434 Mr. W. H. Benson on the Animal 0/ Diploramatina. 



of the following communication from Capt. Hutton, which reached 

 me last month. I am enabled to add some corroborative evi- 

 dence from a subsequent examination of my own collection. 



Capt. Hutton writes as follows : — " Unfortunately when you 

 asked me to look at living specimens of D. folliculus the ground 

 was white with frost ; nevertheless I sallied forth into the forests 

 and extended myself among the frozen leaves, beneath which 

 and stones I procured a few, but I soon became so cold that I 

 was obliged to desist. I have just examined two living specimens 

 under a strong glass, but can find no operculum even though I 

 have deliberately pulled them to pieces atom by atom, and I still 

 adhere to my former opinion that they belong truly to the Cary- 

 chiadce." " Besides this I have a box containing many hundreds 

 (I might say thousands perhaps), and there is not a trace of a 

 loose operculum among them, so that I say again. Gray must have 

 been misled by the operculum of some other species in the same 

 box with them." 



Since my return to town I have examined 139 specimens, in 

 my collection, of the three Himalayan species, taken by Capt. 

 Hutton at Simla near the Sutlej, and by myself at Landour, be- 

 tween the Jumna and Ganges, and at Neinee Tal in Kemaon, to 

 the north of Rohilkhund, three widely distant mountain loca- 

 lities. Of these 73 were specimens of D. folliculus (47 being 

 collected by myself) ; 6i of i). costulata (63 being also collected 

 by myseK) ; and 2 of D. Huttoni, collected by Capt. Hutton at 

 Simla. In 138 specimens there was not a vestige of an oper- 

 culum, and in only one was the aperture covered by a thin trans- 

 lucent membranaceous epiphragm (without any vestige of a spiral 

 or other organization) which hermetically closed the mouth of 

 the shell, extending even over the reflected portion on the 

 parietes. 



The tooth-like plait on the columella has already been re- 

 garded by me as militating against the theory of an operculum, 

 and I consider that the occurrence of an epiphragm, which has 

 evidently been deposited by the animal itself, is a strong addi- 

 tional argument in favour of those who would refer the animal 

 to the inoperculated Pulmonifera. 



The Simla specimens were sent to me some fifteen years ago 

 by Capt. Hutton, and, with those which I collected myself, have 

 been enclosed in quills and small boxes ; have never since been 

 out of my own possession; and, when necessarily under the 

 custody of others, have been secured in well-fastened chests be- 

 yond all suspicion of having been meddled with ; and yet not a 

 single loose operculimi is to be found in the corked quills, &c. in 

 which they were contained. 



With such facts before me, and with all respect for the perfect 



