174 



This fossil was first described and figured by the Rev. 

 Mr. Ure, in his " History of Rutherglen and East- Kilbride." 

 It has also been particularly noticed by Mons. Denys de 

 Montfort, as having been found in St. Peter's Mountain, 

 near Maestricht, and has been distinguished, by him, by 

 the term pyrgopolon, with the specific designation of moscBy 

 but to which, perhaps, the term teres would be more ap- 

 plicable, the specimen figured by De ?viontfort agreeing, 

 I conjecture, with C. teres of Mr. Sowerby, Min. Conch. 

 Tab. cclx. fig. 1, 2. We are obliged to Mr. INIiller, of 

 Bristol, for having instituted this .genus. Mr. Sowerby 

 describes and figures two species, C. quadrisiilcata, fig. 17, 

 and C. teres. 



Besides the multilocular shells which are here parti- 

 cularized, many more, both in a recent and mineralized 

 state, have been described by Bianchi, Soldani, Fichtell, 

 Moll, Boys, Walker, and others, which are so minute as to 

 require microscopical aid to discover, with correctness, 

 even their forms. These objects of admiration occur in 

 such variety of forms, of structure, and of richly varied 

 markings, as nearly to foil the naturalist in his attempts at 

 classification, and almost to authorize the mode of M. de 

 Montfort, who places almost every shell under a distinct 

 genus. Sixty genera have been already formed of these 

 interesting domiciles, and many more, doubtlessly, lie hidden 

 to reward the diligence of future inquirers. 



When it is considered that these belong to only one 

 division of shells, and that there remain to be added to these 

 the microscopic univalved and bivalved shells, their mul- 

 titude will certainly authorize these minute shells being 

 described and treated of in distinct works ; although their 

 connection with the larger subjects of this class of Nature's 

 works will demand their being studied with them, both by 

 the conchologist and the oryctologist. 



It has, however, been thought proper to introduce here, 



