AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS Iredale, T., 1933. Systematic notes on Australian land shells. Records of the Australian Museum 19(1): 37–59. [2 August 1933]. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.19.1933.690 ISSN 0067-1975 Published by the Australian Museum, Sydney nature culture discover Australian Museum science is freely accessible online at http://publications.australianmuseum.net.au 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia SYSTEMATIC NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN LAND SHELLb. By TOM IREDALE. (Conchologist, The Australian Museum, Sydney.) Museum routine necessitates the dete'rmination of any mollusc an material submitted, and many land shells and slugs are included. These have been a continual source of trouble, as Australian land shells have not been systematically studied recently. My predecessor, Mr. Oharles Hedley, began his conchologica] career by the examination of molluscous animals, but at that time with very little knowledge of their shells and their importance. He soon found that the latter must be given much more value than had been anticipated, and began accumulating systematic data for the elucidation of our land molluscan fauna. It was a long and tedious task, and, unfortunately, when his goal was in sight his work was terminated by his death. The preparation of an illustrated mono­ graphic account was left as a legacy to me, and I hope to complete the work in the near future. Unfortunately in the past it has been traditional to depre'ciate or entirely discount shell features, and utilize imperfectly understood anatomical features in order to group land mollusca. Modern mala.cologists now agree that shells, when correctly studied, are of great value, and that until the shell is accurately distinguished the anatomical data cannot be properly valuated. It is now necessary to separate a large number of small gTOUpS in which the shells may be ranged, and then, from a study of these restricted series, animal characters may be carefully examined and a sound classification formulated. There are many pitfalls in the study of Australian land shells, and if has been a difficult matter to unravel the literary history of many of the species. The data .colleGted will be published in full at the earliest opportunity, the presentessay being merely an attempt to clear some of the difficulties out of the way. The most important works of reference are the following :-Pilsbry, :Manual of Oonchology, series 2, voL ix; Oox's Monograph of Australian Land Shells; May's Mollusca of Tasmania and Illustrated Index; Hedley's Essays in the Records of the Australian Museum and in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales; Hedley's W est Australian List; Tate's Report of the Horn Scientific Expedition; Cox and Hedley's Victorian Index, and now Gabriel's Oatalogue of Victorian Land Shells. Other minor papers are referred to in the following pages. Genus Helicarion." All AustralianVitrinid molluscs have been classed in this genus, and its range has now been extended into other countries, so that the name Heli:carion llas become almost as meaningless in systematic usage as Vitrina. Fortunatfils the type of Helicarion is the Tasmanian species H. cuvieri Ferussac/ so that in this respect we are on sound ground. From this species the magnjficent Queens­ land species H. superba Oox' differs in the tenuity of the shell, the coiling, and the large size, and is here separated with· the subgeneric name F(1Jstosarion. 1 Ferussac.-Tabl_ Syst. Fam. Limae. 1821, P. 20 (1B), June. 2 Ferussac.-Tabl. Syst. Fam. Limac. 1821, p. 20 (16), pI. ix, fig. 8, June: A1lstr. • Cox.-Pr?C. Zoo!. Soc. (Lond.), l871, p. 54 (June 12); Port DenJson, Q'ld. 38 REOORDS OF THE AU8CI'RALIAN MUSEUM. Anatomical investigation may show that a greater distinction is indicated, as very slight shell differentiation has been accompanied by great anatomical variation in this group. Thus from North Queensland Odhner' has named H elicarion buUacea, and has reported somewhat different animal characters, though the only fuperficial shell feature is the closer coiling, recalling more a Zonitoid. Sub­ generic rank may, for the present, be allowed to this species, with the new name Vercularion. It will be remembered that Smith,' cataloguing the land shells of West Australia, observed that Vitrinids were a'bsent from that part of our con­ tinent, but was corrected by Hedley," who drew his attention to the species Helicarion thomsoni described by Ancey.' This species, which, theoretically, might be most closely related to the Tasmanian H. cuvieri Ferussac, differs from that species in its globose form, small mouth, and golden coloration, and may be proved very different anatomically, but here is only separated sub­ gE'nerically as L'uinanon. Genus Hedleyella: The two magnificent shells, formerly known as