218 HELICID^. 



commences egg-laying in August^ and retires into winter- 

 quarters in November, when it shuts itself up by means 

 of its epipbragm and remains concealed at the roots of 

 grass or under the shelter of a stone until spring. 



The flat shape of this shell, its exceedingly large um- 

 bilicus, and nearly circular mouth will easily serve to 

 distinguish it from any other of our banded Helices. 



Linne was supposed by some to have given the name 

 of Itala to this species ; but L. Pfeiffer considers it a 

 synonym of H. cespitum. The Linnean description, how- 

 ever, is " convexa^^ and the size that of a hazel-nut — 

 both of which characters are more appropriate to H. 

 virgata than to the present species. The original types 

 in the collection of the illustrious Swede appear to have 

 been so disarranged and confused by the late possessor 

 (Sir James Smith) and others, that I fear they are now of 

 little value as a means of identifying any of the species 

 described either in the ' Fauna Suecica ' or the ^ Systema 

 Naturse,^ except in a very few instances where the hand- 

 writing of Linne has been preserved on or with the 

 specimens ; and this unfortunately is very seldom the 

 case. 



E. Shell depressed : outer lip usually thin and destitute of a 

 rib : umhilkus very large. 



19. H. ROTUNDA TA"^, Miillcr. 



H. rotundata, Miill. Verm. Hist. pt. ii. p. 29 ; F. & II. iv. p. 80, pi. cxix. 

 f. 6, 7, and (animal) pi. G. G. G. f. 2. 



Body small in comparison with the shell and very slender, 

 rounded in front and ending in a blunt point, slate-colour or 

 light-grey with a faint tinge of blue, veiy finely speckled with 

 black on the front and sides ; tubercles rather large, flat, 

 round and thick, but not very distinct : mantle reddish-yellow, 

 marked with very close and distinct milk-white dots : tentacles 



* Eounded. 



