HELIX-HELICOPHANTA. 60 



[NOTE. Since the foregoing part of the MANUAL was issued, 

 Messrs. Crosse and Fischer's Histoire Naturelle des Mollusques, being 

 vol. xxv of Grandidier's Histoire Physique, Naturelle et Politiqae 

 de Madagascar, has been received. The part of the work before me 

 consists of 26 plates of land-shells. It is not accompanied by text, 

 and there are numerous errors in the lettering on the plates. I shall 

 notice in the appendix the species of Ampelita figured.] 



Crosse and Fischer figure (Hist. Nat. Moll. Madag., pi. 2, figs. 1- 

 4 under the name of H. vesicalis), two forms referable to H. cornu- 

 giganteum, although fig. 4 has the umbilicus more nearly closed than 

 in the specimens I have seen of that species. Whatever the H. 

 vesicalis of Lamarck may have been, the H. vesicalis of Chenu and 

 the H. cornugiganteum of Deshayes (in Ferussac, Histoire i, p. 284, 

 =vesicalis of Lam. teste Desh.) are undoubtedly the species lately 

 called H. bicingulata by E. A. Smith. 



The same authors figure (Moll. Madag., pi. 9, figs. 2, 3) two shells 

 as varieties of H. guestieriana. These figures seem to correspond 

 A\ 7 ith the shells I have mentioned on page 64 as small varieties of bi- 

 cingulata. The aperture is more oblique than in guestieriana; there 

 is frequently a narrow umbilical rimation. This form (pi. 64, fig. 

 62) may be called var. minima. 



Group of H. magnifica Fer. 



H. MAGNIFICA Ferussac. PI. 9, figs. 16, 17. 



Shell imperforate or with a very narrow chink behind the reflexed 

 columellar lip; globose-depressed; diameter a trifle exceeding the 

 height. It is rather thin but strong and solid ; opaque ; ground 

 color yellow, more or less suffused with chestnut, and with a broad 

 dark brown spiral zone above, one at periphery, and a third upon 

 the umbilical area. These bands are generally split into very numer- 

 ous narrower bands and spiral lines. Surface shining, obliquely 

 striate, under a lens seen to be minutely granulate, except the last 

 one-half of the body-whorl which is obscurely or not at all so. 

 Spire very little raised above the penultimate whorl, almost flat ; the 

 inner 1J whorl increase slowly, the rest very rapidly. The embry- 

 onic shell is extremely large (greatest diam. 23-25 mill.) and finely,, 

 densely granulated under a lens ; its inner whorls are deep purplish- 

 brown, the last one-half whorl dull reddish, lighter at periphery, not 

 distinctly banded. The post-embryonic growth consists of a little 

 more than one volution ; upon this whorl the color-bands are dis- 



