The Conchologist’s First Book — Edgar A. Poe, 1839 — reading text

flavescens. T. caput-serpentis. T. dorsata. T. psittacea. T. Vitrea. T. rotunda. T. dentata. T. pisa. T. sanguinea. T. truncata.* a 80 . CONCHOLOGY. “se 3. Genus Lingula. Animal. Depressed, oval, somewhat elongated, inclosed be- tween two lobes of a mantle, slit throughout its anterior half, and having pectinated branchie adhering to the internal surface ; mouth simple, having on each side a long tentacular appendage ciliated in all its external edge, and rolling itself up spirally in the shell. . Shell. With an epidermis, subequivalve, equilateral, depressed, elongated, truncated anteriorly ; the summit median and _ poste- rior ; no trace of ligament; a long fibro-gelatinous peduncle fixing the shell vertically to submarine bodies; muscular impression multiple. Inhabits the Indian Ocean. One species. Lingula anatina. e CLASS IV. MM Ost ole: CAE Animals soft, inarticulated, furnished with an anterior head, projecting or salient; most frequently with eyes and tentacule, or possessing, at their summit, arms disposed in the form of a coro- net: their mouth either short, elongated, or tubular, exertile, and generally armed with hard parts. Mantle diversified, having its edges free on the sides of the body, or the lobes united, forming a sack, which in part envelopes the animal; gills or respiratory organs various, circulation double, one particular, the other gen- eral; heart unilocular, sometimes with the auricles divided, and very distant; no medullary cord along the body, but scattered nerves and ganglions, Twenty-two families. FAMILY I. Preropopa. Six genera. Some genera of this family are without a testaceous covering, mentioned only to preserve the family entire, CONCHOLOGY. | SI. ge 1. Genus Hyalza, Animal. Body enclosed in a shell, winged before, two opposite _ wings, somewhat retractile, inserted at the sides of the mouth, head distinct, mouth terminal, placed at the junction of the fins without eyes. Shell. Symmetrical, very thin and transparent, valves unequal, flat above, convex below, open like a cleft anteriorly, summit truncated and tridentated posteriorly. Inhabits the Mediterranean. Two species. Hyalea tridentata. Hyalza cuspidata. 2. Genus Clio. Animal. Body free, naked, more or less elongated, tapering to the rear, head very distinct; provided with six long conical retractile tentacule, separated into two groups of three each ; mouth altogether terminal and vertical, eyes sessile, rudiment of a foot under the neck. This is a molluscous animal without any testaceous covering, but is here placed as leading to other genera which have shells. Inhabits the Indian seas. Two species, Clio borealis. Clio Australis. 3. Genus Cleodora. Animal. Body oblong, gelatinous, contractile; a head in front with two wings, and the posterior part enveloped in a shell, head distinct, projecting and round; two eyes; mouth in the form of a small beak; destitute of tentacule; two opposite membranaceous pellucid, and cordated wings, placed at the base of the neck. Shell. Pyramidal, triangular, of a gelatinous or cartilaginous substance, very thin and transparent; aperture obliquely trun- cated. Inhabits the South American seas. Two species. Cleodora pyramidata. Cleodora caudata. 4, Genus Limacina. Animal. Body soft, oblong, two branchial fins situated at the base of the neck ; posterior part of the body spiral, and enveloped in a shell. 82 CONCHOLOGY. Shell. Thin, fragile, papyraceous, spiral, the whorls reunited in a planorbis form, and deeply and largely umbilicated on one side, aperture large and entire. Inhabits the north seas. One species. Limacina helicialis. 