CLAUSILIA. 



TESTA elongato-turrita, apice obtusmsculo^ 

 anfractibus plurimis gradatim majoribus; aper- 

 tura plerumque plicis dentiformibus miinita, 

 intus ossiculo testaceo, elastico, sive clausio 

 instruct^-; peritremate continuo, libero, re- 

 flexo. 



It appears that Draparnaud was not the first discoverer 

 of the little opercular clausium that has given a name to 

 this genus, but that it had been already observed and 

 described by Daubenton; several persons may however 

 with equal propriety claim the honour of the discovery, 

 having each described it without being aware that it had 

 been already noticed. 



The species of this genus have, by Linneans, been 

 arranged with Turbo, not however with much appearance 

 of reason, because the aperture is not round ; Bruguiere 

 with more reason, united it to Bulimus, to which indeed 

 it is nearly related, but from which it may nevertheless 

 be distinguished by its continuous, free peritreme, and by 

 the clausium. 



This genus, which is terrestrial, consists wholly of 

 small shells, the largest species we know scarcely exceed- 

 ing an inch in length; several of the species are common 

 in this country; in the Southern parts of Europe, parti- 

 cularly the Islands of the Mediterranean they appear to 

 abound to profusion. 



Shell turrited, elongated, consisting of many volu- 

 tions, rather blunt at the apex, swelling gradually 

 towards the lower part: the aperture generally has seve- 

 ral columellar and other tooth-like plaits: and within 

 there is a little elastic shelly bone attached to the columel- 

 lar teeth, commonly termed the clausium, and from which 



