North American Land Snails 



P. Cumberlandiana, Lea, has the open pit and the flattened 

 spire of this sub-genus. It reminds us of the marine genus 

 Solarium, the sun-dial shells. Finely cut, erect ridges diagonally 

 cross its whorls. A thin-edged keel divides the body whorl into 

 an upper and a lower half, and notches the outer lip. The mark- 

 ings of brown are like those of H. alternaia. Diameter, J inch. 



Habitat. — Cumberland Mountains, Tennessee. 



Genus GLYPTOSTOMA, Bland and Binney 



Shell discoidal, with slightly elevated spire; whorls rounded, 

 six; lip thin, simple; umbiHcus broad, showing all the coils 

 plainly; colour black or reddish brown ; parietal wall of aperture 

 beautifully sculptured. Animal bluish slaty. 



The single species known, G. Newberryanum, Binney, is a 

 large snail very common on rocky hill slopes about San Diego, Cal. 

 In summer it hibernates, with its aperture closed. The charac- 

 teristic spiral sculpture of the parietal wall of the aperture be- 

 comes overlaid by a white callus as the shell matures. So the 

 trait upon which the generic name is based is seen only in im- 

 mature specimens. Diameter, i to 2 inches. 



Habitat. — Southern California. 



Genus POLYMITA, Beck 



Shell flattened, globular, brilliantly coloured, solid though 

 thin, whorls three to five; axis solid, outer lip not expanded; 

 animal black above, slaty below. 



The Painted Snail (P. fida, Born.), one of the most gaily 

 dressed of land snails, lives in trees. Individuals are quite 

 different in colouring; this accounts for the large number of named 

 varieties. The ground colour has its beauty heightened by narrow 

 stripes of darker, contrasting colours, that outline the sutures 

 and the outer lip. There are yellow shells ornamented with a 

 scarlet spiral thread; chestnut brown with white bands; dark 

 blue with white-edged black bands, and salmon red, similarly 

 trimmed. The large, half-moon shaped aperture shows a violet 

 or white interior. The simple lip is thickened within. 



What a sight to see these gay little mollusks slipping about 



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