North American Helices. 11 



Gray {Catdl. of Pulmonata^ 1855) lias the genus Zonites in 

 the Family Arionidse, but in a paper, " On the Arrangement of 

 the Land Pulmoniferous Mollusca into Families''' {Ann. and 

 Mag. of Nat. Hist. YL, Zd Series, 267, 1860), he suggests im- 

 portant changes in the arrangement proposed in the Catalogue. 



In the paper referred to he thus characterizes and remarks 

 on the family Parmacellidse, to ^vhich, as I imderstand it, he 

 anticipates that Zonites will be found to belong : 



"Mantle central, large, shield-like, free in front, more or less covered 

 with a spiral shell. Young and adult alike. Foot truncated behind, 

 with a subterminal gland. Parmacellus, Mariella, Zaconia (Cat. pp. 

 62, 63), VitriJiella, JVanina, and the allied genera, will probably be 

 found to belong to this family when the animals are more closely exa- 

 mined." 



"With the description of Zonites, in which he places one Ame- 

 rican species only (euryomphalus Pfr., from Guatemala), Gray 

 introduces an account from Ferussac {Tah. Si/s. 10) of the 

 animal of H. algira Z., the type of the genus, in which the fol- 

 lowing occurs : — " If the mucous pore does not exist in this 

 species as in the Arions, a well marked slit is to be observed in 

 its place, to which the grooves on the upper part of the foot 

 tend." 



Albers thus describes the Genus Zonites : — 



" ZoxiTES Montfort. T. umbilicata, orbiculato-convexa vel depressa, 

 striata vel decussata, subtuslaevis, nitida; anfr. 6-7 sensim accrescentes ; 

 apertura obliqua, lunaris ; perist. rectum, acutum, intus leviter labiatura. 



" Maxilla magna, simplex, parum arcuata, a latere attenuata, medio 

 tuberculo valido, rostriformi munita. Palpi labiales distincti. Porus 

 mucosus oblongus in apice pedis. Radula denticulis marginalibus elon- 

 gatis, aculeiformibus. Folliculi mucosi, bursa et sagitta araatoria 

 desunt, flagellum obsoletum, vagina papillis mucosis orbiculatim cir- 

 cumdata." Die Heliceen, 2 ed. p. 65. 



Albers divides the genus into two subgenera, viz. Aegopis 

 Fitz. and Moreletia Pfr., of which algirus L. and euryomjjha- 

 lus Pfr. are the types. He has no American species excepting 

 euryomjphalus in the genus, and although extensively remark- 

 ing on Dr. Binney's writings places faliginosa and its allies 



