4006 Dublin Natural History Society. 



line, 8 inches ; following the curvature of the wings, 10£ inches ; length of ear, | inch. 

 The points of difference are: — ears somewhat oval, deeply notched on the inner side, 

 beneath the notch a fold, and another on the outside of the ear ; tragus two-thirds the 

 length of the ear, somewhat lanceolate, lobed at base on the outside: fur on the back 

 black at the roots, reddish at the tips ; underneath, roots of fur dark, tips light gray- 

 ish ; interfemoral covered with light hair: lines very numerous, and as well as mem- 

 branes of wings, dark, without any mixture of reddish ; upon the upper lip, on each 

 side, is a distant moustache of soft, velvety, black hair, mixed with long bristles, which 

 are also found beneath the chin. 



Doctor Farran then gave the following notes on the discovery of Bulla hydatis. 

 He said : — "I find that there is a notice of this shell in the ' Fauna of Cork,' com- 

 piled by Mr. Humphreys, as occurring in sand at Belgrove, East Ferry, Cork Har- 

 bour ; but on making inquiries of that gentleman, he acknowledged that he had seen 

 the shells, but never in a living stale : and as to the specimens in the Institution, their 

 locality was not noted, as he was not certain whence they were procured. I have it in 

 recollection seeing this shell in the collection of Mr. O'Kelly, the intimate friend and 

 associate of the late Dr. Turton ; it was marked as English, and as the collection was 

 made during the life-time of the Doctor, had it been Irish, I have no doubt it would 

 have been remarked as a notable addition to the Zoology of Ireland. Until the oc- 

 currence of the incident to which I have alluded, I was under the impression that the 

 shell was only to be found in the English seas : but having been met with on the 

 west coast of Ireland, we may expect that not only the English shells, but others, will 

 be obtained by a diligent search, and amply repay the labours of the conchologist. 



" In the year 1844, accompanied by Mr. M'AUa, I dredged Roundstone and Bir- 

 terbie Bays with a success far beyond my most sanguine expectation : however, there 

 was a spot in Birterbie Bay, which we both agreed should be re-investigated, although 

 holding out but little prospect of adding anything new to our collection, inasmuch as 

 we had gone over the ground before, and found that the floor of that part of the bay 

 was covered with a great thickness of dead and decomposed Nulliporae, and this again 

 coated over by a thick deposit of slimy mud. We had observed that wherever this 

 peculiar formation occurred, our search for shells was fruitless. As we had, in tack- 

 ing, only crossed this ground, we were determined now to take it in the length, and 

 accordingly gave our steersman orders to commence at the tail of the bank, and bring 

 us up to the head of the inlet. Throwing the dredge overboard, and running it out 

 for a short time, we found on raising it that it was filled to the utmost with the mud 

 and nullipore, which was, as usual, spread on the deck, and into which Mr. M'Alla at 

 once plunged. After having been occupied in examining this foetid mud for some 

 time, he handed me a fragment of shell very similar to the paring of a human nail, 

 and, in rather an excited manner, asked me what I thought it was. On looking at it, 

 and examining it as well as the uneasy motion of the boat permitted (the wind being 

 fresh), I replied that I conceived it to be a fragment of Bulla Akera. 'No, Sir,' was 

 his prompt reply, ' it must be Bulla hydatis — it will prove a fine addition to the 

 Fauna of Ireland.' On again letting down the dredge, we obtained larger fragments, 

 which you see placed on the card precisely as we found them ; and by continuing the 

 course to the head of the inlet, we had the good fortune to obtain the perfect shell, as 

 seen in this bottle, with the animal; it contained about twenty specimens. We were 

 unable to return by the same course from the shoaling of the water, otherwise I could 

 have ascertained the exact locality of our prize ; and I have no hesitation in saying, 



