THE 



JOURNAL OF MALACOLOGY. 



No. 5. MARCH 24TH, 1900. Vol. VH. 



THE LAND SHELLS OF THE CAROLINE ISLANDS. 



By O. F. von MOELLENDORFF, Ph.D. 



Very little has hitherto been done for the exploration of the Carolines 

 which, being by no means mere coral atolls but including several islands 

 of comparatively large size and elevated basaltic hills, might be supposed 

 to contain a much more extensive and varied molluscan fauna than 

 the meagre result of the investigations as yet made would lead us to 

 believe. We had an analogous case in the neighbouring group of the 

 Mariannes, of which Kobelt gave in 1879 a list of 14 species of 

 land shells. My friend Quadras collected there for a couple of 

 months and the result was that we know now of 74 species, 47 being 

 new to science. He did not go beyond the island of Guam, whilst the 

 northern islands of the groups, Tinian, Saypan, etc., if smaller, present 

 elevations of considerable altitude. In the same way we may expect 

 rich results from a thorough exploration of the Carolines by a 

 specialist. What we know of them at present, is due to the French 

 expeditions of the "Coquille" and "Astrolabe," and some collections 

 made by American missionaries. Captain Brenchley and Mr. Finsch. 

 A German trader, Mr. Etscheid, was kind enough to collect for me in 

 the neighbourhood of the Spanish settlement on Ponape, and especially 

 sent me some bags of vegetable mould from the bush, in which I 

 found a number of minute shells. In 1895 Mr. Kubary returned 

 from New Guinea to his old residence at Ponape and at once began 

 conchological researches. He was the first to collect in the more 

 elevated parts of the islands and although he did not get much higher 

 than about 100 metres, he met at once with a number of novelties 

 of which Flamimdina and a Quadrasiella are the most remarkable. 

 Unfortunately he died in 1896. 



JouRN. OF Malac, 1900, vol. vii, No. 5. 



