1834.] On the Fresh-water Shells of India. 89 



situation most favourable to their wants and safety. May not, there- 

 fore, the fact of their being found on the eastern aspect of the rocks and 

 trees be accounted for, by supposing it to originate in a desire to find 

 shelter from the western blast during the dry heats of summer, and to 

 be in a situation to enjoy the first refreshing and invigorating showers 

 of the rainy season ? 



I have put the above as a query, because I am not certain that the 

 rains prevail from the eastward or south-eastward, although at this sta- 

 tion they have certainly done so this year. I shall however take every 

 opportunity of ascertaining, whether the above is a constant habit of 

 the land shells or not, and in this I hope I shall be assisted by others of 

 your correspondents who may be willing to pay attention to the subject. 



Part .2. — On the Fresh-water Univalves. 

 No. 1. — Genus Ampullaria. 



Ampullaria. — Found in jheels; Mr. Benson's description of the ani- 

 mal, as far as I have been able to ascertain, is perfectly correct. 

 Operculum calcareous ? 



Var. With longitudinal brown bands ; found with the last, in jheels 

 at Mirzapoor. 



I have one large specimen with stripes, which is indeed the only one 

 I have seen, but the young ones are very commonly met with. Oper- 

 culum calcareous. 



No. 2. — Paludina, Bengalensis? 



This is a very common shell, occurring plentifully in most jheels and 

 stagnant nullahs. In the Jegu nullah at Chunar they are in abun- 

 dance, but the first specimens I procured at Humeergurh near Nee- 

 much, in a large jheel. The animal is beautifully studded over with black 

 and orange coloured spots. It is ova- viviparous ; from one I obtained 

 102 young ones. Length of the shell from 1§ to 2 inches. The young 

 have a ridge or keel on the body whorl, which makes the aperture sub- 

 triangular ; this is lost in the mature shell. 



The umbilicus of the shell varies much in different spicimens, some 

 shewing scarcely any, while others have it very well defined and rather 

 deep. 



The shell is covered with an olive-green epidermis and longitudi- 

 nally striped with brown ; on the body whorl these stripes are nine in 

 number, and are placed alternately, a narrow one and a broad one. 

 Operculum corneous. 



No. 3. — Paludina. 



In jheels and stagnant nullahs. 



This has a broad brown band running longitudinally from the apex 

 to the aperture. 



M 



