﻿236 
  Panama 
  Shells. 
  introduction. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  Eastern 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  continent, 
  a 
  totally 
  distinct 
  

   marine 
  zoological 
  province, 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  the 
  Carib- 
  

   bean 
  province, 
  occupies 
  about 
  an 
  equal 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  earth's 
  

   surface. 
  It 
  has 
  however, 
  a 
  much 
  greater 
  extent 
  of 
  coast, 
  in 
  

   the 
  great 
  number 
  of 
  islands, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  sinuous 
  outlines 
  of 
  

   the 
  continent. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  known 
  species 
  of 
  shells 
  in 
  this 
  

   province 
  is 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  1500. 
  The 
  actual 
  number 
  probably 
  

   is 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  Panama 
  province. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  remarkable 
  fact 
  

   that 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  rather 
  large 
  species 
  in 
  the 
  Caribbean 
  pro- 
  

   vince 
  is 
  but 
  a 
  small 
  fraction 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  such 
  species 
  

   which 
  occur 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  continent. 
  Of 
  the 
  Ca- 
  

   ribbean 
  species, 
  very 
  few 
  occur 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  Bahamas, 
  or 
  

   south 
  of 
  Brazil, 
  although, 
  from 
  various 
  sources 
  of 
  error 
  many 
  

   of 
  them 
  have 
  been 
  reputed 
  to 
  inhabit 
  England, 
  and 
  various 
  

   other 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  world. 
  Although 
  there 
  are 
  several 
  analo- 
  

   gous 
  species 
  in 
  the 
  two 
  provinces, 
  in 
  general 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  great 
  

   dissimilarity. 
  

  

  Conchological 
  Collectors 
  in 
  the 
  Panama 
  Province. 
  

  

  One 
  of 
  the 
  earliest 
  collectors 
  in 
  this 
  zoological 
  province 
  

   was 
  Joseph 
  Dombey, 
  the 
  well 
  known 
  French 
  Botanical 
  tra- 
  

   veller. 
  Dombey 
  arrived 
  in 
  Peru, 
  on 
  his 
  botanical 
  expedition, 
  

   in 
  April, 
  1778. 
  He 
  is 
  quoted 
  by 
  Lamarck 
  for 
  eight 
  new 
  

   species 
  of 
  shells 
  from 
  Peru. 
  

  

  Baron 
  Humboldt, 
  and 
  his 
  companion, 
  M. 
  Bonpland, 
  next 
  

   made 
  collections 
  of 
  the 
  shells. 
  In 
  1803 
  they 
  were 
  on 
  the 
  

   coast 
  of 
  Peru, 
  whence 
  they 
  sailed 
  to 
  Acapulco. 
  Here 
  they 
  

   collected 
  many 
  species, 
  of 
  which 
  eleven 
  are 
  described 
  by 
  La- 
  

   marck 
  in 
  the 
  Animaux 
  Sans 
  Vertebres. 
  The 
  first 
  volume 
  of 
  

   Humboldt's 
  Recueil 
  D'observations 
  de 
  Zoologie, 
  &c., 
  was 
  

   published 
  in 
  1811 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  second 
  volume 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  shells 
  

   are 
  described 
  by 
  M. 
  Yalencienres, 
  bears 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  1833. 
  

   Of 
  the 
  92 
  species 
  mentioned 
  88 
  are 
  described 
  in 
  full, 
  and 
  of 
  

   the 
  92 
  all 
  but 
  3 
  or 
  4 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  inhabit 
  this 
  province. 
  In 
  

  

  