5. Genus Cymbduilia. Animal. Body oblong, gelatinous, pellucid, enclosing a shell ; head sessile; two eyes, and two retractile tentacula; mouth with a retractile proboscis ; two opposite oblong ovate, branched wings, connate at their posterior base. Shell. Gelatinous, cartilaginous, very transparent, crystalline, oblong, in shape of a shoe, from which it has derived the name of the slipper, truncated at the summit; aperture lateral and ante- rior. Inhabits the Mediterranean. One species. Cymbulia Peronii. 6. Genus Pneumodermon. A Molluscous animal, whithout any testaceous covering, and much resembling the genus Clio. Inhabits the Indian seas. One species. Pneumodermon Peronii. FAMILY II. PayLriipiacea. Six genera. 1. Genus Phyllidia. A mollusca similar to the preceding genus, without a shell, but its back covered with a rough or coriaceous skin. Inhabits the Mediterranean. ‘Three species. Phyllidea varicosa. Phyllidea pustulosa. P. ocellata. 2. Genus Chitonellus. Animal. Body creeping, elongated; middle of the back pro- vided its entire length with a detached multivalve shell; the CONCHOLOGY. 83 alternate pieces for the most part longitudinal; sides naked ; branchie disposed around the body ; foot cleft longitudinally by a deep furrow. " Shell. Each valve with strie radiating from its apex; the margins serrated; the base of the last valve obtuse. The testa- ceous plates of this genus are never joined like those of the chiton, so that the animal can move in every direction. Upon the con- traction of the animal after death, however, these valves become nearly united. Inhabits the seas of New Holland. Two species. Chitonellus striatus. — Chitonellus larveformis. 3. Genus Chiton. Animal. Body creeping, ovate oblong, convex, round at both extremities ; marginated with a coriaceous skin; the back covered by a longitudinal series of testaceous, transverse, imbricated, and moveable plates; head before, sessile, with the mouth placed below, destitute of tentacula or eyes; branchie placed round the body, under the margin of the skin; and orifice at the posterior extremity. Shell. Eight imbricated valves, nearly smooth, slightly cari- nated, and rounded at the margins: summit more or less marked and curved, by longitudinal elongations. Inhabits the British and American coasts. Sixty species. Chiton fulvus. Chiton gigas. C. pisceus. C. squamosus. C. ruber. C. Peruvianus. C. levis. C. tesselatus. C. spinosus. C. fascicularis. C. marginatus. C. crinitus. C. siculus. C. niger. C. spiniferous. C, coquimbensis, C. lumingii. C, granosus. C. capensis. C. Carmichaelis. C, echinatus. C. striatus, C., lineolatus. C, chilensis. C. tuberculatus. C. hispidus. C, thalassimus. C. porosus. 84 CONCHOLOGY. C. glauco-sinctus. C. larvaformis. C. disjunctus. C. undulatus. C. elegans. C. luteolus. C. lineatus. C. fuscus. C. sulcatus. » C. minimus. C. bicolor. C. cimex C, cerasimus. OC. ascellus. C. Magellanicus. C. Icelandicus. C, marmoratus. C. fasciatus. C. nebulosus. C, setosus. C. olivaceous. C. variegatus. C. latus. C. asselloides. C. punctatus. C. indus. C, viridus. C. albas. C. cinerus. C. castaneus. C. tunicatus. *C. Emersonili. *C. fulminatus. 4, Genus Patella. Animal. Body completely covered by the shell; head with two acute tentacule, and the eyes situated at their exterior base ; branchie placed under the mantle and around the body. - Shell. been subdivided into the several distinct genera of Fissurella, Emarginula, Navicella, Umbrella, Pileopsis, Calyptrea, Crepidula, Parmophora, and Ancylus; each of which possesses sufficiently well-defined characters to authorize a separation, by which they may be more easily distinguished from the still widely extended family of Patella. Oval, conic, or alittle depressed, outside green or brown, sometimes radiated with various colors; having di- This numerous and beautiful genus of Linneus has vergent strie and concentric wrinkles, inside glossy, iridescent, with yellow or fawn colored, purple, blue, or brown radiations. Inhabits the coast of Europe. Patella safiana. 