REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF MOLLUSKS (INCLUDING CENOZOIC 

 FOSSILS) IN THE U. S, NATIONAL MUSEUM, FOR THE YEAR ENDING 

 JUNE 30, 188b 1 . 



By Wm. H. Dall, Honorary Curator. 



The character of the accessions to this department during the past 

 year is 3 as usual, fairly enough indicated in the list of accessions,* and 

 includes about 75 accession entries. 



As usual, the collection is indebted to the U. S. Fish Commission 

 and its officers for the largest ensemble of donations from a single source. 

 The material received is all from south of Cape Hatteras, all that from 

 north of this point being retained for study at New Haven, by Prof. 

 A.E. Verrill. This collection, besides the common littoral shells brought 

 back iu quantity, contained a fair proportion of deep-water species, the 

 study of which is of extraordinary interest. 



Among the named species received during the year and which are of 

 more than ordinary interest may be mentioned a selection of 71 species 

 of shells from Bering Sea, illustrating a recent report by Dr. A. Krause 

 of the expedition sent out by the Bremen Geographical Society ; a 

 small series of land and fresh- water shells from Manitoba, illustrating 

 'A paper by the donor, Mr. Robert Miller Christy, and a very fine series of 

 Madagascar land-shells of remarkable character received from Edward 

 Bartlett, esq. 



From the arctic and boreal province we have received a valuable lot 

 of dredgings by the U. S. revenue-cutter Corwin, Capt. M. A. Healy, 

 U. S. Revenue Marine, from the Arctic. Ocean near Bering Strait, and 

 a small but interesting series from the Commander Islands, from the 

 Governor Nikolai Grebnitzki, of the Russian service. 



From the subtropical region Mr. Charles T. Simpson has contributed 

 a valuable and interesting series of shallow-water species from South 

 Florida and the Keys as well as the coast of Honduras. Prof. A. G. 

 Wetherby has also sent some very interesting species from the coast of 

 northwestern Florida. 



Prof. J. H. Morrison has sent from the grounds of the Virginia Mili- 

 tary Institute, Lexington, Va., a series of Helix hortensis Linne, inter- 



*Part v, 



173 



