DIXON'S RAZOR-SHELL. 



20I 



one front and one side-tooth, which slips in between the others 

 in the opposite valve. From the teeth in each valve proceeds 

 a strong rib, which extends to above half way across the shell, 

 and gradually looses itself toward the edge, which is smooth 

 and sharp. The color of the outside is white, circularly, but 

 faintly, zoned with violet, and is covered with a smooth, 

 yellowish-brown epidermis, which appears darkest where the 

 zones are; the inside is white, slighly zoned, and tinted with 

 violet and pink. The animal, as in all species of this genus, 

 protrudes beyond the ends of the shell very much, and is 

 exceeding good food. 



The foregoing is declared by Doctor Carpenter to 

 be "probably the first description on record of mol- 

 lusks from the Pacific shores of N. America, by the 

 original collector." 



I will not add to it except to say that the species 

 is now known as Macho? r a pa tula, Dixon, Ma-ke'-ra 

 pat'-u-la, Flat Razor-shell. A picture of a small 



specimen is given in Fig. 171. Sometimes it grows 

 nearly six inches in length. It is more common to 

 the north, but it is also found on the coast of south- 

 ern California. 



Somewhat similar to this is the Short Razor-shell, 

 Soleciirtus Californianus s Conr. , So-le-cur'-tus Cal-i- 

 for-ni-a'-nus, shown in Fig. 172. The epidermis of 



