Illustrations of the recent conchology of Great Britain and Ireland, with the description and localities of all the species, marine, land and fresh water

INVOLUTE,] MOLLUSCA. 61 G1rnus 11.-FissunELLA.- Bruguicrc. Shcll subconic, oblong, shicld-shapcd, or conically clcprcssccl, couca,·c wilhin, dcslilulc of spiral co11,·olulions, with thc \'Crlcx pcrforatccl, ami clircctccl towarcls thc front of thc shcll; pcrfo- ration subo\'atc, clongatccl, or ncarly round iu somc spccies; margin thickcuecl around thc insiclc, ancl gcncrally crcnulatcd; muscular imprcssion visible ncar thc inner cdgc, ali round, wiclcst on thc sides ncxt thc anterior cm!; outcr surfacc striatccl, ribbc<l, groovcd, or radiatecl from thc vcrtcx to thc margin, aml gcncrally <lecussatcd by lincs of growth, or con- centric ribs. l. F1ssunELI,A Gn,ECA, pi. XII, f. 10, 1 l. Fissw·cllri G,·ceca, First Ed., pi. 36, f. 10, 11; Fleming, p. 36-1; lb., Ency., p. 66; Brown, Popular Ency., II, p. 378, pi. 17, f.!)G; PafollllG,-ceca, Linné, Syst., p. 126~; 13rown, Ency., p. ,167; lb., \Vcrnerian Mcm., p. 533; Turton, 13rit. Fau., p. ]!)8; Martini, I, pi. 11, f . 98; Pcnnant, IV, p. 144, pi. 89, f. 153; Montagu, p. •192; Maton ami Hackett, p. 236; Patella ?'eticulata, Donornn, I, pi. 21, f. 3. Shell oblong-oval, subdepresscd, thick, of a dull brownish- ycllow colour, with numcrous, strong, longitudinal ribs, radiating from thc vcrtcx to the base, sorne of which are thickcr than thc rest, ami in some instances tubcrculated by the crossing of thc finer, conccntric, thread-likc strirc, which covcr thc wholc sur- facc, thc intcrsticcs prescnting a punclatcd appcarancc; vertex pcrforatc<l with an oblong-ovatc fissurc; insiclc smooth, whitc, sometimcs of a clull, pale brownish-purplc; margin not flat, but. somcwhat inclcntccl, or arcuatccl at thc sicle, and fincly crenu- latcd on the extreme cclgc. Lcngth thrce-quarters of an inch; breadth about half an inch ; height a quarter. Thc above are thc general dimensions of the species, but is met wi th in <lecp water of a largcr size, off thc De,·onshire coast, as well as that of thc lsle of Man; in which locality Profcssor Forbes dredged some very large specimens, mea- suring upwards of an inch in length, ancl more than fü•c-cighths in breaclth. It inhabils most of thc 13ritish coasts, but is nevcr plentiful; thc Dorsct, Kentish, Dcvonshire, and Northumberlancl coasts may be noticccl; the Frith of Forth, the frith of Clycle, and Argylcshire coasts, in Scotland; and Lough Strangforcl, Port- marnock, and Dnblin 13ay, lreland. GENUS 12~S,ruo,-13rown. Shell ovale, subconic; vcrtex rcflectecl, ancl slightly spiral; with a small dorsal fi,sure situate near the vertex, terminating intcrnally by a rhombic, funnel-shaped syphon, or cup, in somc species, but devoid of it in others; base ovale; exterior surface ribbccl, or striated. Scction I.-Cavit'!) prnvicled with a fmmel, leadi11g from the,fissw·e. l. S1r110 NoAcHINA, pi. XII, f. 14, 15, 16. Siplw striata, Firsl Ed., pi. 36, f. 14, 15, I 6; Brown, Conch. Text Book, p. 100, pl.