8 INTRODUCTION. 



8. Achatina bicarinata Lam. Hist. vi. 

 Bulimus bicarinatus Brug. 



Bulla bicarinata Dillw. Cat 496. ; Lister, C. t. 37. 

 f. 36. 



A native of the Cape of Good Hope. 



A specimen of which was given to me alive, by 

 Capt. Sir James Alexander, who had it for some 

 time living, and in whose possession it deposited 

 an egg. 



For the same reason no notice is taken in the body 

 of the work of the following species, which have been 

 included among the British, by one or more preced- 

 ing authors, on what I am inclined to regard as in- 

 sufficient authority. 



Several of these have doubtless been introduced, by 

 mistake, for some other nearly allied British species ; 

 and others have been described from specimens which 

 have been accidentally intermixed with British shells 

 in the cabinets of careless collectors ; but it is also to 

 be feared that some have been wilfully palmed upon 

 us by unprincipled persons, who wished to gain credit 

 for their discovery, and to enrich their cabinets with 

 foreign species, for which they, at the same time, 

 coined British habitats, sometimes not even consist- 

 ent with their proper station. It is curious that the 

 persons who have been most addicted to such prac- 

 tices often overreached themselves; for not satisfied 

 with adding to the Fauna species which, from their 

 geographical distribution, might possibly be found in 

 our island, they often fixed on such tropical shells as 

 were most easy of access, without heeding that these 

 must at once be excluded from our Fauna when their 

 true locality became known. 



