108 SUNKLANDS OF PORT PHILLIP BAY AND BASS STRAIT 
The freshwater mollusca of Victoria have been listed and 
described by Gabriel (1939). Excluding some recorded from 
King Island, the Bass Strait Island forms include Ameria tenuis- 
triata var. pyramidata (Sow.), Bythinella nitida (John.) from 
the Helicidae Sandstone, Goxiella hadgerensis (John.), Ameria 
tenuistriata (Sow.), Acmea marginata (Kuster.), A. scalarina 
(Cox) and Sphaerium tasmanicum (Ten. Woods.). 
Johnston (1888) states that the older sand dunes of the Bass 
Strait Islands (Flinders, Barren, Badger, Kent, King and others) 
“frequently contain in abundance the fragmentary remains of 
marine shells, but more especially the well preserved remains of 
land shells now found living near the shore ... In the consolidated 
beds of ancient lagoons, in old hollows of the Helicidae Sandstone 
occurs Bythinella nitida John, in rich abundance together with 
Amphipeplea = (Limnaea) huonensis (T. Woods), Ameria 
tenuistriata var. pyramidata (Sow) = (Physa eburnea Sow. = P. 
tasmanica T. Woods) and Ameria = (Physa) mamillara Sow. 
The recorded living and fossil (Pleistocene and Recent) genera 
common to the mainland and Tasmania include Bythinella — (B. 
nigra Q. and G., B, huccinoides Q. and G.) ; Ameria — {A. tenuis- 
triata var. pyramidata Sow.) ; Ancylus — (A. tasmanicus Ten. 
Woods) ; Assiminea; Oundlachia — {G. petterdi John.) ; Hydriella 
— (H. australis Lam.) ; Limnaea — (L. gunni Pet.) ; Planorbis — 
(P. tasmanicus Ten. Woods, P. scottiana John.) and Segmentina 
— (S. victoriae Smith). These genera are found in freshwater 
or brackish lagoons or pools. Acmea marginata (Kuster) and 
A. scalarina (Cox) are amphibious and live between tide marks ; 
they can survive many weeks out of water. A. scalarina has been 
found on the raised beach at Altona in Port Phillip. Coxiella 
hadgerensis (John.) is common in the salt lakes of western Vic- 
toria where its shells are found in layers, sometimes of consider- 
able thickness, on the shores of the lakes. In other parts of 
Victoria, they are the predominant form in shelly beds on the 
surface of the Newer Volcanic lavas. Incidentally Goxiella {= 
Blanfordiana) stirlingi (Tat.) is found in the clay with Diproto- 
don at Lake Callabonna in South Australia, together with Melania, 
a brackish water shell which, too, is found in the Diprotodon 
breccias of Queensland. Melania occurs in the rivers of the 
warmer regions, and is well represented in Queensland; there is 
one Victorian species — M. balonnensis Conrad — but it is unrepre- 
sented in Tasmania. 
The bivalves live for the most part on infusoria or microscopic 
plants — Sphaerium and Hydriella being attracted by decaying 
animal matter. Sphaerium tasmanicum (T. Woods) is found on 
