The Nautilus. 



Vol. XIII. JULY, 1899. No. 3. 



EPIPHRAGMOPHORA FIDELIS GRAY. 



BY P. B. RANDOLPH. 



This species is found in great abundance in and around Seattle. 

 On the bicycle path that runs around the north end of town they can 

 be seen by the score on 'warm spring days, and I thought a few notes 

 on size, coloration and banding would be of interest to the readers 

 of the Nautilus. 



The first thing that attracts the attention of the collector is the 

 variety of the coloration of the shells, ranging from dusky brown to 

 nearly white. 



In the dark forms the bands are nearly obscured ; in the albino 

 form {E. Jidelis flava Hemp.), ours differ from the description (4th. 

 Sup. oth. Vol. Terrestial Air-Breathing Mollusks, Binney. p. 185) 

 in that the bands are very faint on the upper half of the body whorl 

 and from the periphery gradually growing darker to the umbilicus. 

 In twelve examples before me there are no signs of bands on the 

 other whorls. From the body whorl the color grows lighter and the 

 embryonic whorl shows a decidedly pinkish tinge. The entire shell 

 is covered with a thin yellow epidermis which in adult specimens is 

 generally destroyed, leaving the upper surface a dead white. 



Albinos are not uncommon, averaging about one in one hundred 

 of the common form. This form and var. minor, have been found, 

 to my knowledge, only in or near clearings, never in the deep woods 

 or swamps. 



