190 BIVALVES. 



warning it of the vicinity of the prey upon which 

 it subsists, or of the approach of its great enemy 

 the Sepia. Many stories are related of the ami- 

 able habits of this pair, and of the mutual ser- 

 vices they render each other. The truth of 

 these accounts are much confirmed by small ani- 

 mals of the crustaceous tribe being continually 

 found in the shells of the Pinna and Muscle. 

 The ancients have celebrated these histories, by 

 making them the subject of poetry ; the follow- 

 ing verses are translated from a Latin author, 

 and are very descriptive of the habits of the 

 Pinnae. 



In clouded deeps below the Pinna hides, 

 And through the silent path obscurely glides ; 

 A stupid wretch, and void of thoughtful care, 

 He forms no bait, nor lays the tempting snare , 

 But the dull sluggard boasts a crab his friend, 

 Whose busy eyes the coming prey attend. 

 One room contains them, and the partners dwell 

 Beneath the convex of one sloping shell ; 

 Deep in the watery vast the comrades rove, 

 And mutual interest binds their constant love. 

 That wiser friend the lucky juncture tells, 

 When in the circuit of the gaping shells 

 Fish, wandering, enter; then the bearded guide, 

 Warns the dull mate, and pricks his tender side j 

 He knows the hint, nor at the treatment grieves, 

 But hugs the advantage, and the pain forgives : 

 His closing shells the Pinna sudden joins, 

 And 'twixt the pressing sides his prey confines. 

 Thus fed by mutual aid the friendly pair 

 Divide their gains, and all their plunder share. 



The name Pinna, which is sometimes spelled 

 with one n, is supposed to be derived from twos 

 (pinos) the dirt or mud ; but the name given it 

 by British conchologists would lead us to take its 

 derivation from the Latin, pinna, a large feather. 



