63 



CARDIUM turo-idum. 

 TAB. CCCXLVL— i%. 1. 



Spec. Char. Obovate, transverse, smooth, gib- 

 bose ; anterior side longitndinally striated ; 

 edge minutely toothed. 



Syn. Cardium turgidum. Brander^ 96. 



An elegant almost orbicular shell, whose surface is in 

 part very even and smooth, but marked with fine lines 

 concealed beneath it, and which are rather hollow near 

 the margin : the anterior side has 20 or 30 furrows cut 

 longitudinally into it, so close together as to leave only 

 sharp highly elevated lines between them : the teeth upon 

 the edge are blunt, they are largest at the ends of the 

 above mentioned furrows ; the width exceeds the length 

 a trifle, and the anterior side is slightly truncated. 



This seems to be one of the few shells belonging to 

 the London Clay, only described by Brander ; it pro- 

 bably with several others is not found near Paris. May 

 not the several formations that lie in strata, or coats, 

 over the nucleus of the earth, have successive zones 

 replete with the fossil remains of the animals, &c. pecu- 

 liar to them, besides such as are universally distributed 

 through them, which zones might be discovered by a 

 diligent comparison of the fossils of different countries, 

 and indicate the probable position of the poles previously 

 to the destruction of life in those strata, for the order 

 and perfection of many of the remains seem to indicate 

 that they are not far removed from their original sites. 



The shell before us has been presented to me by Miss 

 Beminster, and several other friends, who have picked 

 it up at Barton. 



