86 



Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



As in the case of several other species, 

 the shells found on the western islands 

 are mostly of the woodland type, 

 although no woods now remain there. 

 In many districts round the coast the 

 greenish-white form is sometimes 

 found, hut seldom met with in numhers. 

 Variation in the spire is also consider- 

 ahle ; hut no importance from a distri- 

 butional point of view is attached to 

 such variation. 



HELIGIDAE. 



Helicella virgata (Da Costa). 



Helix virgata, Thompson, Cat. L. & F. 

 W. Moll, of Ireland, p. 14, 1840. 



WD ED LD AN 



FE TY AR DO 

 WMSL LE MO 



EM RO cv LH 

 WG NC LF WH ME 

 SG KG KD DU 

 CL NT QC GW Wl 

 NK LK ST KK WX 

 SK MG EG WA 

 WC 



Of our four Irish HeliceUae this is 

 the only one with a re>;tricted distribu- 

 tion, though abundant in places where 

 it does occur. It is common thi'oughout 

 the central and eastern, and many of 

 the southern counties, decreasing in 

 abundance towards the north-west and 

 north. From Ulster it is almost absent, 

 being found only in the south-east and 

 in three localities in northern Antrim, 

 one of which is on Eathlin Island. 

 Like Pt/ramidula rupestris, the only 

 western island on which it has been so 



far observed is Inishmore, one of the 

 Aran Islands. Throughout the greater 

 part of its range in Ireland, this species 

 shows the usual variation ; but in the 

 Antrim habitats the type is never seen, 

 and all specimens are referable to the 

 vars. alba or suimaritima, the former 

 being found on Rathlin only, while the 

 latter occUlI's in all three localities.' 



Helicella itala (Linne). 



Helix ericetonon, Thompson, Cat. L. and 

 F. W, MoU. of Ireland, p. 16, 1840. 



WD ED LD AN 



FE TY AR DO 



WMSL LS MO 



EM RO cv LH 

 WG NG LF WH ME 

 SG KG KD DU 

 GL NT QG GW Wl 

 NK LK ST KK WX 

 SK MG EG WA 

 WC 



Occurs on practically all the sand- 

 dune areas round the coast, but is 

 noticeably absent from those of Louth 

 and Down, and some of those in Sligo. 

 Over the limestone districts, with the 

 exception of those of Sligo, Monaghan, 

 Cavan, Fermanagh, and Tyrone, it is 

 also generally distributed ; and on the 

 western islands where suitable condi- 

 tions prevail, it is not often absent. 

 Tlic form which lives in tlie eastern 

 counties and on the central plain is, as 

 a rule, larger and flatter than that met 



• A peculiarly higb-spireil and apparently 

 foreign form has been intioduced with ballast 

 on the railway embankment at Magheramome, 

 in the south of Antiiui. — Irish Xat., xv, TO. 



