16 BIVALVES TELLINA. 



the attention be directed to tlieir elegance of form, bril- 

 liancy of color, or delicacy of structure, the eye is equal- 

 ly astonished and delighted with the infinity of beauties 

 which incessantly crowd on the sense. Yet, amidst this 

 display of beaiify and magnificence, considerable relief 

 is derived from the modest, unassuming appearance of 

 several of the more subordinate, and common species. 

 The usual form of the Tellina is something resembling a 

 long pear, being broad at one end, and gradually taper- 

 ing to the other; in some cases so much so, that the point- 

 ed termination of the shell forms a perfect beak or 

 proboscis, as is the case in the Tellina Rostrata, Virga- 

 ta, &c. &c. &c. Others, on the contrary, are more of 

 an orbicular or spherical form, as the Tellina Scobitina, 

 &c. And some again, as the Tellina Radiata, &c. &c. 

 are nearly allied to species of the Solen genus, with 

 which (from their near resemblance) they are sometimes 

 confounded; however, from the general propensity of 

 all Tellinae to terminate in a more or less acute beak, 

 much inaccuracy cannot well be committed. At the 

 same time, the hinges of the Tellina will remove any 

 doubts that may have originated from the simple obser- 

 vance of the exterior ; for it is usually furnished with 

 three teeth, the middle one often cleft; the lateral teeth 

 are most commonly smooth, the interior margin rarely, 

 if ever, crenulate. 



The outside of the shells is surprisingly varied, some 

 being perfectly smooth and polished, whilst others are 

 covered with minute striae and undulations. In some in- 

 stances the whole surface is beset with coarse imbrica- 

 tions or scales; but the more elegant species of the Tel- 

 linae are chiefly remarkable for their beautiful radiations, 

 the colors of which are rarely to be equalled in any of 



