234 LUCINIDiE. 



our southern, south- western, and south-eastern counties, 

 and in the south and west of Ireland ; Llyn, Carnarvon- 

 shire (Pennant) ; Scarborough (Bean) ; Seaton, Dur- 

 ham (Hogg, fide Alder) ; and Mr. Dawson has dredged 

 a single valve off Buchan in Aberdeenshire at some 

 distance from land. In the Channel Isles it lives in the 

 sand at low tides ; and it is usually found elsewhere at a 

 depth of only a few fathoms. The locality " Scalloway/' 

 given in the ( British Mollusca ' on my authority, is 

 incorrect ; and Mr. M f Andrew informs me that a similar 

 mistake must have occurred in quoting him as having 

 taken this species in Zetland. The variety is from 

 Southampton and Bantry Bay. I am not aware that 

 this species has ever been found in the north of Europe. 

 South of Great Britain it is widely distributed through 

 the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and iEgean seas \ its fur- 

 thest limit appears to be the Canary Isles. 



The shell varies considerably in the degree of globose- 

 ness, and in the proportions of length and breadth, as 

 well as in the development of the teeth. Very young 

 specimens have an oblique contour and are much broader 

 than long. 



Philippi was of opinion that this species is not the 

 Tellina lactea of Linne, because the latter is described 

 as " gibba." Believing, moreover, that the present spe- 

 cies is that which Lamarck designated lactea, he pro- 

 posed the name of frag His for Linnets species. Forbes 

 and Hanley subscribed to Philippics view, but changed 

 the specific name of our shell to leucoma. I do not 

 see any necessity for this shifting nomenclature. The 

 Lucina leucoma of Turton, if we may trust his descrip- 

 tion and typical specimens, is scarcely a variety of the 

 shell commonly called L. lacteus. Lamarck appears not 

 only to have made two species out of the old one, but 



