158 JOURNAL OF CONCHOLOGY, VOL. I5, NO. 5, JANUARY, I9I7. 



oval in shape, 4"5 x 4 mm., witli a tough membranous cuticle, thickly 

 coated with limy crystals, which, however, do not give the eggs the 

 firmness of those of H. poniatla. H. nemoralis L. has rounded-oval 

 eggs, 3 X 2 "5 mm. in diameter, pure white, or yellowish-white, opaque, 

 hard, and brittle. The eggs of H. hortensis Miill. agree in dimensions 

 with those of H. nemoralis L., but are perfectly oval in shape, and 

 the opaque-white and slightly glossy calcareous shell is thickly studded 

 with microscopic rhomboidal crystals. When newly laid the eggs of 

 H. hortensis Miill. are highly phosphorescent, and glow in the dark, 

 but this gradually disappears as the shell thickens and becomes 

 opaque. I have not noticed this phenomenon in H. nemoralis L. 

 The eggs of H. arbustoruni L. are laid in small clusters of thirty or 

 more at the roots of plants. They are spherical in shape, semitrans- 

 parent when deposited, eventually becoming opaque and yellowish. 

 Hygroinia rufescens (Auctt.) has pure white, globular eggs, i"5 mm. 

 in diameter. H. hispida (L.) lays from thirty to forty eggs ; they are 

 globose, opaque-white, i mm. in diameter. Helix {Folydontes^ 

 imperator Mont., from Cuba, has large, oblong, calcareous eggs 

 measuring 12 x 8 "5 mm. In the genus Thelidonius, e.g., JET. incerta 

 Fer. they are oval. I have eggs of Amis distorta Brug., from West 

 Indies (ex Gibbons Collection) ; they are oval, white, with a faint 

 tinge of pink, calcareous, and measure 6 x 5*5 mm. Gibbons de- 

 scribes the egg of Buliinimis mozanibicemis Pfr. as ovate-globular, 

 white, with a thin calcareous shell, and rather more than i mm. in 

 diameter. 



Very large eggs are produced by the superbly coloured shells of 

 the Ceylonese arboreal genus Acavus ; two or three at a time. In 

 A. phxnix Pfr. the egg is oblong-oval, dull white, measuring 20 x 15 

 mm. ; that of A. superbus Pfr., elongate-oval, livid-white, 22 x 16 

 mm. ; A. licemastotna L., oblong-oval, shining white, smooth, 18x15 

 mm. ; that of A. lualtoni Rve., elongate-oval, bluish-white, 21 x 14 

 mni. In this group the egg is about one-third the diameter of the 

 adult shell. The eggs are deposited in moist places under the mould 

 around the roots of large trees. The country people know them well, 

 and enjoy opening them to find the young snail inside, which even 

 before hatching exhibits the varied and beautiful colours of the adult. 



Hedley, in "Records of the Australian Museum," 1892, groups 

 Panda falconeri Rve. and its allies, Pedinogyra cunninghatni Gray, 

 Caryodes dufresni Leach, Anoglypta launcestonensis Rve., with 

 Liparus inflatus Rve. and its allies under the group Macroon, as 

 representatives of the Australasian Helices, producing large, white, cal- 

 careous eggs. He gives very good reasons for this arrangement 

 directing attention to features of their eggs, embryonic shells, an 



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