52 WEST AMERICAN SHELLS 
little shells, very smooth and pretty, the first of 
which is named Keéllia laperousu, Desh., the 
Smooth Kelly-shell. When living, it is covered 
with a shining, light brown epidermis. Ligament 
small, internal. This little nestler lives in shel- 
tered places, such as holes in the rocks; often in 
the deserted homes of the piddocks, or rock-borers. 
T once found a whole colony of them, of different 
ages, all living happily together within the valves 
of a dead clam. The shell is somewhat oval in 
shape, and is about half an inch in length. 
Keéllia suborbicularis, Montagu, the Globose 
Kelly-shell. A little bivalve, thin, delicate, and 
light colored, about one-third of an inch in length. 
The little creature can spin a byssus with its foot 
and attach itself at will to any protecting object. It 
is often found among the twisted roots of seaweeds. 
It is an interesting fact that this species lives not 
only on this coast, but is found in Europe as well, 
thus connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific. 
The members of the genus My- 
sella are very small creatures, 
with thin, sometimes transparent 
shells. Figure 37 represents the 
= inside of a valve of Mysélla aleu- 
Fig.37,x 1 fica, Dall, the Aleutian Mysella. 
Its shell is solid, smooth, and white, with a polished, 
straw-colored epidermis. Its length is only 4.3mm. 
A closely related shell is the little Lasea rubra, 
