THE GROSS ANATOMY OF CORBICULA 
FLUMINALIS (Miller). 
By B. PrasHapD, D.Sc., Assistant Superintendent, 
Zoological Survey of India. 
In a recent paper on the molluscs of Baluchistan and Seistan ! 
Dr. Annandale and I have discussed the synonomy of Corbicula 
fuminalis atsome length. A few additional remarks may, however, 
be made regarding the type-species of the genus Corbicula. This 
genus was established in 1811 by Megerle? with Miiller’s species 
Tellina fluminalis? as the type. Preston‘, admitting this, referred 
to “‘ Corbicula fluminalis, Megerle’’ as the type-species of the genus 
Corbicula ; this is evidently a mistake since the author of the 
species C. fuminalis was Miiller and not Megerle ; the latter author 
only separated some of Miiller’s species of Tellina under the new 
name Corbicula. 
The anatomy of the various species of Corbicula is very 
imperfectly known, the only work of any importance being a 
paper on the anatomy of a Chinese species (C. Jagiliterti) by 
Fischer.’ I have therefore thought it desirable to describe the soft- 
parts of C. fluminalis, specimens of which, collected by Captain 
C.L. Boulenger at various places on the Euphrates, Mesopotamia, 
the original locality of Miiller’s species, and from Seistan, collected 
by Dr. N. Annandale and Dr. S. W. Kemp, are now available. 
Animal. Corresponding to the shape of the shell the animal 
is trigonal, very much swollen in the umbonal region and greatly 
depressed below. Specimens preserved in spirit are of a creamy 
colour, the muscles and foot being of a much darker shade of 
yellow. 
The mantle is transluscent and thin up to the palleal junction, 
the further lower part is much thicker owing to well-developed radial 
palleal muscles, while the free border is still thicker. The margin 
of the mantle is entire and without any papillae along the edge. 
There is, however, a row of small conical papillae on the inner 
surface a little behind the edge. The papillae are much reduced 
or even absent in the middle region of the pedal orifice. In the 
siphonal region also there are papillae in the same situation, but 
these are much smaller in size. The mantle-flaps of the two sides are 
not free from one another but owing to the absence of a supra- 
Rec. Ind. Mus. XVIUII, p. 58, pl. viti, figs. 1-6 (1919). 
Mag. Ges. Naturf. Freude Berlin, V, p. 56 (1811). 
Miiller’s Verm. Terr. Fluv. II, p. 205 (1774). 
Faun. Brit. Ind., Freshw. Moll., p. 210 (1915). 
Fourn. Conchyliol. XI, pp. 1-10, pl. i, figs. 1-3 (1863). 
Are Ye 
