BIBLIOGRAI'HY. 23 



Clare Island Survey, part 23, Land and Freshwater Mollusca, by A. W. 



Stelfox (from Proc. Royal Irish Academy, vol. xxxi.), 64 pp., with 2 plates 

 (Hodges, Figgis & Co., Ltd., Dublin : Price 2/-). 



The survey of Clare Island and the adjacent mainland of West Mayo was first 

 undertaken in 1909, to " furnish a study of a typical area of the west coast of Ire- 

 land." Sixty-eight parts have already been issued, all prepared by specialists, and 

 dealing with practically every group of the fauna and flora. This particular mono- 

 graph, although concerned with but a small area, discusses problems of intense 

 interest to the student of the geographical distribution of the mollusca. We recently 

 had occasion to congratulate Mr. Stelfox on his excellent Irish list, and we are now 

 delighted to welcome another contribution on the Irish molluscan fauna — equally 

 thoughtful, thorough, and exhaustive. 



One of the most attractive features of shell-collecting in Ireland is the com- 

 paratively slight influence hitherto exercised by man on geographical distribution. 

 The effect of man's presence on our land and freshwater shells is only just beginning 

 to be taken seriously into account, but the importance of this line of study is well 

 summed up in Mr. Stelfox's dictum that "the final aim of geographical conchologists 

 is to determine the natural range of a species before man's influence acted upon it," 

 and he is careful to eliminate all records for this area which are probably due to 

 human agency. 



We are very glad to see separate lists of species given for every island that has 

 been explored, as well as for the various mainland districts. We should like to give 

 the most emphatic approval to another remark by the author, in describing the sub- 

 division of the district. " Each island naturally forms a district in itself, no matter 

 how small it liiay be in area." 



The Marine Mollusca of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, part 2 

 (with I plate,) by J. CosMO Melvill, M.A., D.Sc, F.L.S., and R. Standen. 



The Brachiopoda of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (with 

 2 plates,) by J. Wilfrid Jackson, P\G.S. (both from Trans. Roy. Soc, Edin., 

 vol. xlviii. , part 2). Robert Grant & Son, 10;', Princes Street, Edinburgh. 



The first part of Messrs. Melvill and Standen's paper was published in Trans. 

 Roy. Soc, Edin., vol. xlvi., in 1907. In the present part over twenty new species 

 are described, a complete list is given of the species obtained by the expedition, and 

 the bibliography is completed up to 191 2. 



Finally there is a plate of all the new species, which seems to us about the most 

 successful specimen that we have seen of Mr. Searle's art. The whole part is a 

 most valuable contribution to our knowledge of the fauna of the Antarctic and 

 reflects great credit on the authors. 



The same may well be said of Mr. Jackson's paper on the Brachiopods. Only 

 one species and one variety are described as new, but there is much valuable 

 information as to the distribution of previously known forms, and especially as to the 

 development of the internal structure of certain species at different stages of growth. 

 We must congratulate Mr. Jackson on the excellence of his photos, which could 

 hardly be improved upon ; we had the pleasure of examining the beautiful shell- 

 mosaic of several of these species when the author was at work on his paper, and 

 can testify to the thoroughness and soundness of his methods. 