4 P. testitudinaria. P. cochlear. P. compressa. Forty-five species. P. Australis. P. apicina. P. granatina. P. oculus. P. granularis. P, decaurata. P. Magellanica. P, stellifera. P. vulgata. P. Mammnillaris. P, lineata. P. leucopleura. P. notata. P. Tarentina. P. punctata. P. puncturata. P. Javanica. P. tuberculifera. P. miniata. P. pellucida. P, tricostata. CONCHOLOGY. P. plicata. 5. Genus Umbrella. Animal. See es ae he OOO. ae ee ee 85 . Galathia. . pectinata. viridula. scutellaris. radians. cerulea. plumbia. umbrella. pyramidata. luteola. aspera. spinifera. longicosta. barbata. angulosa. saccharina. laciniosa. Pl. IX. Body very thick and oval, provided with a dorsal shell; foot large, smooth and flat, surrounded by a border, ante- riorly notched, attenuated behind; head indistinct; four tenta- cula, the two upper ones thick, short, and truncated, the other two thin, and shaped like pedunculated crests ; having foliaceous branchie. ty: Shell. External, orbicular, subirregular, nearly fiat, slightly convex above, white, with apex near the middle; margin acute, internal surface rather concave ; having a callous disk, coloured, depressed in the centre, surrounded by a smooth border. Inhabits the Indian Ocean. Two species. Umbrella Indica. Umbrella Mediterranea. 6. Genus Pleurobranchus. Pl. IX. Animal. Body creeping, fleshy ; mantle and foot expanded ; branchie placed on the right side; cloak enveloping the shell ; neck short, contracted in some species, with an emarginate front, 9 86 CONCHOLOGY. exhibiting the commencement of the inferior tentacula, the upper ones, tubular and cloven; gills at the edge of the dorsal plait, mouth provided with a short retractile proboscis. Shell. Depressed oval oblong, concentricaily wrinkled, almost entirely open, rounded and convoluted; the vertex with a single turn. Inhabits the coast of Devonshire in England. Two species. Pleurobranchus Peronii. Pleurobranchus Laqueare. FAMILY III. Catyprracea. Seven genera. 1,Genus Parmophorus. Pl. IX. -Inimal. Body creeping, thick, oblong ovate, broad behind, obtuse at the extremities ; border of the mantle cleft before, and suspended vertically around; head distinct, and slit below ; two conical contracted tentacula, at the base of which are placed the eyes, which are somewhat pedunculated; mouth below, funnel shaped, oblique, truncated and concealed ; branchial cavity open- ing anteriorly behind the head by a transverse fissure. Shell. Oblong, very depressed, slightly convex above, obtuse at extremities, anteriorly channeled by a slight sinus, and having towards the posterior part a small pointed apex, inclined back- wards; the lower surface slightly concave. Inhabits the Austra- lian seas. Four species. Parmophorus Australis. Parmophorus granulata. P. brevicula. P. ambigua. One fossil species. 2. Genus Emarginula. Pl. IX. Animal. Body creeping, with two conical tentacular, eyes at the external vase ; mantle large, partly covering the margin of the shell; foot very large and thick. Shell. Shield-like, conical ; summit inclined ; the cavity simple, having a notch or hollow cut on its posterior margin; shells of CONCHOLOGY. 87 this genus are generally very small, Inhabits the British seas. Five species. Emarginula Blainvillii. Emarginula fissura. E, Cuvierii. E. rubra. E. marginata. 3. Genus Fissurella. Pl. IX. Animal. With the head truncated in front; two conical ten- tacula, with eyes at their exterior base; mouth simple, terminal, and destitute of jaws; two pectinated branchie projecting from the cavity; mantle large, protruding beyond the shell. Shell. Shield shaped, conical recurved, summit entire, depress- ed, concave below, perforated at the summit in the form of a key hole, without a spire, the exterior surface ribbed longitudinally. Inhabits the European seas. ‘T'wenty species.