~M, f. 21; lb., Popular Ency., II, p. 378, pi. 17, f. 113; Fissw·ella Noachina, Smith, V\1crnerian Mcm., VIII, p. 43; Sowerby; Cemoria Flemingii, Leach. Q Shcll brownish-white, very slrong, orate, snbconic; vertcx slightly spiral, and inclining antcriorly; with a s_mall triangular lissurc bchind, broad bclow ami acule above, s1tuate near the ,•crtcx; apcrture whitc, smooth, ami slightly crcnulatcd 011 the 1uargin. First cliscoverecl as 13ritish, by my fricnd Stewart Kcr, Esq., al Grcenock, where deacl shells are not nncommon. Two spe- cimens werc dreclgcd alil'C, off Hothesay, by my fricnd James Smith, E sq., of Jorclan I-Iill, ncar Glasgow, whilc I accompanicd him on a <lrcclging excursion, in his yacht, in 183í. It secms to ha1·c bccn ,·ery plentiful in thc Clydc at onc period, as it occurs abundantly in a subfossil slatc in thc ele- valed marine bed of the Clyde, at Dalmuir. Scction II.-Destitutc of an intcnial fwmcl. 2. S11'1\0 RADIA'rA, ¡,l. XII, f. 20. Sipho mcliata, First Ecl., pi. 36, f. 20; Fissurc/l(I. apcl'tum, Fleming, p. 364; Patcllc, apci·tura, llfontagu, p. 4Dl, pi. 13, f. 20; Fleming, Ency., p. 66 ; Patclla iYoacld11a, Brown, Eucy. Brit., p. 467; Maton ami Hackctt, p. 236; thc young of Fis- sw·ella G,·a:ca, Forbes, l\fal. Mon., p. 3·1. "\Vith a subconic, subpcllucicl, while shell, markcd with strong, longitudinal, tubcrculated ribs, ami a fcw circular riclgcs, that give it a canccllatcd appcarancc; vertcx reflcclccl, the poinl ,;ery small, and luming <lownwarcls; not clelachecl, but aclhcring to thc top of the shcll, sometimcs making onc convolution; immediatcly above which is a rhomboid perforation. lnsí<le smooth, glossy, white; margin oval, cdge crcnate<l by thc rihs. Lcngth not quite a quarlcr of an inch, scarcc an eighth of an inch in height. In onc instancc this shcll had a few brown slrcaks running half way up the margin."-11lontagu, In my Papcr in the Encyclopaidia 13rita1111ica, I consi<lcred this the Patella Noachinc, of Chcmnitz; hut 011 sceing thc original shcll in the 13ritish Museum, I pcrceÍl'c<l that it wns a diffcrent species from Sipho Noachina. It is more clliptical than the latter shell, the longitudinal ribs largcr, set more apnrt, and thc conccntric strire not so well markc<l ; but a strongcr charactcr than thesc is thc form of thc foramen, which is ncarly lance-shapcd in S. l{oachi11a, with an interna) funnel, whereas it is oblong-ovate in S. ?·adictta, an<l dc~titutc of an interna) funnel; with which charactcr, a specimen found in sand at Tenby, by General Bingham, cxpressly agreccl. In 1819, when I made my clrawing from Montagu's original spccimen in thc 13ritish Muscum, my friend Dr. Leach con- currcd in opinion, that spccimcns with which I presented him, from thc Cly<lc, werc pcrfcctly clistinct from that in the l\fose11m, as did also Mr. J . E. Gray; and the Doctor agrced in thc propricty of instituting a ncw genus for their reception; but it appcars he afterwards thought Cemoria a bctter name than that which I had previously chosen. Found at Falmouth Harbour, Cornwall, and in Salcomb 13ay, Dcrnnshire, by Colonel Montagu; at Tenby, Wales, by General Bingham; and in Zctland, by Dr. Fleming; and Profcssor Forbes dredge<l it plentifully off thc l\fanx coast, but considered it the young of Fissurcllc, Grmca, with which opinion I do not agree. lt is not half the sizc of S. Noachina.