71 
S.A. XAT., VOL. XIV. 
May, 1933 . Excursions 
when undisturbed covers the dunes on the seaward side, the sexes 
are on different plants and the large round heads of female 
flowers are often seen blowing along the beach in summer; the 
dune Geranium pilosuvi develops a long tap root to enable it to 
liv^e through the summer. Mr. Ising drew attention to the three 
separate plant formations in this district: (1) The J)une Flora. 
(2) The Alangroves along the riverside growing in brackish water 
and (3) 'File flats between these two. Mention was made of the 
hard conditions the dune flora has to contend with and the various 
adaptions perfected by the plant for overcoming these difficulties. 
Tlie lack of oxygen in watei'logged soil, such as that in which the 
mangroves grow, was pointed out and the growth of special 
■organs (pneumataphores) or pegs on the roots and produced above 
high water mark so as to allow oxygen supplies to be taken in by 
these parts was explained. A further “safety first’’ device of 
this species Avas the germination of the seed on the parent plant 
-beforj becoming detached, by this means it would very easily 
germinate when it fell on the mud. 
Mr. Cotton stated that LeFevre Peninsula was particularly 
rich in beach fauna. Such a diversity of habitat, mangroves, 
sea-weed, sand-flats and accumulations of rock, sheltered a cor- 
responding range of beach life. Much remained to be done, as, 
compared with European beaches for instance, the peninsula 
was a virgin field. Many, even common shells found there, were 
wrongly named, their habits unknown and their animals undes- 
cribed. 'Fhe common bait-cockles {Chione scalarina and others) 
found on the sand flats by the hundred, had never been thorough- 
ly examined. 
Idle interesting, air-breathing mollusc (Salinalor fragilis), so 
common in the mangroves, still required a thorough description 
of the animal and a record of the many colour and shape varieties 
'of the shell. fy 
Many questions may be asked of our common Conus (Conus 
anemone) . Why is there such a variation in the length of the 
spii'e? Is there more than one species confused under this name? 
Does the animal sting? This is only one of the thousand or 
more species, living on Le Fevre Peninsula, which await investig- 
ation. :o: 
NOTICE! 
Our special thanks are due to Sir Joseph Verco whose gener- 
osity enables us to reproduce the beautiful coloured plates of 
nudibranchs in this issue. This is the first time coloured plates 
have appeared in this publication. Dr. H. Basedow’ made the 
•original paintings from living specimens. 
