Abstract
THE Swiss NATIONAL PARK AND ITS MOLLUSCA.— First mooted in 1906, a National Park for Switzerland was finally established in January 1919. It is situate in the Lower Engadine, almost on the extreme eastern border of Switzerland, and abutting on the Italian frontier. It comprises an area of about 151.5 sq. km., and has been put in the charge of a Commission, which has wisely decided on a complete investigation of its fauna, flora, etc., a task which the Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft has undertaken to carry out. For the purposes of this survey, however, it has been resolved to include the territory to the north of the Park down to the banks of the Inn, as well as some to the east, so as to furnish a more satisfactory physical area to deal with as a whole. The first portion of this undertaking, the “Molluscan Fauna,” by Ernst Biitikofer, has just been published by the Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Bd. Iv. of their Denkschriften. If this be a fair sample the complete work will be well worthy of its authors. Following a general account of the characters of the eleven districts into which, for purposes of description, the district has been divided, come the molluscan fauna of each, a systematic description of the various species and varieties, with tables of their horizontal and vertical distribution, and an excellent bibliography. Close on eighty forms, if we include those in the appendix, are dealt with, and the photographs of shells are mostly particularly good.
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Research Items. Nature 112, 248–249 (1923). https://doi.org/10.1038/112248a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/112248a0