SMITH : NOTE ON HELIX RUFESCENS. 37 



Since Pennant's death his collection has remained at Downing 

 Hall, Holywell, Flintshire, where he resided all his life, from 1726 

 to 1798. The property subsequently came into the possession of 

 the Denbigh family, and it is the present Earl of Denbigh to whom 

 the Museum is indebted for the specimens here referred to. 



It now becomes necessary to determine what name must be 

 assigned to the Helix rufescens of authors. 



It certainly is the Helix turiurtim of Gmelin ^ in part, since he 

 quotes the reference to Lister, but his other references to 

 Schlotterbeck and Martini have nothing to do with the Listerian 

 shell. In Gmelin's diagnosis the word rotundata occurs, which is 

 applicable to the figures of Schlotterbeck and Martini, and even 

 to that of Lister, which is drawn sinistral, and might be described 

 as rotundata, for it resembles very little the shell {rufescens, auct.) 

 which he evidently had before him. 



Considering the confusion surrounding Gmelin's Helix turturum, 

 I am inclined to disregard it entirely. 



Helix circinata, H. ntontana, and H ccelata, described very briefly 

 (but not figured) by Studer in 1820", are said to be the same as 

 rufescens, auct., but from the very short descriptions they are certainly 

 not identifiable. Subsequently, in 1828, Carl Pfeiffer united 

 inontana and circinata, and the shell he described and figured^ is 

 evidently the same as the British species. I would, therefore, 

 suggest that the shell in question should at present ■* bear the 

 name of Hygromia montana (Studer) Pfeiffer. Helix striolata 

 C. Pfeiffer is apparently a synonym, and although the description 

 of it appeared on p. 28, and that of inontana on p. 33 of the same 

 work, I prefer to suggest the adoption of the latter name, since 

 it was proposed by Studer eight years before the appearance of 

 PfeifFer's book. 



The Helix corrugata Hartmann with the varieties clandestina, 

 corrugata, ccelata, and charpentieri, described and figured in the 'Neue 

 Alpina,' 1821, vol. i. p. 236, are not identifiable with certainty from 

 Hartniann's description and the figure of the var. ccelata, and therefore 

 cannot be considered as antedating the H. montana properly 

 established in 1828. 



r Syst. Nat. p. 3639. 



2 Syst. Verzeich. Schweizer-Conch. p. 12. 



3 Naturgesch. Land- und Siisswasser Moll. Abtheil. iii. p. 33, pi. vi. fig. 9 (fig 10 by 

 mistake in text see p. 53). 



4 Should H. glabella of Diapainaud eventually prove to be the same species, as is stated 

 to be the case by some authors, that name should be retained instead of montana. 



