132 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVI. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO CEYLON MALACOLOGY* 

 (3) The Terrestrial Mollusca of Ambagamuwa (Part II.). 



By 0. Collett, F.R.M.S. 



In a preliminary Paper on the Land Molluscan Fauna of 

 this district, which I had the honour of reading before this 

 Society two years since,f I gave some notes of the appear- 

 ance and habits of thirty-eight species. With three 

 exceptions — hereafter notified — all of these forms were 

 previously known from Ceylon, they having been already 

 recorded from other localities in the Island. 



The present Paper, which deals with the remainder of my 

 collected material, contains an account of an additional 

 forty-one species and varieties, making a total of sixty-nine 

 for the whole of Ambagamuwa. Of this number no fewer 

 than eighteen have turned out to be new to Science. 



At first sight this result would appear to indicate an 

 extraordinary amount of success in my researches ; but, in 

 reality, the discovery of so large a number of previously 

 unrecognized forms is simply due to the fact that our hill 

 districts have been hitherto but very imperfectly examined. 



The labours of the early Conchologists — Benson, Layard t 

 Nevill, Major Skinner — were confined principally to the 

 country lying between Colombo and Kandy, and to the 

 northern (dry) region of the Island. In their time (1850- 

 1870) few of our hill-country roads had been constructed, 



* Paper not read, but printed in this Journal in accordance with the 

 Council's Resolution No. 13 of January 25, 1900. 

 t Journal R.A.S., C.B., vol. XV., 1897. 



