoverer, I have much pleasure in de- 

 dicating the species to his brother, the enterprising Oriental 

 archaeologist and traveller Dr. Austen Layard. 



17. Cataulus decorus, nobis. 



Testa subperforata, elongato-turrita, solida, confertim costulato-stri- 

 ata, nitidiuscula, rufo-castanea, apice acutiusculo ; anfractibus 8, 

 convexiusculis, ultimo ad basin compresso-carinato, carina valde 

 prominente, versus marginem funiculata, incrassata, antice vix di- 

 latata ; apertura verticali, circulari, peristomate incrassato, reflexo, 

 hreviter adnato, Isete aurantiaco, ad basin subproducto, deorsum 

 recedente ; canali extus lato perforate ; periomphalo magno : oper- 

 culo ut in prsecedente. 



Diam. vix 10, axis 21 mill. 



Hab. ad Ratnapoora. 



Mr. Layard wrote regarding this species — " This was found 

 under a rock with two others ; animal brownish gray, foot livid. 

 Tentacles pale orange, two ; eyes sessile, two, black." 



Mr. Layard has, since his return to England, detected in the 

 operculum of Megalomastoma allum a structure similar to that 

 which obtains in these Catauli, and I have, since the communi- 

 cation of that circumstance, also observed it in the operculum of 

 the Himalayan Meg. funiculatum, nobis. 



18. Cyclophorus Parapsis, nobis. 



Testa late et perspective umbilicata, orbiculato-depressa, tenui, con- 

 fertim striatula, olivacea, sub ejjidermide tenui albida ; spira pla- 

 niuscula, apice vix proininulo, sutura profunda ; anfractibus 4 con- 

 vexiusculis, ultimo cylindrico, leviter dcscendente, nou dilatato ; 

 a])ertura subverticali, subcircnlari, iiitus glaucescente ; peristomate 



