126 



LUSITANIAN PROVINCE. 



on the Natural History of the Canaries, had left 

 that impression, especially so far as the marine inver- 

 tebrata were concerned. Thus, among the shells 

 enumerated by Alcide D'Orbigny in that important 

 publication, are several tropical species of Conus, 

 and other Senegal forms. It would now seem, 

 however, that the line of boundary must lie to the 

 south of the Canaries. The greater portion of the 

 fauna consist of Spanish and Mediterranean forms. 

 Among 270 species of mollusks, all except a small 

 proportion are of this category, and no fewer than 

 80 or more are British forms. Some remarkable 

 forms of Scalaria, Aclis, and Pleurotoma, seem to 

 characterize the province. Among 125 species of 

 shells dredged off Madeira about 100 were Medi- 

 terranean, and of these 58 ranged to the British 

 seas. Some curious features are presented by the 

 productions of the African coast at Mogador. In 

 the harbour there Laminarise are as abundant as in 

 our own seas, and on the fronds of these sea-weeds 

 ]ives Patella pellucida as with us. Out of 98 species 

 of shells dredged there, no fewer than 54 proved to 

 be British species, and 90 out of the entire number 

 were Mediterranean forms. The Echinoderms of 

 the region around the Canaries are mostly European. 

 We meet, however, at Madeira for the first time 

 large and beautiful sea-urchins of the genus Astro- 

 pyga. 



