



58 PKOVISIONAL AID TO THE STUDY OF TASMANIAN MOLLTTSCA. 



known species contained in the list prepared by me were 

 described by over 75 distinct authors at different times and in 

 various publications, yet the greater half (384) were described 

 by five persons, and among these the Rev. J.E. Tenison- Woods 

 alone described 212 species, or nearly a third of the whole. 

 Following next in order to the work of this gifted naturalist 

 last named (whose death, recently, is a loss which all Austral- 

 asians most deeply deplore), come the names of Lamarck, Reeve, 

 Sowerby, Petterd, Cox, Deshayes, Brazier, Quoy, A.. Adams, 

 Gray, Beddome and Angas, all of whom score double figures 

 as regards the number of species described by them 

 respectively. 



My own contributions to local Conchology hitherto have 

 been mainly confined to the Fossil Mollusca, although I have 

 been enabled to give the results of long extended observations, 

 and have added 9 new species to the list, in various papers 

 contributed at different times to this Society. Taking the 

 names of Tenison-Woods, Petterd, Cox, Brazier, and Beddome, 

 as local workers, we have some reason to be proud of their 

 accomplishments, for although later in the field, and only 

 numbering 5 out of the 75 authors of species, they have 

 between them described nearly half the number of all the 

 known Tasmanian species. 



The labours of the Eev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, F.L.S., etc., 

 deserve special reference, for his writings in all branches of 

 Australasian Natural History are so numerous and valuable 

 that they form in themselves a considerable library. Apart 

 from his many works published in the proceedings of kindred 

 societies in Australia and New Zealand, his interesting 

 volume published many years ago on the Geology of South 

 Australia, and his fine work on the Fishes and Fisheries of 

 New South Wales, he has contributed no less than 31 

 important cormmmications to the Royal Society of Tasma.nia, 

 four of which form the chief source of our information 

 concerning the marine and fresh water shells of this Island. 



Nor must we forget the labours of another local worker, 

 who although not appearing among the authors of species, 

 has perhaps done more for the science of Conchology in this 

 island than any other single person. I refer to Mr. W. 

 Legrand. This indefatigable naturalist may truly be regarded 

 as the Pioneer of Conchology in Tasmania. He, assisted by 

 Dr. Cox and Mr. Brazier, published the first really important 

 work on Tasmanian Conchology in the year 1870 (Monograph 

 of Tasmanian Land Shells), which afterwards formed the 

 principal part of Mr. Petterd's later monograph on the same 

 subject, published in the year 1878. Nor were Mr. Legrand's 

 labours confined to the land shells. For many years he was 

 the only person who possessed an extensive knowledge of our 



