Victorian Non-Marine Molluscs - 4 



by 



Brian J. Smith* 



ffffntyaata fcofclurtvi v Braziei V&11) 



This is the largest species of native 

 land snail found in Victoria and is 

 confined to the Last Gippsland area 

 () f the State It has a large. I airly 

 ,hin, conical, spiral shell which can 

 SXCeed 53 mm. in length. It is hghl 

 hrown in colour and many specimens 

 jhow some degree of dark longi- 

 ludinal handing on the shell. This 

 cm range from a lew thin, dark lines 

 Hiving a faintly striped clfect, lo .1 

 nearly uniform dark hrown shell. In 

 Victoria it is confined to the coast 

 and mountain region of Fast Gipps- 

 luinl, the westerly limit heing just 

 cast of Lakes Entrance. Unlike most 



native snails this species docs not 



seem lo be contincd to areas of 

 exclusively native vegetation or to one 



Fig. I PwrnpiinJu krrshaut 



D*«| ft Mi" Mttttt Pun. 



type of environment, It has been 

 found in the coastal scrub with many 

 introduced plants around the Lake 

 Tyers area and in the open selcro- 

 phyll forest country norlh of Orhost 

 and Cabbage Tree. 



The ccnus PyinnifHmda was erected 

 by Iredalc in 1933 to separate this 

 group of conical snails from the 

 Targe, globose H^lk-vclhi of northern 

 \ s W. and southern Queensland. 

 Three supposed species comprise Ihe 

 genus. ( I ) Our Victorian form (P. 

 kersfiatfi), <-> ;1 Wry similar species 

 with only minor differences in sculp- 

 ture and a larger maximum size ( /'. 

 taomm) from" central and northern 

 N.S.W., and (3) a curious squat, 

 dark form (P. rffWlM described 

 from the high country of the Snowy 

 Mountains, and which may occur in 

 the mountain districts of Victoria. 

 Separated from these is the \er\ 

 similar hut more fragile snail from 

 northern N.S.W.. tor which Iredalc 

 erected a separate genus Brtizif cua. 

 which could be called Rrazincsui lor- 

 reyi. However, further research ma\ 

 prove thai this also should fall into 

 Ihe P\fimlp<wda group. 



However the actual status of these 

 "species" must await further re- 

 search It may be that these are all 

 forms or subspecies of the ortc species 

 with ihe smaller, dark -shelled form 

 hciivj an adaptation to life in the 

 higher, colder mountain areas. 



, ..! Ir^tMhr-urv Na.inn-jl M»«mn of 



\ .-imm 



June. 1971 



155 



