18/6.] MR. E. A. LIARDET ON FIJIAN LAND-SHELLS. 99 



3, On the Land- Shells of Taviuni^ Fiji Islands, with Descrip- 

 tions of New Species. By E. A. Liardet. 



[Received December 14, 1875.] 

 (Plate V.) 



The land-shells of Taviuni, one of the Fiji group of islands, are 

 neither conspicuous for the uiimber of their species nor for the 

 beauty of their colouring. They mostly inhabit the coast-lands, and 

 are all minute. 



At a slight elevation a moderately large Helix (H. casca) and a 

 Bulimus are common. Some Helicince may also be found, but are 

 rare. PupincB I have only found at elevations from about five 

 hundred feet and upwards, and mostly under decayed logs. Partults 

 frequent the underside of the leaves of Braceence and Dilo-trees near 

 the coast. Partula lirata is the only one I met with. 



But if the want of size or beauty of colouring renders these shells 

 less sought for by the ordinary collector, yet to the naturalist their 

 structure and the habits of their occupants must always be a source 

 of interest. 



The natives of Fiji cannot be induced to seek in the dense forests 

 for shells ; consequently the only way is for the collector to trust to 

 his own researches. This I did ; but the result has fallen far short 

 of my expectations. 



Considering the moist temperature, dense vegetation, and moun- 

 tainous character of the island, all so conducive to the abundant 

 existence of land-mollusca, their scarcity is a matter of surprise. 

 They mostly locate under logs and stones, seldom being exposed to the 

 sun, which, no doubt, accounts for the absence of rich colour in any 

 of the species. 



The numerous small shells on the coast-lands are common to 

 most of the islands ; and being found sheltered by bark on logs 

 and in the decaying husks of old cocoa-nuts, it may be inferred that 

 they have frequently been transported from island to island — and 

 though in some cases destroyed by a subsidence, have again, since 

 the uprising, once more colonized the coast. The island of Ta- 

 viuni would seem to establish this inference ; for it is only at a height 

 of some five hundred feet that Pupince and the larger species of Jiti- 

 limus, Helix, and Helicina are found. Now coral-indications show 

 this island to have been submerged to that level; I would therefore 

 conclude that the last-mentioned shells are the true representatives 

 of the molluscan fauna of that part of the former continent whose 

 peaks are now the islands of Fiji. 



In preparing the following descriptions of species believed to be 

 new I have to acknowledge the assistance I have received from Mr. 

 Henry Adams. 



1. Nanina? taviuniensis, sp. nov. (Plate V. figs. 1, la, b.) 

 Shell globose, minutely perforated, of a light brown colour, smooth 



