Some Records of Land and Fresh-Water Mollusca from the Counties Roscommon andLongfordAuthor(s): A. W. StelfoxSource: The Irish Naturalist, Vol. 19, No. 11 (Nov., 1910), pp. 241-242Published by: Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25523718 .

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1910. Notes. 241

Some records of Land and Fresh-water Mollusca from the

Counties Roscommon and Longford.

Roscommon and the adjoining county of Longford having been so

little worked by conchologists, I took the opportunity of spending two

days at Athlone in April of this year in order to add to the very scant

list of species recorded from these two counties.

Co. Roscommon:?The district covered was that lying between

Athlone and Kiltoom on the west shore of Lough Ree. In the drains

close to Athlone Limnaa peregra, L. paluslris, L. stagnalis, L, truneatula,

Physa fontinalis, Aplexa hypnorttm, Planorbis marginatus, P. eontortus, Valvata

piscinalis, V, cristata, Bythinia tentaculata and Spharium corneum were all

common, while no sign of any species of Pisidium was seen. Planorbis

cartnatus was taken in the canal, but not in the drains. All the above

fresh-water species also occurred in the roadside drains towards Kiltoom, with the exception of Planorbis carinattts, and the following additional

species were taken :?Succmea elegans, Ancylus fluviatilis (Butterbay River), Planorbis crista, P. vortex, and Pisidium milium and two other species of

this difficult genus. In a wood near Kiltoom slugs were particularly

abundant, Agriolimax agrestis, Limax marginatus, L. maximus, L. flavus, Arion atert A. circumscriptus, A. intermedins, all being observed, while

nearer Athlone Agriolimax Icevis and Arion hot ten sis were also seen.

The land species were typical of the central plain, the xerophiles being well represented, and the "western

" or woodland species almost absent,

as will be seen by the following list:?Vitrina tpellucida, Hyalinia cellaria

( Vitrea hibernica of Kennard), H. nitidula, H. cryslallina, H. fulva, H, nitida,

Helix rotundata, H. rupestris, H. pulchelta (Vallonia excentrica, Sterki), H,

hispida, H. rtifcsceiis, H. nemoralis, H. aspersa. H. ericetorum, H. intersecta, H.

virgata, H. aeuta, Cochlicopa tubrica, Pupa cylindracea, Clausilia bidentata and

Vertigo edentula.

Co. Longford :?Cycling till I crossed the boundary between West

meath and Longford at Tang Bridge and then collecting at intervals as

far as Saint's Island, on the eastern shore of Lough Ree, I was able to

accumulate quite a large number of land species, and by returning home

through Ballymahon, a short visit to the Royal Canal at Pake's Bridge gave me a fair list of fresh-water ones.

Close to the county boundary at Tang Bridge, Agriolimax agrestis, Arion ater, Vitrina pellucida, Hyalinia cellaria {Vitrea hibernica Kennard),

H, nitidula, H. nitida, Helix rupestris, H. rufescens, H. hispida, H. ericetorum H. nemoralis, H. aspersa, Cochlicopa lubrica, Pupa cylindracea, Clausilia bidentata

and Succinea putris were found. The last species was particularly fine

and darkly coloured and was hibernating at the base of a dry stone wall

many yards from the nearest water.

Along the banks of the River Inny at Shrule Bridge Agriolimax laevis,

Hyalinia fulva, Helix rotundata, H. inter secta, H. pulchella (Vallonia excen

trica, Sterki), Carychium minimum, Succinea elegans, Limnaa paluslris and L, truncatula were added to the list, and in a marsh west of Castlecore, Limnaa peregra^ Valvata piscinalis and Spharium corneum.

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242 The Irish Naturalist. November,

The shore of Lough Ree near Saint's Island, was disappointing, owing

to the height of the wacer in the lake, but Arion hortensis* Helix virgata,

Physa fontinahs* Planorbis marginatus in drains, P. carmatus dead on lake

shore, Valvata cristata* Bythinia tentaculata and a Pisidium were observed

for the first time during the day. In the ruined church on the island

or rather peninsula, the Helices showed signs of being particularly fine, bat it being a late season they were still hibernating and required

digging out. The fresh-water list having so far been very meagre, I

pushed on towards Ballymahon, striking the Royal Canal at Pake's

Bridge near that place. As it was getting late in the day, and I was still

twenty-three miles from home, I could only spare time for a rajHd

survey of the canal, which gave promise of being exceptionally rich in

molluscau life, as the following list will show:?Succinea elegans, Amphipe

plea glutmosa* Limnaa peregra. L. stagnalis* L* palustris* L. truncatula* Physa

fontinalis, Planorbis carinatus. P. contortus. P. vortex. P* fontanus* Valvata

piscinalis. V. cristata. Bythinia tentaculata* Nentina Jluviatihs* Spharium comeum* Pisidtum amnicum. and other species of the same genus. Amphi

pe plea was particularly common on the submerged stonework of the

bridge, with Nmtina fluviatilis* a most interesting association. New

records for the day were Hyalinia pura and H. crystallina. both living on

the edge of the canal.

Belfast. A. W. Stelfox.

Is Hyalinia helvetica, Blum, found in Ireland ?

The above question put by Mr. A. W. Stelfox in last month's Irish

Naturalist raises a point to which for some time past I have been giving some attention. The shells referred to in my note in the Irish

Naturalist of February, 1894, which were sent by Dr. Scharff along with

some of his from Ban try to the continental authorities, named and iden

tified by them as H. helvetica, were not returned, and though I collected

in the same district on several subsequent occasions I could not procure similar ones. It was not until within the past year or two that, on

receiving several sets of H. helvetica from various English localities, my attention was again drawn to the subject, and I collected specimens of

the genus in most of the southern Irish counties, but failed to find any that I could identify with the English shells, though some from Kilrush, Co Clare, superficially resembled them and differed so much from

typical H. cellaria as to lead Mr. A. S. Kennard to describe them as a new

8pecies under the name of Vitrea Scharffi. {Proceedings oj the Malacological

Society* vol. viii., p. 50).

Towards the close of last year, after some correspondence with Mr.

Stelfox, he sent me for examination a very large series of Hyaliniae, com

prising sets collected by himself and Mr. R. Welch in numerous northern,

and western localities, but H. helvetica was not among them. Early this

year, through the kindness of Dr. Scharff, Mr. Stelfox and I together examined all the Irish specimens of the group in the National Museum,

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