2-32 BECHER : MOLLUSCA OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS. 



I did not turn my attention to the ^lugs. Caruana gives 

 Limax variegatus Drap., L. nigricans Schultz, and L. gagates 

 Drap. Slugs are usually to be seen in damp weather, feeding on 

 human excrement on the road side ; another favourite resort is 

 at the mouth of old wells, which are covered over with a door. 



Helix aperta Born. — Very common. I have one specimen 

 with a calcareous epiphragm. This is according to Benoit 

 very common everywhere in Sicily. 



H. aspersa Miill. — Common. The best localities for obtain- 

 ing a selection of this shell is the refuse heaps outside 

 villages ; the animal being eaten by the Maltese, the empty 

 shells are generally thrown there in quantities. I have 

 taken vars. exalbida Menke and zonata Moq. Dr. Gulia tells 

 me a black variety is sometimes, but very rarely, found. I 

 presume this is var. nigrescens Moq. This is a most com- 

 mon shell in Sicily. Calcara gives ten Sicilian varieties : — 

 1 testa fnagna, 2 spira depressa, 3 anfractibus ventricosis^ 

 4 glabra, 5 striata, 6 tota luteola, 7 flava castaneo fusca 

 fasciata, 8 castaneo-fusca alboflava fasciata et maculata, 

 ^ Jiavo-luteola castaneo-fasciata fasciis interruptis, 10 casta- 

 fiea jflavo-lineata. 



H. Schembrii Scacchi=^. calcarata Benoit. — Very com- 

 mon and, as Fielden says, Hable to be confused with the 

 next species. It has, however, a larger umbilicus and is 

 more strongly striated, as a rule it has a mottled appear- 

 ance, whereas H. pyramidata is generally banded ; this 

 species is not, I believe found in Sicily. It is known better 

 locally by the name calcarata than Schembrii. 



H. pyramidata Drap.=Zr rugosinscula Calcara. Very 

 common. Feilden mentions that a much larger variety is 

 found on the Islet of Filfla, off Malta. I found this variety 

 on Filfla, and not the main-land type. Filfla is a rock 

 covering about three-eighths of an acre, on it is a little 

 herbage. The specimens of the above, Bulinms pupa 

 Linn., and Claiisilia macrosioma Cant., found on this islet, 



J.C, iv;, Oct., 1S84. 



