JOURNAL OF CONCHOLOGY. 421 
extended by him to all who ask for help in their researches at 
our Natural History Museum, S. Kensington. 
We may add, that so far as was possible, our National 
Collection has been supplied with examples of the new species, 
many of which are also contained in Mr. Darbishire’s and our 
own private collections. The original types are a// in the 
Manchester Museum, Owens College. 
ee —_ 
A Preliminary Note on the Genitalia of Hyalinia (Zonitoides) 
nitida Mill. and Hy. excavata Bean.—The examination of a number of 
specimens of Hyalinza nitida Miill. and Hy. excavata Bean, gathered at 
Bardsley, near Ashton-under-Lyne, in March and April last, has disclosed 
the existence in both species of a remarkable organ hitherto believed to be 
unknown, except in the section Coch/icella of Helix.* Both species possess 
darts which have been described and figured by the late Mr. Ashford in this 
Journal, 1883-85. Mr. Ashford figures the dart of “My. nztzda as mature 
with hesitation, since out of about one hundred specimens obtained from 
Hampshire in July and August, only one hada dart. Out of a large series 
of Hy. excavata examined by Mr. Ashford, scarcely ten per cent. produced 
darts. Eleven of my specimens of //y. #z¢éda gathered in March and April 
yielded three darts, and eleven /y. excavata yielded exactly the same number 
of darts. So far as could be ascertained, all the Bardsley shells are mature ; 
no immature darts were found. The dart sac of the specimens destitute of 
darts was finger-shaped, without any trace of the peculiar lobe of the dart- 
bearing forms. Several mounts of the genitalia of both species were prepared 
for the purpose of photographing the darts 7 set. The photo-micrographs 
revealed a dark patch in the region of the penis where the calcareous organ 
is found in Helix (Cochlicella) acuta. On examination, the penis was found 
to contain a very minute channel-shaped calcareous organ, bearing a distinct 
rim or collar at one end. All the dart-bearing specimens possessed the cal- 
careous organ, and none of the specimens destitute of darts contained the 
calcareous organ. The genitalia of the dart-bearing forms are very much 
more developed than those of the others, the difference in size alone being 
very conspicuous, and as no immature darts or transitional dart sacs have 
yet been found, this point awaits further elucidation. The spermatheca of 
both species is very peculiar. Instead of being composed of a single duct, 
there is a distinct bifurcation, one branch seems to pass behind the penis, 
whilst the other and smaller appears to take the usual course. Whether both 
these branches are ducts, or whether one is only a muscular attachment, has 
not yet been verified. Mr. J. W. Taylor informs me that although the 
bifurcation of the spermatheca is not figured by Mr. Ashford, he refers to it 
in his MS. notes and unpublished drawings. These notes are merely pre- 
liminary, as continuous observations are intended throughout the year, prior 
to dealing more exhaustively with the subject.—W. Moss. (ead before the 
Conchological Soctety, May 12, 1897). 
* Moss and Paulden, Reproductive Organs of Budimus acutus (Helix acuta), 
Trans. Manch. Micr. Soc., 1892. 
