332 INTRODLXTIOX TO CONCHOLOGY. 



The Deep-dwelling Cardita [C. alyssicola) abides^, as liis 

 name implies^ far beyond the reach of human ken. The 

 species is beautifully sculptured, and especially curious, 

 from having been dredged by Mr. Hinds, in the Straits of 

 Malacca, at the great depth of one hundred fathoms ; and 

 whereas some species are vividly adorned with bright tints, 

 this shell of the abyss is colomiess, and looks as if cut from 

 alabaster. 



Wherever the Chambered Cardita {C. concamerata) finds 

 a home, she carries with her a small cradle, in the shape 

 of a curious cup-like structure, formed by a fold of the cal- 

 careous lining of the valve. This singular appendage con- 

 tains her eggs, which remain until perfectly developed, and 

 ready to disclose the complete animal and shell. A pe- 

 culiar fan-shape distinguishes the minute C. fiabellum, found 

 at Valparaiso, South America. The same habitat, also, re- 

 veals the C. cardita, or Tiled Cardita, of which the sculpture 

 resembles a tiled roof. 



The Cypricardia exhibits in his hinge a more complicated 

 character than that of the previous genus, there being three 

 short teeth beneath the umboes, together with an elongated 

 lateral tooth in each valve ; the shell, also, is different, both 

 in structure and composition, — as regards the first, in never 



