46 CURRENT LITERATURE. 



ting off from the normal five, or by the appearance of bands altogether additional 

 to these. About 4 per cent, of the shells collected show this tendency. In the 

 ground colours and their relative frequency there appears to be little departure from 

 European types. It is difficult to judge of the value of the percentage tables in which 

 Mr. Howe elaborates the frequency of a number of the band-formulse, without 

 knowing whether the series of shells, on which they are based, were the result of 

 collecting every ncmoralis procurable at the time, or only of a judicious selection. 

 The former is quite possibly the case, as we read of considerably more than 2000 

 specimens being taken in two consecutive summers from an area 200 feet square, 

 and that a garden ! — B. TOMLIN. 



Babor, J. F. — Note on Ariuncuhis austriacus, n. sp., from the Alps in Austria. 

 Proc. Malac. Soc. Lond., 1898, vol. iii, pp. 156-8, fig. I. 



Dr. Babor describes as a new species a specimen of Ariimculus from Schnee- 

 berg near Vienna (Coll. of Dr. A. Wagner). It approaches most closely the 

 Sardinian species A. isselii, Bgt. — W. E. C. 



Newbigin, Marion J.— Colour in Nature, a study in Biology. 8vo, pp. 344, 

 London : 1S9S, John Murray. 



The parts relating to the coloration of the Mollusca occupy pp. 184-95 ^"^ pp. 

 203-4. So much has been written in recent years respecting colour variation, 

 chsemalonic colour changes, and changes which take place in a life time, in the 

 Mollusca, which find no mention here, that the malacologist will be greatly disap- 

 pointed with this chapter. On p. 203 it is stated " In the Mollusca colour-patterns 

 are, except in the cuttles, confined to the shells," the writer is evidently unaware of 

 the colour-patterns exhibited by Limax maximum, Tchennophorus striatus and many 

 other molluscs. Next to the Insecta few animals show so favourably, protective 

 colouring, rapid colour changes, etc., as the mollusca, and some reference to these 

 would have proved interesting. 



In other parts of the work there is much that is new and interesting. — W. E. C. 



CPiek, G. C. — Descriptions of new or imperfectly known species of Nautilus from 

 the Inferior Oolite. Proc. Malac. Soc. Lond., 1898, vol. iii, pp. 117-39, 

 figs. I-15. 



The admirable work that Mr. Crick has of recent years been carrying out in the 

 collections of Eossil Cephalopoda in the British Museum, merits the best thanks and 

 appreciation of all malacologists. The present paper describes and figures a series 

 of new or imperfectly known species of Nautilus, and is in every way a piece of 

 useful and careful work. The new species are : N. bradfordeiisis, fuscus, 

 crassinuatus, impeiidens, entcrfihratus, rotundus, sitbrotnndus, scmiornatus, and 

 exiguus, all in the collection of the British Museum. — W. E. C. 



Webb, W. M. — On the Anatomy and Synonymy of the Genus Maricella, Gray. 

 Proc. Malac. Soc. Lond., 1898, vol. iii, pp. 147-55, P'- ^^• 



Two species are described and figured viz. M. dussumieri, Gray, and J/, heddoinci, 

 G.-A. Mr. Webb accepts the views of previous writers respecting Tennentia 

 thivaitesii, Humb., and Vega nordcnskioldi, Westr., regarding them as synonymous 

 with the former species. — W. E. C. 



Mbllendorff, 0. V.— Maricdla, Gray. Nachr. Deutsch. Malak. Gesell., 1899, 

 pp, 20-22. 



Philippinella, gen. nov. is proposed for Tennentia qiuxdrasi, Mlldff., and T. 

 carinata ; also T. philijipinensis, Semper. 



SimrOth, H. — Uber die Gattung Parmacella. L'Ann. du Mus. Zool. I'Acad. d. 

 I'Acad. Imp. Sc. St. Petersb. , 1898, pp. I-12. 



