82 JOURNAL OF CONCHOLOGY, VOL. II, NO. 3, JULY, I904. 



the shells that at low tide, for some distance from the side, they are 

 quite half-an-inch deep, and make the water appear quite black. 

 None of the shells are carinated. 



In Twiss and Son's Illustrated Guide to Ilfracombe is printed a 

 list of shells of the neighbourhood, taken from Gray's edition of 

 Turton's "Manual of Land and Freshwater Shells," This list con- 

 tains sixty-two species, some of which are questionable records. The 

 following are a few of the most doubtful ones: — H. cantiana (Mon- 

 tagu), H. piscina (Miiller) (locality given: a sandhill at Woolacombe), 

 If. itala (Linnd), Lif/mcea auricularia (Linn(^), Neritiua fluviatilis 

 (Linn^). 



The British Species of Vallonia. — Since the "List of British Non-Marine 

 MoUusca" {J. Conch., vol. 10, p. 352) was written Dr. H. A. Pilsbry kindly sent 

 me more examples of the American species identified by Dr. Sterki with Vallonia 

 costata (Miill.). In these, which were well preserved, the striae on the nucleus could 

 be clearly made out under an one-inch objective with a good light. A re-examination 

 of my own series soon showed that I had been unfortunate in not having such 

 well-preserved specimens as I thought and unwise in expecting a more pronounced 

 sculpturing. Through the kindness of Mr. J. H. Ponsonby I have been able to 

 inspect, at my leisure, his whole collection of this genus and I am now satisfied that 

 Vallonia costata (Miiller) is a valid British species. Worn specimens of V. costata 

 and casual examples of V. pulchella mislead me into thinking that linking-forms 

 existed. Moreover, it proves on investigation that Vallonia excentrica Sterki, is, as 

 its founder pointed out (Proc. Acad. Nat. Set. Philad., 1893, p. 278) widely dis- 

 tributed in Great Britain, and is easily recognised when once its difference from 

 Vallonia pulchella {M'vi\\.)\\s.s'been noted. V. ^xfe;//r/V« was originally described 

 {op. cit. , p. 252) as follows :■ — "Shell of medium size, with major diameter markedly 

 longer, and with irregular, somewhat elongated umbilicus, at first rather narrow, 

 then for the last | whorl rapidly widening; slightly rounded convex above, smooth 

 or very finely irregularly striate, strongly and regularly at the umbilicus ; nucleus 

 smooth; pale horn colored, transparent or slightly opaque, with a somewhat faulty 

 gloss; whorls 3-33, rather rapidly increasing with a moderately deep suture, the 

 last comparatively large, well rounded, expanding near the aperture, not descending, 

 or very little at the suture, aperture moderately oblique and inclined, f circular, 

 subangular at the base ; the umbilical margin somewhat protracted ; peristome not 

 everted above, very little at the periphery and moderately below, with a rather 

 strong white lip, thinner at the ends, visible through the shell. Diam. : maj. 2*3, 

 mm. I '8, alt. I "I mm." The umbilicus in V. excentrica is not only eccentric as 

 contrasted with that of V. pulchella but it is less open, and the sutures of the whorls 

 within are more impressed. There are therefore three species of Vallonia in the 

 British Islands, that have hitherto all passed under the name of V. pulchella (},\\\\\.\ 

 From a preliminary inspection of the material in my collection it is apparent that all 

 three also occur in the fossil state. — B. B. Woodwart) {Received December 12, 

 1903, and read before the Society, April 13, 1904). 



