62 THE ELEMENTS 



by a byssus or beard of silky filaments ; 

 hinge mostly without teeth, with gene- 

 rally a subulate, excavated, longitudi- 

 nal line. Linn. Syst. 315. Plate 7th, 

 %. 16th. 



The Linnean Mytili are divided into 

 three families : *Parasitici, &c. parasi- 

 tica), affixed as it were by claws, as 

 exemplified in the Mytilus Cristi Galli; 

 **Plani, <&c. flat or compressed into a 

 flattened form, and slightly eared ; as 

 in the Mytilus Margratiferus ; ***Ven- 

 tricosiusculi, &c. ventricose or convex, 

 as in Mytilus Edulis. 



Habitation. The Mytili are found 

 to inhabit the ocean, lakes, rivers and 

 ponds. Marine Muscles adhere to 

 rocks or beds by a thin byssus, and 

 some to the Gorgonia? by claws. Some 

 penetrate calcareous rocks, &c. where 

 they reside without changing place, 

 some of them adhere to rocks on the 

 shore, and are either used for bait or 

 food, and as such they are esteemed 



