WEBB : ON THE GENUS MAEI^LLA. 149 



say that this traveller presented several living wild animals, including 

 a tiger, to the Paris Museum, which points to his having visited India. 



If Grray's locality were right, and any important points of difference 

 could be made out between his species and the Cingalese forms, 

 there might be some hesitation before placing M. Thwaitesii and 

 M. NordenskioUi as synonyms of M. Bussumieri., to which Mr. Collett's 

 specimens must also be referred. But no differences of body or shell 

 can be determined, and the internal organs of the unique original 

 specimen cannot well be examined. 



The occurrence of Maricella in Ceylon, southern India, and the 

 Seychelles, that is, in the Cingalese district and the Malagasy region, 

 seems to be regarded by Mr. Cockerell ^ as an anomaly in distribution, 

 but it can be looked upon as one more point in favour of the theory 

 now gaining ground - that a more or less uninterrupted land con- 

 nection formerly existed between these various localities. 



That a species may have remained undifferentiated even in places 

 so far remote as Mahe and Ceylon, is possible ; and under the existing 

 circumstances the specific name J/. Dmsumieri must stand for both 

 Cingalese and Seychelles forms ; but if at some future time there 

 be reason for separating the examples from Ceylon the name 

 M. Thwaitesii, Humbert, must be retained for them. 



Through the kindness of our President, Lieut. -Col. Godwin -Austen, 

 the writer has been enabled to examine the original specimens and 

 preparations of M. Beddomei and to dissect another example. Some 

 differences in the genitalia, other than those of size, were made 

 out, which will be alluded to later on, and which are considered 

 sufficient to separate this as a distinct species. 



BiBLIOGEAPHT AND StnONTMY .OP THE GeNUS. 



In 1855 Gray constituted the genus MariaMa^ [Clypeidella, Yalen- 

 ciennes MS., non Clypidella, Swainson), with the following characters 

 and containing M. Bussumieri from Mahi : — 



" Mantle or body convex, produced like a fleshy collar in front, 

 swollen behind, and separated from the upper part of the foot, in 

 a cavity of which it lies, fringed on the side. Foot compressed, 

 truncated, and with an elongate perpendicular gland behind. Shell 

 quite hidden by the mantle, half ovate, solid, with a thin, horny, 

 moi'e or less expanded edge.'' 



In the description of the type species it is further stated that 

 "the mantle is smooth above, with three slight keels on the hinder 

 part, the central one the largest and most distinct, back without the 

 slightest appearance of a hole." 



It will be noted that there is no express statement in the generic 

 description as to whether the term " fringed on the side " refers to the 

 mantle or to the body, but a glance at the type at once shows that 



' Nautilus, vol. xii (1898), p. 10. 



2 Cf. Giinther, Proc. Linn. Soc. London, Oct. 1898, p. 22. 



3 Cat. Pulmonata in Brit. Mus., pt. 1 (1885), p. 62. 



