BY C. HE I) LEY. 



partly protruded. As the eye is the last to disappear and the 

 first to reappear, the eyestalk must be partly contractile as well a^ 

 retractile. Gaining confidence, the tentacles are fully exserted, the 

 muzzle advanced till abreast of the foot lobes, the pulmonary orifice 

 expands and contracts, and the mucus pours in undulating waves 

 down the grooves which appear to act as a system of aqueducts 

 for irrigating the body. By degrees the tail tapers out to an 

 amazing length. On each side of the rounded visceral mass the 

 foot broadens into a thin flange. The shield growing long and 

 narrow, shares the general change. The red edge of the foot 

 which before appeared continuous, is now broken up into dots and 

 splashes of colour. Rapidly crawling hither and thither seeking a 

 dark corner in which to hide itself, the long snake like thing 

 appears an impossible transformation from the inert, oval mass 

 of a few minutes before. In wet weather it is visible in the day 

 time crawling over the grass, up trees, etc. Its rambles are noc- 

 turnal in dry weather, and probably in an extremely dry season 

 it becomes more or less dormant. I have only seen it in dense 

 scrubs where it hides under logs and stones. It is often grtgarious 

 in its habits, a dozen may be seen huddled together under one 

 stone. Once I found one by some eg^s which it had evidently 

 just deposited. As far as my memory serves me, they were about 

 a quarter of an inch in diameter, globular, gelatinous, numbering 

 about half a dozen, and in a little hole in the ground beneath a 

 log. 



Some of these slugs appear perfectly smooth, others are 

 minutely pitted, either character is associated with dift'erejit 

 colouration. They vary from milk-white to shades of light brown 

 and light yellow. In some half-grown specimens a bluish tinge is 

 to be observed. A typical form may be selected whose body is 

 pale yellow, a wide band of brilliant purplish red ornaments the 

 edge of the shield, a narrow irregular band of similar colour 

 fringes the foot, usually confined to the posterior half. There 

 exists a variety which we imight distinguish as var. kreffti, in 

 which this colour is of an orange or brick red. The foot is pure 

 white without any defined median area. 



The markings on the back resemble the venation of a leaf. 



