219 



A PRELIMINAEY LIST OF RECENT MIDDLESEX MOLLUSCA. 



By J. E. CooPEE and A. Lotdell. 



Read llth December, 1908. 



We venture to submit the following list, though far from complete, 

 as a contribution towards the census of recent Middlesex Mollusca. 

 So far as we know, no list has been published for the county since 

 1836 (supplement to Daniel Cooper's " I'lora Metropolitana "). The 

 last revision of the Conchological Society's census enumerates eighty 

 species for vice-county twenty-one. We have verified seventy-three 

 of these, and we can also add twenty-one species which are not given 

 in that list, so that with some old records we now enumerate 110 

 species. 



The surface of Middlesex is chiefly London Clay, with con- 

 siderable stretches of river-gravel on the lower ground and some 

 alluvium along the rivers. In the north there are a few patches 

 of Bagshot Sand and some Drift Clay (both singularly bai'ren of 

 Mollusca), while the Chalk appears in the extreme north-west corner 

 of the county. Yerj- little Chalk lies actually within the county, but 

 its influence is felt by the molluscan life of the Colne Valley. 



Some vestiges of ancient woodland still remain round Harefield, 

 Pinner, Harrow Weald, East Einchley, Stanmore, Enfield, and a few 

 other spots, but they do not appear to shelter many snails. Vitrea pura 

 and v. radiatula are characteristic of these areas. 



Since the county is bounded on three sides by rivers — the Colne, the 

 Thames, and the Lea — there is no lack of fresh-water species, and the 

 low-lying land bordering the rivers harbours many slugs and snails. 



We are indebted to Mr. B. B, Woodward for identifying the greater 

 part of the Pisidia^ and for kindly furnishing us with numerous old 

 records which we should not otherwise have seen ; we have also to 

 thank Mr. A. S. Kennard and Mr. B. A. E. Priske for various notes 

 of localities. 



Where no reference follows the localities enumerated below we 

 have ourselves collected the shells in question. In all other cases 

 we append references, using the following abbreviations : — 



T.M.= " A monograph of the land and fresh-water Mollusca of the 

 British Isles," by J. W. Taylor. 



B.C. = "British Conchology," by J. Gwyn Jeffreys, 1862. 



Bim. = "Land and fresh- water shells of the Britisli Isles," by 

 R. Bimmer, 1880. 



J.C. = Journal of Concholog3^ 



S.G. = Science GossijD. 



1. Testacella Maugei, Eer. 



A single specimen is in the British Museum (Natui-al History), 

 marked as coming from a garden at Kensington, and Mr. E. A. Smith, 

 I.S.O., kindly informs us it was received in a collection of British 

 shells bequeathed by a Mrs. Bobinson in April, 1848. 