Panda; were lumped into one species by Hedley early in his conchological studies, but later research suggested revision. Not only are there two species, falconeri GrayiO and nwconelli Reeve,11 but there are geographical races to be distinguished. Thus many years ago Cox noted that the most southern shells were much smaller, and gave a ~1:S. name to these shells coming from the foot of Mount Royal, north-east of Singleton, N.S. Wales. In addition to their smaller size they are more conical, the umbilicus narrower, the mouth less expanded than specimens from the Richmond River, N.S. Wales, which are very large, the mouth much expanded, the umbilicus correspondingly broader; the latter may 'be named H. falconeri jacksoniana nov., the type being a shell from near Booyong, measuring 90 mm. in width by 80 mm. in height, the coloration generally being darker than that of the typical series. South Queensland shells approximate more in size to the typical form and show no signs of inter grading with maconelli Reeve, the elevated non-umbilicate species described from Brisbane, Moreton Bay, with which it was lumped by Hedley.'· The South Queensland form of falconcri is reduced in size almost to that of the extreme southern form, but it is more elevated, with the mouth not so patulous, measuring 60 mm. in height and 55 mm. in breadth, the colouration being generally paler than that of typical shells. The Queensland subspecies may be named H. falconen imitator subsp. novo As no definite type locality was assigned to the species, the Clarence River is here arbitrarily selected. Hedley introduced two varietal names azonata and tigris for his conception of variations of the complex species (falconeri + maconelli) and as they were for simple colour variations, their type localities are here fixed as that of typical falconeri, and they will cause no further concern. In the same place Hedley gave an account of the anatomy of Bulimu8 atomatu8 Gray," and concluded that it should be placed in Panda = H edleyella. As the features he depended upon he also found present in 40dhner.-Kungl. Sv. Vet. Akad. Hand!. 52, 1917, p. 87, p!. 3, figs. 97-98, text fig. 4 (Sept. 19): Oedar Oreek, N. Q'ld. 5 Smith.-Proc. Malac. Soc. (Lond.), I, 1894, p. 85 (June). • Hedley.-Proc. Mal'!c. Soc. (Lond.), I, 1895, pp. 259-60 (July). 7 Ancey.-Le Naturaliste, 1899, p. 19: Oeographe Bay, South W_A. • Iredale.-Proc. Malac. Soc. (Lond.), xi, 1914, p. 174, Sept. • Albers.-Die Heliceen, 2nd ed., 186<), p. 149. 'OOray.-Proc. ZOO!. SOC. (Lond.), 1834,p. 63 (Nov. 25): N'ew Holland. 11 Reeve.-Proc. Zoo!. Soc. (Lond.), 1851, p. 98, 1'1. xii, June 29, 1853: Brisbane, Qld. 12 HedleY.-Rec. Allstr. Mus., ii, 1892, pp. 26-31 (Aug.). 13 Oray.-Proc. Zoo!. Soc. (Lond.), 1834, p. 64, Nov. 25 : near Fort (?) Macquarie, N.S.W. AUSTRAI.IAN LAND SHELLS--IREDALE. 39 such diverse groups as Pedinogyra" and Caryodes, and he was not averse to including therewith A noglypta, it is obvious that he was not dealing with a feature of merely generic value. Hedley also named two varieties of this species, elonga,ta and azonata, the latter being nullified by his prior azonata above noted. The type locality of atomatw; is the same as the type locality of falconeri, and this is named as the type locality of the two variations named by Hedley. At the same time Hedley diEcounted the specific value of kershwwi Brazier," described from the Snowy River, Gippsland, Victoria. In this he has been followed by Gabriel,'· but on account of the great hiatus in their distribution, and the differences when series are contrasted, I would allow specific nomination. The shells are elongate, quite unlike H edleyella, in form, with no umbilicus at any stage of life, the columella almost truncate, the mouth narrow, the apex not planate, so that I propose the new generic name Pygmipanda, atomatus Gray being named as type. It may be noted that, although H edleyella maconelli Reeve appears to be non-umbilicate when adult, the juvenile shows a narrow umbilicus exactly like that of the widely umbilicated adult falconeri Gray. Still more different is the exquisite little shell (little in comparison -with HedleyeZla) named Bulimus larreyi by Brazier," which Hedley also placed in Panda without much comment. This species has a delicate thin texture, the mouth rather expansive but not umbilicate, and a major difference can be seen in the exsert incurved tip, quite unlike that of the planate protoconch of H edleyella. It is therefore desig­ nated as the type of the new genus Bmzieresta in honour of that great concholo­ gical collector, John Brazier, who discovered the species. One of the outstanding discoveries of recent years was that 6f'Panrla whitei Hedley." S. W. J ackson found this delightful little snell near Mackay, Queens­ land, and Hedley, instead of giving it at once a new generic name, placed it in Panda on account of its probable relationship.