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Show 1876.] MR. E. A. LIARDET ON FIJIAN LAND-SHELLS. 99 3. On the Land-Shells of Taviuni, Fiji Islands, with Descriptions of New Species. By E. A. LIARDET. [Eeceived December 14, 1875.] (Plate V.) The land-shells of Taviuni, one of the Fiji group of islands, are neither conspicuous for the number of their species nor for the beauty of their colouring. They mostly inhabit the coast-lands, and are all minute. At a slight elevation a moderately large Helix (H. cased) and a Bulimus are common. Some .Helicina may also be found, but are rare. Pupina I have only found at elevations from about five hundred feet and upwards, and mostly under decayed logs. Partula frequent the underside of the leaves of Dracana and Dilo-trees near the coast. Partula lirata is the only one I met with. But if the want of size or beauty of colouring renders these shells less sought for by the ordinary collector, yet to the naturalist their structure and the habits of their occupants must always be a source of interest. The natives of Fiji cannot be induced to seek in the dense forests for shells; consequently the only way is for the collector to trust to his own researches. This I did; but the result has fallen far short of my expectations. Considering the moist temperature, dense vegetation, and mountainous character of the island, all so conducive to the abundant existence of land-mollusca, their scarcity is a matter of surprise. They mostly locate under logs and stones, seldom being exposed to the sun, which, no doubt, accounts for the absence of rich colour in any of the species. The numerous small shells on the coast-lands are common to most of the islands; and being found sheltered by bark on logs and in the decaying husks of old cocoa-nuts, it may be inferred that they have frequently been transported from island to island-and though in some cases destroyed by a subsidence, have again, since the uprising, once more colonized the coast. The island of Taviuni would seem to establish this inference ; for it is only at a height of some five hundred feet that Pupina and the larger species of Bulimus, Helix, and Helicina are found. Now coral-indications show this island to have been submerged to that level; I would therefore conclude that the last-mentioned shells are the true representatives of the molluscan fauna of that part of the former continent whose peaks are now the islands of Fiji. In preparing the following descriptions of species believed to be new I have to acknowledge the assistance I have received from Mr. Henry Adams. 1. NANINA? TAVIUNIENSIS, sp. nov. (Plate V. figs. 1, la, b.) Shell globose, minutely perforated, of a light brown colour, smooth 7* |
