SPHjERIUM, 5 



3. S. OVA'LE,* FfiRUSSAC. PL. I. 



" Body milk-white ; tubes long, united nearly all the way ; 

 foot tongue- shaped, very extensile and flexible ; gills of a faint 

 blush-colour." — B.C.^ vol. i. p. 8. 



Shell oblong, compressed, sides somewhat unequal, thin, 

 semitransparent, but not very glossy, of an ashy-grey colour, 

 sometimes marked with faint rays which extend towards the 

 lower margin, finely striate concentrically ; epidermis thin ; 

 anterior side roundish ; posterior side truncate ; lo7uer 7nargin 

 sharp, curved ; beaks almost central, small ; ligajnent long, 

 narrow, visible outside ; inside greyish ; hinge straight on the 

 posterior, incurved on the anterior side ; teeth as in S. corneiim^ 

 but very small ; scars indistinct. 



Inhabits ponds and canals, but it is a very local 

 species. It has been found at Exmouth (Clark), in 

 the Paddington Canal (J. G. J.), canals and ponds in 

 Lancashire, and near Wakefield, B.C. Canal, Acock's 

 Green, &c., near Birmingham (G. Sherriff Tye), near 

 Wakefield (J. Hebden), near Blue Bridge, York 

 (Hey), J.C. In 'British Conchology' it is stated 

 that " a living specimen, which had been taken early 

 in February, and kept in a vessel by itself, gave birth 

 about three weeks afterwards to some young ones, at 

 intervals of two or three days. Immediately on being 

 excluded they were very active, and used their long 

 foot as an organ of progression, by extending it to its 

 full length ; and, after attaching its point to the 

 bottom of the vessel, like a leech, they drew up their 

 shell to it, and by repeating this several times they 

 contrived to travel along for some distance. They 

 seemed to be fond of nestling under their mother for 

 the sake of shelter or shade." 



* Oval. 



