30 Calvin Goodrich 



the Black Warrior. Furthermore, occasional specimens of plicata have the 

 "columella thick, dark purple''. As against an argument that rubiginosa was 

 not actually a Coosa shell it might be recited t^iat Lea had the carelessness of 

 his contemporaries in regard to type localities. But unless the one shell 

 from which Lea described rubiginosa can be found and positively identified 

 as his type, the uncertainty will remain. It seems best to employ the name 

 griffithiana, and that this was Mr. Smith's belief is indicated by some of 

 his labels. 



The species has a narrow range. It occurs in great numbers at Wetumpka 

 and it is from this place that most of the shells in the collections have 

 come. Eight miles north, it is less flourishing — to judge from Air. Smith's 

 collections there. At Noble's Ferry in the same county, only one specimen 

 of the species Avas taken by Mr. Smith. No locality is given for griffithiana 

 above the northern line of Chilton County which by air line cannot exceed 

 forty-five miles from Wetumpka. One lot of griffithiana from the Schowalter 

 collection bears a Cahaba River label. These shells appear to be identical 

 with Wetumpka material, and as Mr. Smith himself did not find the species 

 'in the Cahaba this may be considered an error on the part of Dr. Schowalter. 



The shell as a rule is stoutly folded from suture to base, the folds be- 

 ing most pronounced in the Wetumpka shells. Smooth specimens or nearly 

 smooth appear in all the lots, the greatest number coming from The Bar, 

 Chilton County. In one lot from Wetumpka about one individual in eight is 

 without folds. In another lot, one shell in four is without folds, one in 

 eight has folds nearly obsolete. On the upper whorls of the shell are faint 

 indications or remains of plicae. The fine growth lines are usually well 

 defined, though upon some of the older specimens and on top of the folds of 

 many others these lines have worn away. Microscopic revolving lines 

 can be made out on most of the material. They show most plainly on shells 

 devoid of folds. 



Seven arrangements of the bands were noted in this study, the most 

 common being four rather heavy, continuous, equidistant strata of coloring 

 matter. Among Wetumpka shells, about twice as many unhanded specimens 

 occur as banded. About one shell in twenty-eight has bands upon the epi- 

 dermis which do not show in the aperture ; about one in thirty-five has bands 

 broken into squares as in the case of other species of this group. Among 

 folded shells from The Bar which Mr. Smith separated from smooth forms, 

 more banded than unhanded shells appear, the ratio of the one to the other 

 being three to one. 



The columella of griffithiana is rounded or angulated. It is usually 

 stained with purple, red or pink coloring material. Shells with a white colu- 

 mella are rare. A characteristic of the species is that the columella covers 

 the umbilical niche rather poorly. In some specimens a slight, eroded groove 

 or hollow is left and in few specimens is the base covered completely and 

 smoothly. The color of the shell ranges from yellow to dark brown, red 

 shells are not uncommon and occasionally slightly mottled shells appear. 



The peristome is very slightly curved near the suture, is sharp-edged 

 and in heavily-folded shells it tends to be sulcate. 



