THE NAUTILUS. 125
NOTES ON THE MOLLTJSCA OF THE BERMUDA ISLANDS.
BY C. ABBOTT DAVIS, S. B.
Last July and August were profitably spent in collecting insects
and mollusks among the three hundred beautiful islands now called
the Bermudas. Like the Hawaiian group, they are chiefly interest-
ing because of their isolated geographical position, being nearly 700
miles distant from any other land. Commerce, however, is rapidly
changing the fauna and flora of Bermuda to such an extent that old
records, /. e., records of twenty years standing, are obsolete or unre-
liable. Large quantities of West Indian shells are constantly being
brought to the island to sell to the unsophisticated traveller, and some
of the stores actually sell these shells as Berinudian. Even the
native colored boys are anxious to sell shells for " tuppence," and
they are not particular about the historical side, so that one has to
beware of all shells not collected in situ.
The expeditions of Prof. Helprin in the summer of 1888, and of
Prof. Verrill in the spring of 1898 and of 1901, form the nucleus of
most of the authentic published data. I had planned a trip to Ber-
muda for July and August 1903, but upon learning of the Bristol-
Mark expedition, I decided to go with them, and the following notes
are a part of the records of our trip.
In 1900, Dr. Pilsbry revised the " Air-breathing Mollusks of the
Bermudas," and my research differs little except in minor details.
For instance, he agrees with Mr. Smith that Succinea bermitdensis
Pfr., is S. barbadensis Guild., but states that the animals need a
careful study. I agree with the latter statement and as proof of it
illustrate three Bermudian forms. Fig. 1 is the common form, Fig.
2 was occasionally taken at Flatts, Fig. 3 is the fossil variety.
Physa acnta Drap., has not been recorded since G. Brown Goodes'
record of 1888. We took it from rain-water tanks in Devonshire
Swamp.
The variety pulchetta Pfr., of TruncateUa caribzeensis Sowb., is
always found dead. This, taken with the fact that this mollusk lives
at the high-tide mark, and is therefore apt to be water-worn, makes
pulcliella simply a worn carribxensis.
In a lot of several hundred carribseensis received recently from the
West Indies, there is a complete series showing the wear on these
BioStor
