Mr. R. T. Lowe on a new Madeiran Helix. 43 
glens of the inner mountain mazes and recesses of the island,— 
reduced perhaps, as in the case of the abundant Porto-Santan 
fossil, H. coronata, Desh., and of the rarer H. Lowei, Fér., to a 
few individuals surviving in a single spot. 
Except the discovery in July 1855, by Mr. Wollaston and 
myself, in Madeira, of living H. tiarella, Webb, and of a single 
live example of H. Lowei, Fér., in 1857, by Sr. J. M. Moniz, in 
the Ilheo de Cima, off Porto Santo, this fine new Heliz is by far 
the most important and interesting addition made of late years* 
to the Madeiran Helicological fauna, whose treasures are thus 
proved to be by no means exhausted. My first impression, on 
its discovery, was indeed that of utter astonishment how so large 
and striking a species could have escaped previous detection. It 
was found alive, on the 17th and 18th of April last, in a single 
spot, on the surface of the somewhat moist, loose, friable, black 
vegetable mould, amongst tufts of grasses, ferns, &c., on a steep, 
dry, sunny bank clothed with shrubs of Vaccinium and Heath 
(Erica arborea, L.), mixed with a few scattered trees of Laurus, 
at the foot of perpendicular crags, along the new Levada called 
the Levada da Fajaa dos Vinhaticos, about three miles below its 
source in the bed or stream of the Ribéiro do Fayal, a little 
below the top or ridge on the S.W. slope of the great lateral 
spur or buttress through which the principal or longest tunnel 
has been perforated. Searching here for common sylvan species 
with my Portuguese attendants, the first example was discerned 
by one of them, José Rodriguez of Machico, whose good fortune 
was almost simultaneously shared by the rest of us ; for, though 
apparently quite local, and confined here to a short and narrow 
band of a few yards wide, reaching down the mountain-side 
some fifty yards or more, it seemed tolerably abundant on the 
spot; and a reward of at first a pistreen (10d.), and then a 
bit (5d.) for each example, soon procured a fair supply of living 
specimens. In association with it, I found H. actinophora, H. 
bifrons, and Vitrine abundantly. H. membranacea and erubes- 
cens also occurred more sparingly. 
In the first moments of surprise at the sight of these examples 
lying on the black mould of the bank, under dead leaves amongst 
the grass and herbage, I imagined that I had either found some 
extraordinary new Cyclostoma of the discoidal group typified by 
C. planorbula, Yam., or discovered at last the long-desired 
recent shell of H. Deiphinula. Presently undeceived as to the 
former notion by the protrusion of the animal, I perceived almost 
as soon the untenableness of the latter; for, though in size and 
general aspect, no less than in the open spirally-grooved umbi- 
* H. coronata, Desh., was discovered alive by Mr. Wollaston in 1848. 
