RECORDS OF THE 
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM 
AND ART GALLERY. 
Volume II. 
Part I. 
A REVIEW OF THE LAND MOLLUSCA 
OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA.* 
By Tom Iredale, 
Coneholog'ist, The Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales. 
Bt! Permission of the Trustees of the Austnilian Museum. 
Forty odd j'oars ago E. A. Smith of the British Museum published 
an account of the land shells of Western Australia, and since then numerous 
additions are available for record, and the present essay bi’ing's our statistical 
knowledge down to date. Twenty year’s ago Iledley listed the species, then 
known, in his Preliminary Index but no detailed I’evision was attempted. It 
must be emphasised that this review is intended to serve as a basis for AVestern 
Australian workers, and conseqirently most attention has been j)aid to the 
taxonomy and discrimination of the named forms. It is important in this 
grouir to know the topogra|)hy, geogra))hy, geology and ])otany, a combina- 
tion I have termed Geozoology, of the. State to d(>fine exactly the status of 
the molluscs collected, all these factors being of delinit(‘ influence in the 
evolution of the mollusc. It may be pointed out that in over one hundred 
years of history of the State no local naturalist has made any major contri- 
bution to our knowledge of this group though probably no more profitable 
group could be selected, the problems being innumerable and all of them 
interesting. Smith noted “The report is limited to those species occurring 
west of long. 129°E., the boundary line between AVest Australia and South 
Australian teiritory. Its extreme length from north to south is 1,2.50 miles 
and 800 trom east to wo.st, and it embraces an area of 1,000,000 square miles.” 
The limits given are those of Western Australia, as politically known, but 
the area does not agree with that provided by tin* AV.A. Government, which 
in the Year Book before me reads 975.920 square miles. I have indicated 
the natural divisions of Australia as shown by the Land Mollusca, and it 
will be seen from the map here reproduced that within the unnatural political 
boundaries of AA^estern Australia, three faunulae are represented, t-wo 
restricted and one intrusive element. The Autoehthonian Eaunula restricted 
to the south-west corner, termed the Leeuwinian Area, is characterised by 
the very peculiar Bothriembryontid development. AAhth it are a few Endo- 
dontids, the only Heliearionid we.st of Victoi'ia, and a (perhaps) Bhytidid, no 
Helicids save through intrusion. On the other hand the north-west iiart of 
Australia, called the Dampierian Sub-Area, is inhabited by a Caurine 
Eaunula which is of very peculiar facies related to the molluscan fauna of 
,* 'A®® published by the Royal Society of Western Australia in Volume 
