52 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



my Donegal notes may perhaps not require an apology. Mr. K. 

 Lloyd Praeger, in his paper on " The Marine Shells of the 

 North of Ireland" (Belfast Naturalists' Field Club,Feb. 1889), 

 remarks : — " I find no record whatever of any dredging in Lough 

 Foyle. From the extensive coast line of County Donegal .... 

 comes hardly a single note to enrich the list which follows." 

 This being so, I feel the more inclined to publish these notes, if 

 only to remove such a reproach. 



I have walked along the whole coast of this county. Owing to 

 its usually precipitous and oceanic character, the great bulk of it 

 yields no hunting-grounds of this sort. Indeed the upper reaches 

 of Lough Swilly are, so far as I have observed, far the best part 

 of the coast. Usually the shells along shore <Jare pulverized 

 out of shape before being deposited, and often miles of strand 

 may be walked without yielding a recognisable fragment, except 

 perhaps of Pecten or Donax. 



The northernmost point of Donegal appears to oppose a 

 barrier to a few species which are common as far as Lough Foyle, 

 and become suddenly rare in Lough Swilly, such as Cyprina 

 islandica, Turritella terebra, and Aporrhais pes-pelicani. The latter 

 instance is not, however, so marked. Cyprina is an interesting 

 case, as it is a northern form, and it would appear as if the colder 

 water in the channel suited it better than the Atlantic. The 

 same remark would apply to Fusus gracilis, which does not, 

 however, reach so far up as Lough Foyle from the east coast. The 

 distribution of Cerithium reticulatum, as contrasted in Dublin 

 and Donegal, is also remarkable. 



With regard to my Dublin localities there is less of interest. 

 The British Association Report of 1878 includes a full list o 

 Dublin shells ; but I am not aware that a list has since been 

 published, and it is certain that several rare species formerly 

 obtainable on the best strand in Ireland, that of Portmarnock, are 

 now very seldom to be met witii there ; so that a record may prove 

 of value to future observers. The depreciation in the Portmarnock 

 fauna arises, I believe, from the mud deposits forming outside. I 

 may mention that I have searched Portmarnock repeatedly, at 

 various seasons, year after year, and have also had access to several 

 collections made there formerly, and I believe it will not be easy 

 to add many to those now recorded, which are, however, fewer 

 than those that have been stated to occur there. 



