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Fam. CYPKINEME. 

 ISOCARDIA.— OXHORN-COCKLE. 



Isocardia cor, Lirmsens. Heart -shell or Oxhorn 

 Cockle. — Shell very strong, nearly spherical, heart-shaped, 

 concentrically striated, equivalve, smooth, with a dark 

 reddish-brown epidermis; beaks very prominent and 

 curled ; two primary teeth in the right valve, lying pa- 

 rallel to each other ; in the left valve, the outer tooth is 

 indented and is large, the other thin and laminar. The 

 lateral tooth strong and elongated, situated under the 

 ligament, which is external. 



This magnificent mollusk is very partially distributed, 

 though plentiful in some places. Specimens have been 

 sent to me from Dublin Bay, where I grieve to say they 

 are getting very scarce, and also from Brixham, where 

 they are highly prized by the fishermen. They do not 

 however often bring them on shore, though they bring 

 them up in the dredges, unless they wish to make a pre- 

 sent of a dish to some friend, or know where they can 

 dispose of them. They call them " Torbay-noses/' and 

 they are also known by the names of " Oxhorn-cockles" 

 and " Heart-shells ;" in France, coeur de bce.uf, in Hol- 

 land, zots-kappen, or fool's cap, and at Naples, cocciola 

 zizza. Mr. J. G. Jeffreys, quoting an interesting ac- 

 count of Isocardia cor. by the Be v. James Bulwer 

 (who kept a specimen in a vessel of sea-water, and 

 was therefore able to study the habits of the animal), 

 given in the ' Zoological Journal/ states, " that the 

 animal appears insensible both to sound and light, as 

 the presence or absence of either did not interrupt its 

 movements, but its sense of feeling appeared to be 



