22 SOLEN. TELLTNA. 



however, according to Linnaeus, varies exceed- 

 ingly, and contains forty-one species. 



*' Solen. Shell bivalve, open at both ends, 

 tooth of the hinge subulate, or awl-shaped, reflex, 

 often double. 



" In this genus, the great length, in comparison 

 with the breadth of the shells in many of the 

 species, is remarkable : some are exceedingly 

 brittle. Our example, Solen siliqua (Plate 1) 

 is a British species. The hinge is not in the 

 centre of the shell, but nearer to one end of it. 

 Some are shapedlike the handle of a knife or a razor, 

 others are bent resembling the blade of a scimitar. 

 The Solen lives in the sands of the sea-shore, 

 often burying itself two feet deep, and retaining 

 its shell in a vertical position ; thirty-five 

 species. 



" The genus Teirina is remarkable for the 

 beauty of the shells, and, according to the ar- 

 rangement of Linnaeus, contains ninety-seven 

 species. The exterior is sometimes marked with 

 radiations; the surface of some shells is very 

 finely polished, while in others it is covered with 

 strios and undulations. The species that you 

 have placed before me, Lucy, is Telhna Fero- 

 ensis ; the shell is finely striated, and has also 

 radiations. (Plate 4.) 



" The generic characters are chiefly these : 

 shell compressed towards the anterior slope, teeth 



