Mr. L. Reeve on the Geographical Distribution of the Bulimi. 251 



of China. South of Syria a natural boundary is imposed to the 

 range of the genus in that direction by the rainless and riverless 

 desei-ts of Arabia. A few species make their appearance in the 

 more fertile parts near the Gulf of Bab-el-mandeb and the Indian 

 Ocean. B. latirejlexus, a fine species inhabiting the vicinity of 

 Muskat on the Gulf of Oman^ has a polished shell of solid stony 

 composition^ without colour or marking, of precisely the same 

 type as B. labiosus and labrosus of Asia Minor. B. fragosus and 

 Forskalii inhabiting Yemen, also patternless, assimilate to the 

 tumid tribe of Pupce of Asia Minor. Abyssinia and the neigh- 

 bouring island of Socotra, marking the eastern boundary of the 

 Caucasian province, contribute two species from each locality, 

 one of which species in both instances belongs to an Indian type, 

 the other being remote from it. B. Olivieri of Abyssinia has 

 an inflated shell with a dark fibrous epidermis very distinct in 

 character from any Asiatic or European species, while B. Abys- 

 sinicus from the same locality has been collected also in Central 

 India, north of the river Nerbudda. It is allied in form with 

 B. Jerdoni from the hilly districts of the Deccan peninsula, and 

 both species agree in typical character with i?./?-«^osws of Arabia. 

 B, Socotrensis, inhabiting the island of Socotra, off Cape Gua- 

 dafui, has a peculiar little solid pea-shaped shell unique as a 

 type ; but associated with it in the same locality is an oblong cy- 

 lindrical form, B. contiguus, belonging to a type of Hindoostan, 

 represented by B. puUus inhabiting the environs of Delhi and 

 Bundelkhund and extending into the Gangetic plains. 



In the south-western countries of Asia the genus is very mea- 

 grely represented, but the species are peculiar in their circum- 

 stances of habitation. Two of comparatively large size occur on 

 the hills of Afghanistan, B. Griffithsii and eremita, with opake 

 colourless shells partaking of the Syrian type. From the whole 

 of Hindoostan, including the Himalaya range, the Punjab, Sciude, 

 Nepaul, Bhotan, Assam, the Deccan and Carnatic, only five-and- 

 twenty species have been collected, limited apparently in number 

 of individuals. In the plains watered by the numerous branches 

 of the Ganges, with a temperature varying in the season of the 

 hot winds from 85° to 90° at night, to 130° or 140° in the sun, 

 the Bulimi are scattered and of miscellaneous character. On the 

 wooded hills rising into a moist and cooler atmosphere they are 

 more abundant. B. rufistrigatus at an elevation of 4000 feet has 

 a fulvous horny oblong shell. B. amopidus and tutulus inhabit- 

 ing a lower level are minute delicate brown species, the latter 

 being convoluted in the form of a rounded Cijclostoma. B.pul- 

 lus is a light cylindrical form, B. cercus and gracilis are thin 

 horny species, and B. punctatus, Bonfiae, and Bengalensis have 

 light inflated shells of a type altogether diff"erent. The most 



