OYSTERS AND SMALL CLAMS 



67 



pretty species, smooth and white, and the valves are 

 so much inflated that small specimens resemble white 

 marbles. The animal has a habit of forming a pro- 

 tecting nest of sand, cemented by mucus. This nest 

 has long, tubular openings for the siphons, so that 

 the inmate is wholly concealed. 



In Figure 42 a nearly nat- 

 ural sized view is given of 

 both the outside and the in- 

 side of Phacoides d^quizon- 

 atus^ Stearns, the Banded 

 Lucine, a rare species, speci- 

 mens of which were dredged 

 from deep water in the Santa 

 Barbara Channel. Most of 

 the shells of the genus Phaco- 

 ides^ which means lentil-like, 

 were formerly called Lucina, 

 the goddess of light, a name 

 applied to one or more of 

 the mythical beings ot the 

 olden time. 



Figure 43 represents one of the 

 most common bivalve shells to be 

 found along the coast of central 

 California. Its name^is Phacoides 

 californicus, Conr., the California 

 Lucine. It is pure white in color, 

 circular in outline, and varies in its 

 size from that of a dime to that of a half-dollar. 

 The cardinal hinge-teeth are small, while the lateral 

 ones are strong. The ligament is external, and the 



Fig. 42 (*) 



Fig. 43 



