PSEUDACHATINA. 205 



Family ACHATINIDJE. 



Achatinida PFR., Nomencl. Hel. Viv., 1878, 260, in part. 

 Stenogyridce FISCHER, Manuel, p. 486, in part. 

 Achatinida D'AILLY, Bihang K. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 

 xxii, pt. 4, p. 61. 



Genus PSEUDACHATINA Albers, 1850. 



ALBERS, Die Hel., p. 192, for A. downesii. SHUTTLEWORTH, 

 Notitiae Malacologies, i, p. 85. KOBELT, Conchylien Cabinet, 

 i, lOte Abth., pp. 8-23 (1893). D'AILLY, Contributions a la 

 connaissance des mollusques terrestres et d'eau douce de 

 Kameroun, in Bihang til Kongl. Svenska Vetenskaps-Aka- 

 demiens Handlingar, xxii, pp. 85-100 (1896). 



Shell imperforate, oblong-turrite or pyramidal, solid and 

 opaque; usually coarsely plicate; reddish or red-flammulate, 

 or sometimes white, under a more or less completely fuga- 

 cious fibrous cuticle. Apex obtuse and rather large, the first 

 whorl closely engraved spirally, next whorl finely corrugated 

 or granulate (pi. 3, fig. 13). Whorls about 8. Aperture ob- 

 lique, ovate, much less than half the shell's length, the outer 

 Up expanded or re flexed, columella obliquely truncate at base. 



Type A. downesii. Distribution, Kamerun and Gabun, 

 equatorial West Africa. 



These snails live on the wide leaves of the " elephant 

 plant/' and on the foliage of shrubs and trees, often as high 

 as 5 meters from the ground. Like Achatina marginata, they 

 lay their eggs in trees, in the axils of the branches near the 

 trunk. 



P. wrighti, one of the most distinct species, is the most 

 northern in distribution, being from Old Calabar. The many 

 forms grouping around P. downesii are characteristic of the 

 Kamerun (Cameroon) region; while still further southward 

 lies the range of P. gabonensis. Further exploration will, 

 doubtless, add largely to the number of species and local 

 races, already numerous and difficult to distinguish. 



The most extensive papers dealing with Pseudachatina are 

 the monograph by Kobelt, in the new edition of the Conchy- 



