Mr. C. Hcdley on Australian Slugs. 169 



The foregoing is intended merely as a preliminary commu- 

 nication, since, as already mentioned, I purpose to treat tlie 

 development of Dreissena more fully later on. In conclu- 

 sion I would just remark that Prof. Blochmann writes to me 

 from Rostock that he has found the larvee of Dreissena in 

 the Warnow. Finally, I cannot refrain from expressing in 

 this place also my most sincere thanks to privy-councillor 

 Schulze for the great kindness with which he placed the 

 resources of the Institute at my disposal for the collection of 

 material, which was repeatedly necessary, and afforded me 

 the opportunity of making abundant use of the reservoir in 

 the garden of the Institute, whereby my task was materially 

 facilitated. 



XXVIII. — Eemarhs on Australian Slugs. By C. HedleY, 

 F.L.S., Assistant in Zoology to the Australian Museum. 



In a recent number (Feb. 1891) of this Magazine exception 

 was taken by my friend Mr. Pilsbry to the treatment of some 

 American slugs by Mr. Cockerell. I also wish, as " one who 

 has studied the species in their native forests," to add my 

 remonstrance against the manner in which the same author 

 has dealt with the Australian representatives in his essay 

 "On the Geographical Distribution of Slugs" (P. Z. S. 

 1891, pp. 214-226). I hope that I am not overstepping the 

 bounds of courteous criticism by characterizing this article as 

 somewhat superficial though pretentious, and by adding that 

 the eonchological fraternity would have been more grateiful to 

 this author had he contributed to the treasury of science more 

 " facts and figures " and fewer MSS. names and imperfect 

 generic diagnoses. 



The description ^ of Limax megaJodontes, Quoy and 

 Gaimard, though considered by Mr. Cockerell not to be very 

 clear, is amply sufiicient to debar the entrance of that species 

 into the genus Aneitea. The jaw is minutely described and 

 is certainly that of a Li'max, while the statements that " le 

 manteau assez dtendu est ovale [that of Aneitea is always 

 triangular] et susceptible sans doute de recouvrir la tete. . . . 

 La couleur de cet individu est d'un blane jaunatre parseme de 

 taches noir. . . . Sa longeur est d'un pouce huit lignes," con- 

 vince me the French writers had before them the introduced 

 species L.Jlavus, Linn., still common in the same locality. 



* Voyage of the ' Uranie,' Zoology, p. 426. 



