Experiments in the Breeding of Cerions

Abstract

CERIONS are land snails, well represented in the Bahamas by five species. They occur on the ground, under the edges of stones, among dead leaves, on grass, and on bushes. On an exposed place they attach themselves to the support by a thin epiphragm which also serves to prevent desiccation. They can aestivatefor a considerable time. In habit they are largely nocturnal, and are most active on misty nights. They feed mainly on fungi. They mate on the ground, and, though hermaphrodite, one functions as a male and the other as a female. The eggs are laid singly at the base of tufts of grass and beneath the surface. It takes between two and three years for an individual to reach full maturity.

Experiments in the Breeding of Cerions.

By Paul Bartsch (Department of Marine Biology of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Vol. xiv.) (Publication No. 282.) Pp. 55 + 59 plates. (Washington: The Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1920.) Price 3 dollars.