liv HISTORY OP ACHATINELLID^E. 



shells Swainson in 1828 erected the genus Achatinella, with 

 the following species: A. pica, perversa, livida, bulimoides, 

 rosea, pulcherrima and acuta. The type of Helix byronii 

 Wood was also from the same source. 



In 1845 Dr. J. W. Mighels described twelve species of 

 Achatinellidce and many other Hawaiian shells, and in the 

 same year Dr. A. A. Gould published seven species, collected 

 by the Wilkes Exploring Expedition. 



In the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 

 for 1845, p. 89, Doctor L. Pfeiffer offered some remarks on 

 Achatinella, which he here for the first time adopted as a 

 genus. He enumerated 18 species, described lay Chemnitz, 

 Ferussac, Swainson and himself. A few additional species 

 were described in the following year, all from the Cuming 

 collection. 



The monograph in Conchologia Iconica by Lovell Reeve, 

 published in April-May, 1850, brought the subject fairly up 

 to date. It was marred by erroneous identifications of some 

 of the earlier species, which were a source of error for many 

 years. 45 species are admitted and figured, 15 being de- 

 scribed as new from the Cuming collection; about half of 

 which are still considered valid. Some of the Cumingian 

 shells were received from Mighels ; others were doubtless from 

 Thomas Nuttall, who collected plants and shells in the Islands, 

 and who is known to have contributed Hawaiian marine shells 

 to Cuming 's collection. The figures of Reeve's monograph 

 are beautifully drawn and lithographed and well colored 

 in the original edition, but in separate copies of the mono- 

 graph I have seen the lithographs are coarse (from improper 

 removal of the varnish put on the stones to preserve the 

 drawings), and the coloring is crude. 



II. 



In the decade 1850-1860 the subject passed largely into the 

 hands of Hawaiian Americans. It was the era of the dis- 

 covery and definition of species. The quantity of work along 

 these lines accomplished in five or six years is marvellous. 



