THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



191 



they will turn up in many places, if the many readers of the " Young 

 Naturalist" will search well for them. Mr. Roberts describes A. subfuscus 

 thus : " Body brownish-yellow, shield (mantle) unicolorous, pale orange, lateral 

 dark stripes rather obscure. Ruga not so acutely ridged as in A. ater. Size 

 half that of ater" Arion Bourgnignati has its body greyish- white but is 

 more black on the back, and has bands on its sides. The mantle is large and 

 blackish-grey ; the foot is dirty-white, and the foot-fringe greatly dilated behind . 



II. Genus LIMAX. 



L. gagates. — This slug is a local one, but it is pretty commonly dis- 

 tributed throughout the Midlands, wherefrom I have had many specimens 

 sent me, and where I have collected largely. It is distinguished from all 

 other Limaces by having its mantle bi-lobed, seen best when the animal is 

 extended out at full length, and in having the tentacles of a dusky slate 

 colour. The back is prominently keeled, the keel extending along the length 

 of the back, backwards from the posterior edge of the mantle. The mantle 

 is granulated, a feature it possesses in common with Limax marginatus, 

 while all the other Limaces have it concentrically striated. It was on account 

 of this pecularity that Moquin-Tandon formed his sub-genus Amalia, and his 

 classification has of late been accepted by English conchologists, and, con- 

 sequently, L. gagates and marginatus are now known, as previously hinted, 

 by Amalia gagates and Amalia margin at a. The Rev. B. J. Clarke was the 

 first to describe, in the annals of natural history, A. gagates as a native of the 

 British Isles. He found it inhabiting several localities in Ireland. The type 

 is black. When a slug belonging to this species is olive-coloured, it is 

 v. olivacea ; when lead-coloured, v. plumbeus ; and when drab-coloured, 

 v. rava. 



Limax marginatus {Amalia marginata.)— -This slug will be distinguished 

 from the preceding species by not having its mantle bi-lobed, and from the 

 other Limaces by having its mantle granulated, and by a strongly developed 

 keel running the length of the back, always lighter in colour than the rest 

 of the body. It is a common slug, and is the pest of the gardens round the 

 north of London where I . reside. You find it very active after a good shower 

 of rain, and this is the time to go on the search. The type is rufous-brown. 

 A yellowish-red variety is v. rufula ; and one with a reddish mantle, and the 

 body greyish, with a longitudinal black band on each side is known as 

 v. rustica. 



(To be continued.) 



