THE MOLLUSCA OF CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 

 By H. H. BKINDLEY, M.A., St John's College. 



THE Mollusca are fairly well represented in the county of 

 Cambridge, since 101 of the 143 or so British species have 

 been recorded. This is, however, a larger total than those of 

 all the bordering counties except Essex, yet it seems probable 

 that further search may add to the present list. Exploration 

 has no doubt been restricted by the facts that the large towns 

 are at the north and south ends of the county and that the 

 intermediate region is one of small villages and scattered 

 farmsteads. At the same time the comparatively recent 

 alteration in the physical features of much of the county 

 demands attention in considering its fauna. The draining of 

 the Fenland has during the last 300 years converted vast 

 areas of brackish tidal waters into dry land, and so the absence 

 of at least some of the xerophilous species common enough 

 in other parts of England is not difficult to understand. 



Beyond this it would be hazardous to say much, for our 

 knowledge of the molluscan fauna of the central districts is 

 at present very inadequate, and much remains to be done in 

 the exploration of the region through which the Bedford 

 Levels run, the tidal waters of those artificial streams, and of 

 the region forming the Isle of Ely, before we can consider that 

 the mollusca of the county have been fully recorded. The 

 immediate neighbourhood of Cambridge has been the scene of 



