TRIDACNE. CARDIACEJ:. 411 



whole regiment is scarcely an exaggeration, as the flesh of these 

 animals is commonly used as food where they abound, and is by 

 no means unpalatable. The remarkable difference of the shell 

 of this animal at different epochs of its growth, has given rise 

 to the formation of many species which have no real existence. 

 It is only when immature, and when the shell is comparatively 

 light, that the animal is attached by a byssus. This cord, how- 

 ever, seems rather to be a musculo-tendinous prolongation of the 

 foot itself, than a fibrous tissue secreted by it like the byssus of 

 the Pinna ; it is so tough as to require to be chopped with a hat- 

 chet, in order that the shell may be detached. As the animal 

 approaches adult age, however, and has by successive layers 

 very much increased the weight of the shell, the byssus, being 

 no longer required to secure it from injury, disappears, and the 

 groove in the shell is filled up with a solid deposit. When thus 

 free, it is said to be taken with a long pole, which is introduced 

 between the valves when open ; the animal immediately closes the 

 valves upon it, and does not quit its hold until it is landed. 



ORDER VIII. CARDIACEJ. 



953. This Order, including the Cockles and their allies, 

 contains several genera, which, in the stnallness and delicacy of 

 my of their shells, and in the comparative activity of the 

 inimals that form and inhabit them, offer a remarkable con- 

 st to those of the previous group. The shells are all equivalve, 

 nearly so ; they are furnished with a regularly-toothed hinge, 



often of great complexity and 

 beauty ; and there is always a 

 double adductor muscle. The 

 foot is here more largely de- 

 Era. SW.-TKL.NA. veloped than in any of the pre- 

 vious Orders, and it is a very 



important organ to the animals, most of which use it in the exca- 

 vation of hollows in the sand or mud of the shores on which they 

 reside, as well as for progression. The respiratory orifices are 



