266 WEST COAST SHELLS 



flattened, light yellowish-brown, striated. Var. 

 caelata, Mazyck, is about the same size, but has very 

 coarse, rough, irregular ribs, best seen from the under 

 side. It is found on the California coast and islands. 



It may be wtII to remark that all of the Selens are 

 said to have very vigorous appetites; they should not 

 be placed with other snails, for iii^ they are thus con- 

 lined the other snails are apt to mysteriously disap- 

 pear — all but their shells. 



The members of the genus Limax are true slugs; 

 i. e., they are naked, crawling mollusks, looking like 

 snails without shells. It is indeed true that they have 

 rudimentary shells concealed in their mantles, but 

 these are not easily observed. Several of our species 

 have come over from Europe, and are settling down 

 in America more to their satisfaction than to ours. 

 Among the various species we mention first, himax 

 maximus^ Linn., the Great Limax. This creature 

 grows to a length of four inches. In color it is light 

 brown or ashen, with rows of round spots alternating 

 with black stripes. It has been reported from San 

 Francisco, Los Angeles, and other coast cities. 



Limax agrestis^ Linn., the Field Limax, is another 

 unwelcome immigrant, now thoroughly naturalized. 

 Its color varies from whitish to black, through va- 

 rious shades of yellow and amber. It is usually about 

 an inch long, but when fully grown it is nearly twice 

 that length. 



The upper side of the animal is marked with 

 longitudinal, shallow furrows, darker than the gen- 

 eral surface, while between these are 'little tuber- 

 cles, giving it the appearance of mosaic work. When 



