Quarterly Journal of Conchology. 3 1 ^ 



subgenera of Helix and Naniiia are still represented but in reduced 

 numbers, e.g., Xesia i, Hemiplecta 3, Chloritis 3. On the other 

 hand, Corasia, a Philippine s.g., has 8 species. The operculate 

 shells are not very numerous, and all the genera of Indian affinities 

 have now disappeared, and Leptopoma 5, Pupina 4, and Helicina 

 7 species, are fully characteristic of an Australasian fauna. The 

 presence of an Otopoma and of 2 species of Cyclostomus is curious. 

 The former of these genera is distinctly African, and the latter, 

 though more widely distributed, is very rare in Polynesia. 



B. New Caledonia. The New Caledonian Archipelago has been 

 very fully explored by the French officials and missionaries, and 

 their discoveries have been described by M.M. Crosse, Gassies, 

 and Souverbie. M. Gassies has pubHshed a monograph of the 

 land and freshwater shells of New Caledonia. The types mostly 

 exist in the Museum of Bordeaux, which is probably richer than 

 any other in New Caledonian shells. The leading characteristics 

 of the fauna are (i) The abundance of large, heavy species of 

 Placostylus of the typical section, such as P. ftbratus, Souvillei, &c. 

 Of these 25 species are given by Pfeiffer; some of them may 

 possibly turn out to be varieties, but in any case they are numer- 

 ous ; (2) Small Helices, generally strongly sculptured, and Patulce, 

 55 species. The uniformly small si/:e of the He'ices is a remark- 

 able feature of the fauna. H. Saisseli is perhaps the largest — a 

 giant compared with most of the others, and elsewhere it would 

 not be considered a conspicuous shell; (3) The curious genus 

 Diplomphalus, of a planorbiform shape. These shells, D. Alariei, 

 Megei, etc., were formerly included in Helix, but M. Crosse has 

 shown that the animals are carnivorous, and that the mollusks 

 consequently belong to the Testacellidce ; (4) The abundance ot 

 Rhytida (10 species). This genus, of ordinary heliciform shape, 

 is also carnivorous. The Patulce, with internal teeth or lamellas 

 ( Endodonta, Pitys) so abundant in Eastern Polynesia, have only 3 

 species here. There are 7 species of Pupa^ including one or two 



