88 THE ELEMENTS 



On the other hand, its prominent spire 

 certainly removes it from this genus. 



Gmelen has placed the Hilex Per- 

 versa and the Haliotidia, both imper- 

 forate shells, among the Haliotis tribe, 

 in his edition of the Sy sterna Natures ; 

 and quotes Chemnitz, as authority for 

 so doing : but we think he would have 

 been less blameable, had he consti- 

 tuted a new genus of these imperforate 

 shells. 



Heblins, Lamarck, Latreille, and 

 other continental writers, have made 

 a new genus of the imperforate shells, 

 and named it Stomatia, with the 

 following generic character : " shell of 

 an oval form, ear-shaped ; spire 

 prominent ; aperture ample, entire, 

 oblong ; disk imperforate/' 



There is no genus of shells which 

 has been so often misplaced as the 

 Haliotis. Lister places it between the 

 Trochus and Nerita, Gualtieri among 

 the snails with depressed spires, Adan- 



