PELECYPODS 



437 



ered with a multitude of erect scales. The ribs persist upon the interior of 

 the shell. The " ears " are unequal in size. The color is light orange to 

 reddish-brown, with zones 

 of darker and richer col- 

 or. One valve is flatter 

 than the other and more 

 lightly colored. Greatest 

 length about three inches ; 

 height three and a half 

 inches. This is a Northern 

 shell, belonging to the 

 waters of Newfoundland, 

 but its valves are fre- 

 quently cast upon the New 

 England beaches. 



1*. irradians. The 

 common shallow-water 

 species of the Atlantic 

 coast. This exceedingly 

 abundant species does 

 not range north of Bos- 

 ton, but finds an exten- 

 sive habitat to the south. 

 Its metropolis is Cape 

 Cod, Long Island Sound, 

 and the Jersey coast 

 waters. This is the true 

 scallop of the Boston and New York markets. Only the adductor 

 muscle is eaten. In this species there is not so marked a difference in 

 the convexity of the two valves. There are about twenty elevated and 

 rounded ribs, the spaces between them being also rounded. The color 

 is variable, from a blackish horn to ashen gray. The " ears " are equal ; 

 the interior is shining, and grooved to correspond with the external ribs. 

 Length two and three fifths inches, height two and a half inches. On 

 clear, calm days the immature individuals of this species may often be 

 seen in shallow water disporting themselves most gaily, skipping about 

 and snapping their valves in great glee. Their mantle margins are very 

 ornate in scarlet or orange, with rows of bright-blue eyes. Care must 

 be taken in handling scallops, especially the large P. magettanicus, for a 

 finger caught between the valves will be badly bruised. 



P. dislocatus. South of Hatteras this species takes the place of its 

 Northern relative, P. irradians. It is somewhat more globular and per- 

 haps not quite so large, but the resemblance between the two species is 

 very marked. It has from twenty to twenty-two rounded ribs, with very 

 numerous concentric wrinkles between them. In color it is white, tinged 

 with purple or yellow, with occasionally a system of blood-red lines 

 crossing the ribs transversely. The diameter is about one and a half 

 inches. This species has the same playt'ul habits as P. irradians, and is 

 not at all easy to capture. When pursued it dives into the mud, and sets 

 up such a commotion by the spasmodic opening and shutting of its 

 valves that the water at once becomes roiled, and the scallop is safely 

 hidden in its murky depths. 



Pecten island icux. 



