3G2 MOl-LUSKS Ol' TllF. C A 1,APA(J()S — STKAIv'NS. 



its color iiKukiiiiiS, jnid I lie sliccii :iii(i siiioot Imcss ol' ils sihI'mcc a close 

 resemblance ((» some <tl" Hie Polynesian AclKitiiiillds; bnl it lacks (lie 

 cliiel" and constant character ol" (lie Acliatinellas, \i/, the evej-preseiit 

 and ])crsistent twist of the columella at its base. As ma\ be seen 

 n])on examination of (he (abnla(ed lis( herennlo annexed, (lu' land 

 shells (herein ai(> assigned delini(ely (o <>///// r////// oC the islands, vi/,: 

 Albemarle, Indet'atiuable, Harrinjiton, Charles, Hood. liindloe, dames, 

 and Chatham. It is lireally to be r(\i>retted that onr knowledge of the 

 terrestrial mollnsks of the y;ronp is so e\ceedinj;ly limiti'd. What 

 mi.uht be the result of a systematic invcstif^ation, island by island, and 

 zone by /oiu\ and the environmental i)eciiliarities. <;eneral and local, 

 carefnlly observed and noted, m(^ can barely conjectnre; but wo are 

 warranted in assnminj;' iVcmi (he testimony of the limited material 

 under review, and Avhat is known of the relation of environment to 

 variation in the land shells in other ])arts of the world, that an ample 

 collection under tlie conditions aboxc mentioned A\(tuld be of very 

 ^reat value to the biologist and full of interest trom a more ji'eneral 

 scientitic point of view. 



The various species olHlalapajios laml shells are in the main of dull, 

 unattractive colors; this mi,iilit be sui)])osed when the circumstances 

 of their occurrence are considered. Of a few of the si)ecies the col- 

 lector noted the peculiarities of station, and we read of this or that 

 species as occurrinj>: "under scoria','' 'Minder lava," etc. ; npiin of />'. 

 nK.r, wliieh exhibits extreme variability and is apparently the most 

 numerous in individuals, as beinji' found "on bushes" or upon or 

 iiihUm' la\a. To the student who has this material, or this class of 

 material, befoi-e him these few brief notes are especially su^"^'esti\'e, 

 and remind hiUi of the excecdinji" variability frequently exhibited 

 within the compass of a com[)aratively limited area. An investigation 

 of the hijjher altitudes of those islands that attain an elevation sutli- 

 cient to include the " internuMliate belt 2(10 and oOO feet in wiilth," 

 what may b(^ called Uio'irhitc zone or /one of r.snia, and, still hi,uher, 

 the plateau rcjiion or ^one of f/rccn woods ami meadows, would doubt- 

 less show that said zones were inhabited each by its own ])eculiar 

 si)ecies and color types, characteristic of or to the zone, peculiar and 

 characteristic in <'xternal facies at least, such as color and sculpture, 

 if not strikiuiily or materially dilVerent in that of form, in the upper 

 (u* firccii zoiit' it mijiht be found that the mollusks were arboreal in their 

 habits, of bright colors, like l'\)rbes's />*. ^^<7/<r////(7////».s' heretofore men- 

 tioiMMl, and liki' the more showy of the nunu'rous species of (he Saml- 

 wich Island A(li((tiii(ll<(,* which inhabit a similar sta(iou. 



The land shells, as before stated, are delinitely referred to eijjlit of ( he 

 islands. So onr knowlediic of the marine species is restricted to eiliht. 



Tlic (liill-coloifil spccios of this I'oly tiosiau <;ri)up of slu'lls live y;(>m'riill,\ . it not 

 ••xcliisivoly, on the i>Toiiiul or iiesir it — that is to say, ait» not avl)oroal, as I was in 

 fonin'il li\ iin I'stfiMiK'tl iVieiiil tlic lalo l)r. N<>\v<'oinl) inaiiv ^^'a^s a>io. 



