RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



47 



Discovered by Professor Morse in Maine ; 

 described in Proc. Boston Nat. Hist., vi., 

 128, 1857. Quoted from Gaspe, C. E., 

 Lake Superior, Hudson River, N. Y., 

 Salem, Mass., and near Portland, Me. 

 Morse says : " It is a rare shell, and seems 

 confined to wet and boggy gi-ound where 

 spruce and pine is intermingled with alder." 

 Mr. Thomson says: " Westport. Very 

 rare ; under dead maple leaves near swampy 

 places." 



98. Patula (Acanthinula) Harpa, Say, 



Syns. : 



Plelix harpa, Say, 1824. 



Pupa costulata, Mighels, 1844. 



Bulimus haipa, Pfr., Chem., Reeve, 

 Binney. 



Zo('>genetes harpa, Morse, 1864. 



Zoogenetes, Morse, 1864, is a synonj-m 

 of Acanthinula, Beck., 1846. 



.Shell ovate-conic, light horn color, thin 

 and elastic ; whorls four, the last two 

 marked b}' thin prominent ribs ; suture dis- 

 tinct ; aperture nearly round ; lip sharp. 

 Length one-eighth of an inch. 



This species is one of the very few ex- 

 ceptions among land snails in which the 

 3'oung are brought forth alive. They are 

 hatched from eggs, but the eggs are retained 

 within the parent when this takes place. 



It was first discovered in the Northwest 

 Territor}', by Thomas Sa}', on the expedition 

 to St. Peter's River. L. L. Thaxer has 

 found it at Ascutne^', Vt. Morse found it 

 in various parts of Maine and it is quite 

 common near Portland in hard wood groves. 

 Tryon quotes it from Maine to Iowa. It is 

 said to inhabit British America, Norway, 

 Sweden, and Lapland. Mr. Thomson finds 

 it in Westport and Tiverton in groves of 

 maples among leaves and moss. 



Patula (Anguispira) alternata. Say, 

 described in the April number of Random 

 Notes, is subject to much variety in both 

 color and outline. A coarsely striated 

 form, with a well-developed carina is called 

 var. mordax. Shuttle worth, and a perfectly 

 colorless variety called alba, Trj'on, has been 

 found by Morse in Maine, and by Currier 

 in Jlichigan, while another form, smooth 

 and never carinated, with a shining trans- 

 lucent epidermis, has been found in New 

 York and called var. fergusonii. Bland. 

 This variety has also been found bj' Mr. 



Thomson in Westport, Mass., and in Tiver- 

 ton, R. I. 



99. Stenotrema Monooon, Rackett, 1822. 



Shell light russet ; whorls five to six ; 

 aperture flattened ; lip narrow and turned 

 back. On the inner lip is a white tooth. 

 The shell is covered with minute hairs 

 which give the surface a velvety appear- 

 ance. In the typical species the whorls 

 revolve around the axis at such a distance 

 as to leave a wide and deep umbilicus, while 

 in a variety called fraterna, Say, they re- 

 volve close together and the reflected peris- 

 tome covers the umbilicus, which in this 

 variety is a mere perforation. It is said to 

 inhabit the whole country east of the Rock}^ 

 Mountains. Mr. Thomson finds both the 

 typical monodon and the var. fraterna in 

 Tiverton, R. I., in old orchards and pastures. 



100. Mesodon Sayit, Binnev. 



Shell depressed and thin, color shining 

 russet; whorls five or six; aperture rounded, 

 bordered by a narrow white lip, with a slight 

 protecting tooth near the umbilicus. The 

 umbilicus is open, showing all the volutions. 

 On the inner lip is a strong white tooth. 

 Diameter nearly one inch. It is quite a 

 rare shell, but inhabits from Maine to Illi- 

 nois and southwards to Pennsylvania, and 

 prefers hill sides and mountains. Mr. 

 Thomson finds it in Westport and Tiverton. 

 Very rare, only near streams of water. 



101. Mesodon Wheatleyi, Bland. 



Shell conoidall}' globose, thin, hirsute ; 

 whorls five and a half; aperture obliquely 

 lunate, the parietal wall armed with a tooth ; 

 umbilical region excavated, but imperforate. 

 Reddish horn colored, the lip rose colored. 

 Diameter fourteen, height seven millimeters. 

 The only localities known heretofore are the 

 mountains in Cherokee County, N. C. Mr. 

 Thomson finds it rare at Tiverton •' rocky 

 ridge," with Striatura ferrea, Morse, a 

 thousand miles north of its onl}' known 

 locality. 



(To be continued.) 



The new Egg Checking-List, and des- 

 cription of birds' nests and eggs, by Mr. 

 Oliver Davie, unavoidably delayed for sev- 

 eral months, is now issued. See adv. page 

 xxiii. 



