Notes on certain Terrestrial Mollusks. 149 



II. On the Animal of Proserpina. 



In a paper published in the Annals of the Lyceum (vol. iv., 

 p. 75), I explained that the animals of the species embraced in 

 the Fam. Helicinacea, and also in the genus Proserpina, destroy 

 the spiral column and septa of their shells. In another paper 

 (Ann., I. c, p. 77), I showed that P. opalina C. B. Adams, hav- 

 ing the spiral column and septa entire, must be restored to He- 

 lix/Jn which genus Adams originally placed it, and I proposed 

 for it the specific name, infortunata. 



Examination of the animals of this species, and of species of 

 Proserpina, has proved the accuracy of the conclusion derived 

 from the shells alone. 



The Hon. Edw. Chitty, on the receipt of copies of my papers, 

 informed me of his previous discovery that the animal of Pro- 

 serpina is nearly allied to that of Helicina, having one pair of 

 tentacles only, with eyes at their external bases, the head pro- 

 duced into a "snout," while the animal of P. opalina is the 

 same as of Helix. 



Mr. Chitty has since verified his description of the animal, 

 and M. Poey confirms its correctness as to the number of ten- 

 tacles, having examined the animal of the Cuban species. 



The characters of both animal and shell are such as to sug- 

 gest the possible existence of an operculum., but Chitty and 

 Poey have not been able to detect any such appendage. 



D'Orbigny, in Moll. Cuba I. (1841). judging from the shell 

 alone (though he failed to find an operculum), and as Poey ex- 

 presses it, " por un feliz presentimiento," included Proserpina 

 (under the generic name of Odontostoma) Vith Helicina and Cy- 

 clostoma, in Cyclostomidce, while Poey in his "Memorias," vol- 

 i., p. 392, having knowledge of the animal, establishes the fa- 

 mily Proserpinacea. 



The discovery of the nature of the animal of Proserpina is of 

 great interest, with especial reference to the question of the 

 value of the operculum, in any natural arrangement of 



OCTOBER, 1856. 11 Ahn. Ltc. Nat. Hist. Vol. VI. 



