A Hkview oe the Land JIollusca of AYesterx Australia. 
Fauna and I have to thank sincerely Mr. L. Glauei't for the oiiportunity of 
examining’ so much material. 
My thanks arc also here tendered to my eolleag'ues, Miss Joyce Allan, 
who has ])repared the excellent draivings which accompany this report, and 
Mr. G. C. Glutton for the photographs of the Bothriembryontid forms. 
L— 11 1 R T OR I C A L A C G 0 t’NT , 
While it be possible that some of the earlier visitors such as A'laming, 
Pelsart, Damjiier or Vancouver may hai'e carried back landshells to Europe, 
the first real note was made by Peron in 1807 who recorded that on June 29, 
1801, at Bernier Island, also Dorre and Uirk Hartog’s Islands, in Shark Bay, 
“Two siiecies of landshells extremely numerous, but all dead, occuiiicd great 
stretches of the interior of the island, one was a small species of Helix, the 
other belonged to the genus Bulirnns of J\l. de Lamarck.’’ 
Thus from this source P<'russac included in his Prodrome Helix costulaia, 
H. me'’.ones and H. tonilus. The former was not described and figured but 
localised as “Le jiort du Roi George, Peron: la bale des Chiens-lMarins, 
Gaudicho,’’ the second as “La Nouvelle-Hollande,” the last as “La Nouv.-Hol- 
laude, voyage de I’eron.” It will b(‘ nop'd that another colled or Gaudicho 
(Gaudichaud) is here menfioiied. 0. Gaudichaud was apothecary on the 
Uraiiie, on which vessel (,)uoy and Gaimard were the naturalists: thi.s vessel 
visited Shark Bay September 12-27, 1818, and was shipwrecked at the Falk- 
land Islands on its way home and the collections made lost: but aiiparently 
Gaudichaud managed to save some of his treasures. Tjamarck published with 
a description in 1822 BnlmiiH inflatits citing as synonymous Ferussae’s H. 
costulaia. Aiiolher species named and figured by Ferussac, He'ix prunum, 
and whose locality was given as “Les Terres Australes, voyage dc Peron” has 
been credited lo Western Australia, but examination of the figure suggests 
an Eastern Australian form. Then the English explorer Captain P. P. King, 
who Avas very interested in natural history, collected land-shells at King 
George’s Sound on January 20, 1818. Gray, of the British Museum, described 
a species naming it after King in 1820, King’s own account not being pub- 
lished until 1826. In the latter year the “Astrolabe” another French explor- 
ing A-essel, was in Western Australian A\-aters, and the brilliant and enthusiastic 
naturalists Quoy and Gaimard were on board, inteni to make up for their 
losses in the Franie shipwreck. The land-shells secured umre this time safely 
taken to Paris and Avere carefully described and beautifully illustrated in one 
of the most splendid works on natural history yet issued. 
An unknown collector, pi’obably Hobert Brown, provided Gray of the 
British Museum Avith some material, and it has only retamtly been recognised 
as coming from the Recherche Group. A little later a German collector. Dr. 
L. Preiss, visited South-W(‘st Australia in 18.‘19-4(), and M<’nke issued an 
account of the mollusca in 1848. At the same 1im(> Gilln'rt, the famous ornitho- 
logical assistant of Gould, secui'ed some shells and these were tran.sferred to 
the British Museum by Gould, and have been regarded as having been col- 
lected by that gentleman, who, however, never' I’eached Western Australia 
during his famous travels. Simultaneously Captain Stokes Avas exploring the 
West Coast and he and his men AA’cre notable collectors, Dring, Wickham and 
Ineo all coming under notice in connection with land-shells. Pnfortunatelv 
the exact localities Avere not preserved by those to AAdiom the shells passed and 
thus in some cases it has been a matter of great difficulty in determining these 
at the present time. It must be remembered that this A\ms the day of sailing 
vessels winch called in and sheltered at places not now commonly resorted 
