The Helicinas - Family Helicidae

THE HELICINAS - FAMILY HELICIDAE. Shell top-shaped, globose or depressed; aperture semi lunar; columella callous; lip thick; operculum not spiral, made of overlapping plates. Head bearing a stout, blunt proboscis; foot long; radula long, narrow; jaw absent. A tropical family of several genera, living in damp situations in forests.

Genus HELICINA, Lam.

Characters of the family. Three hundred and fifty species. Distribution, world-wide.

H. orbiculata,

Say, is a tiny globular shell, brownish yellow, sometimes spotted, with a thick white lip. The operculum folds back upon the columella as if hinged to it when the animal is gliding along. Diameter, inch.

Habitat.— Tennessee to Texas and Florida.

H. agglutinans,

Sby., has a depressed shell and a single keel, decorated with frond-like processes. The inner lip is much thickened. Diameter, f inch.

Habitat.— Philippines.

H. Briarea, Poey., has

a flattened dome almost covered with brown, but white below and at the sutures. The wide aperture is white and polished. Diameter, I inch.

Habitat.— Cuba.

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