THE MARINE SHELLS OF GUERNSEY AND 

 THE LESSER CHANNEL ISLANDS. 



BY E. D. MARQUAND, A.L.S., EX - PRESIDENT. 



For the last two hundred years the Channel Islands have 

 been recognised by marine conchologists as one of the most 

 productive localities on the British coast. Excellent lists 

 and notes on the shells of these islands have been published 

 from time to time, but no complete catalogue has been drawn 

 up, so that it is not easy to tell exactly what species have 

 been found here, especially among generally distributed and 

 more or less common forms. 



Whilst studying the marine mollusca of Alderney during 

 the past year, I have found it useful to make out a list of all 

 the species I can find recorded for the neighbouring islands in 

 the books I have at hand ; and this list, supplemented by my 

 own notes, although it must not be regarded as exhaustive, 

 may be helpful to future students as a convenient working 

 catalogue, to which additions can be made as our knowledge 

 of the subject extends. 



My own work has been exclusively confined to Alderney, 

 about which practically nothing was known. Of course as a 

 collecting-ground it cannot be compared for richness and 

 variety with either Guernsey or Herm ; but diligent search- 

 ing will be rewarded with better results than might be 

 expected, as my wife and I have found here about two 

 hundred species of marine shells, and that without any 

 dredging. The number would not have been so large but 

 for the fortunate discovery last year of a small patch of shell- 

 sand which is uncovered at the extreme verge of low water at 

 spring tides, on the eastern side of the island. A variety of 

 forms belonging to deep water occur in this sand ; so that 

 possibly dredging in that neighbourhood would be remunera- 



