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DoT | 
Je et, debe ees Gael ch 
THE recent Mollusca of the Firth of Clyde and its numerous 
arms have, during the past half century, received a fair share 
of attention from our naturalists; nor is this to be wondered 
at, for the intermediate position which our river occupies 
between the northern and southern provinces of the British 
marine fauna, endows it with a numerous and varied store of 
material to reward the dredger. Here several species seem 
to reach their southmost limit, and here also may be found 
a few wanderers characteristic of more southern waters ; 
added to which, the beauty of the scenery, the great 
facilities for travelling, and the numerous secluded and 
sheltered bays and lochs, in which work can be carried 
on in almost all weathers, combine to make the Clyde one 
of the most favourite stations for dredging operations. 
Of the earlier local workers in this field it may be sufficient 
here merely to recall the familiar names of James Smith of 
Jordanhill, Dr. Landsborough of Saltcoats, Major Martin of 
Ardrossan, and Drs. Lorrain and Scouler of Glasgow; whilst 
in more recent years the zealous labours (happily still con- 
tinued) of Mr. David Robertson have largely augmented our 
knowledge of the fauna of our Firth. 
Of naturalists from across the Border who have given 
their attention to the marine mollusca of the Clyde, I may 
mention Joshua Alder, Edward Forbes, James M‘Andrew, 
William Barlee, W. B. Carpenter, and Alfred M. Norman. 
Resulting from the labours of so many investigators a 
good many lists of our mollusca have already been published, 
the most complete of which, as far as number of species is 
b 
