241 



PEESIDElN[TIAL ADDRESS. 



THE HOLOCENE NON-MARINE MOLLUSCA OF ENGLAND. 



By A. S. Kennard, F.G.S. 



Delivered 9th February, 19S3. 



Malacology, like other sciences, contains within its borders 

 many branches of research. There is the literary side, partly the 

 result of the laws of nomenclature, necessitating a knowledge of 

 books and all that pertains thereto. This, though sometimes 

 derided by superficial critics, does enable one to become acquainted 

 with the literature of the subject, an extremely important factor in 

 all scientific work. Judging by some recent work there is, alas, 

 too often a tendency to consider that all previous work can be 

 safely ignored, a misconception attended by disastrous results. 

 Anatomy, Ecology, Embryology, Genetics, Palaeontology, and 

 Systematics all form part of that science which we are banded 

 together to promote, whilst the importance of the mollusca as food, 

 the value of their " gouty " products as gems, and the fact that 

 some species are the intermediate hosts of deadly internal parasites, 

 of Man and domesticated animals, enable us to add Economics as 

 well. For myself the borderland between palaeontology and zoology 

 has always been a very attractive sphere, and to-night I would 

 crave the indulgence of the Members and endeavour to place before 

 them the results of recent work on the Holocene Non-marine 

 Mollusca of England. For various reasons into which there is no 

 need to enter, this branch of study is a comparatively recent one, 

 and even the use of the word Holocene with us only dates from 

 1897 {Essex Naturalist, x, July, 1897, p. 92 and table ; and Quart. 

 Journ. Geol. Soc, vol. liii, p. 434). ^ 



With regard to the history of the subject, the earliest reference 

 I can trace is the account of a deposit and its contained mollusca 

 at Mears Ashby in Northamptonshire by the Rev. J. Morton {Phil. 



^ Mr. C. Davies Sherborn, however, in January, 1916, drew the attention 

 of Mr. B. B. Woodward and myself to the, following quotation, the existence 

 of which had been quite unknown to us : " A ce point de vue, les etres organises 

 qui ont remplace ceux du pliocene et les terrains dans lesquels nous en 

 recueillons les depouilles, ont ete plus justement nommes Pleistocenes, ceux 

 aux quels ils ont succede portant les noms de Pliocenes, Miocenes et Eocenes. 

 On pourrait aussi appeler Holocenes, ceux de I'epoque historique, ou dont le 

 depot n'est pas anterieur a la presence de I'homme ; mais, ainsi que nous 

 I'avons dit, il ne parait pas que Ton doive les separer des terrains diluviens 

 eux-memes ou des premiers depots pleistocenes, puisque ceux-ci renferment 

 certaines espfeces de Mammif eres qui ont evidemment continue a vivre jusqu'ici. 

 Sous ce rapport, les terrains pleistocenes meritent egalement le nom de terrains 

 holocenes." (Paul Gervais, " Sur la repartition des Mammiferes fossiles 

 entre les differents etages tertiaires," etc. : Mem. Acad. Sci. Montpellier, Sect, 

 des Sci., Tom. i [pt. iv, 1850], p. 413.) 



