404 VENERIDiE. 



spots, lines, and small blotches. The orifice of the bran- 

 chial tube is surrounded by a double series of cirrhi, the 

 longer ones, about twenty in number, being simple. There 

 are only about ten simple and shorter filaments around the 

 anal orifice : it is furnished with a prominent tubular valve. 

 The foot is white, moderately long, linguiform, pointed, 

 and, when at rest, of a securiform shape. It presents no 

 traces of a byssal groove. The branchise are subcircular, 

 free, of a brown colour, coarsely pectinated, the upper part 

 as usual smaller than the under one. The labial palps are 

 rather small and narrow. (Clark MSS., Deshayes.) 



The Venus verrucosa is a southern species on our coasts, 

 and does not range northwards beyond the British shores. 

 Mr. Bean states that it occurs, though rarely, at Scar- 

 borough, and it is recorded from the coast of Northumber- 

 land, though we are inclined, with Mr. Alder, to suspect 

 that the specimens have been imported with ballast. In 

 the English Channel it is tolerably abundant, as on 

 the Devonshire coast (Clark) ; Cornwall and the Scilly 

 islands (M'Andrew) ; Weymouth, dredged in seven fa- 

 thoms (M'Andrew and E. F.) ; and Littlehampton 

 (Strickland). In the islet of Herm, near Guernsey, it is 

 collected for eating from the small pools between the rocks 

 at low-water (S. H.). In Wales it is taken at Milford- 

 haven (M'Andrew and E. F.), and as far north as 

 Pwllheli (M'Andrew). In Ireland it occurs at Youghal 

 and Bantry bays (Jeffreys) ; and on the west coast as far 

 north as the county of Sligo (W. Thompson). 



It is a characteristic Lusitanian mollusk, and ranges 

 throughout the Mediterranean. It extends as fiir south as 

 Senegal (Adanson), and the Canaries (Webb), and is re- 

 corded as a Red Sea species by Ehrenberg. It is not 

 known as a fossil in British strata of older date than beds 



