CHITON. 211 



1. Chiton fas'cicula'ris*, Linne. 

 C. fascicular^, Linn. S. N. p. 1106 ; F. & H. ii. p. 393, pi. lix. f. 5. 



Body oblong, yellowish with often a tinge of brown : man- 

 tle fleshy, bordered by a narrow hem of a paler and almost 

 transparent hue : girdle moderately broad, more or less closely 

 covered with short spines, which are usually tawny or greyish ; 

 besides this armature there is a thick tuft of 14 longer spines, or 

 rather bristles, of a paler or whitish colour (occasionally green- 

 ish or golden), between each plate of the shell at the point 

 of junction on both sides, and 4 more, close to the front 

 or head-plate, making in all 18 ; margin fringed with 

 spines of an intermediate length, and finely ciliated at its outer 

 edges : head representing an arc of |rds of a circle : mouth 

 large, of a purplish colour, and star-shaped, being divided into 

 a dozen lobes, each of which radiates from the centre and is 

 defined by a black line : gills visible throughout, larger towards 

 the tail, and diminishing in size towards the head : foot oblong, 

 of an orange tint, broader in front, and bluntly pointed behind, 

 thicker towards the sides than in the middle of the sole : vent 

 conical and short, projecting above the tail or hinder extremity 

 of the foot, and placed in a channel or notch. 



Shell formed of the usual number of plates, which are 

 shield-like and somewhat compressed, solid, opaque, and of 

 rather a dull hue ; they occupy |-ths of the entire breadth ; 

 when separated, the notch in front of each is very large and 

 deep, and is flanked on either side by a broad shoulder : sculp- 

 ture, rather fine but not very numerous oval granules, like 

 those of shagreen, on each side of a broadish central ridge or 

 keel, which extends along the back ; they are arranged length- 

 wise in lines converging towards the beak or point of the 

 ridge ; their tops are flattened and sometimes slightly concave ; 

 the central or dorsal ridge is closely striated longitudinally or 

 divided by lines, and sometimes punctured, exposing the tu- 

 bular structure ; it has usually a rubbed and somewhat po- 

 lished appearance : colour brown, chocolate, orange, yellow, 

 pinkish, or red, now and then mottled or streaked with 

 white, pale green, or brown : beaks small and rather promi- 



* Covered with small bundles or tufts. 



