174 TELLINA. TELLEN. 



numerous thick raised thread-like concentric striae, the in- 

 terstices of which are very minutely striate longitudinally, 

 observable only by the help of a glass ; the older shells a 

 little flexuous and angular at the anterior end, one of the 

 valves more convex than the other : color yellowish, with 

 often faint red longitudinal rays ; inside polished, some- 

 times radiate with red, and marked with obscure longitu- 

 dinal lines, a strong rib running down obliquely from the 

 hinge on the anterior side half way to the margin : beaks 

 pointed, not quite central : hinge with two teeth in the 

 flatter valve, one of them cloven, and one of the lateral 

 teeth very minute ; in the deeper valve the primary teeth 

 are the same, with two distinct lateral ones : length an inch 

 and a quarter ; breadth sometimes two and a half. 



A dozen of these shells dredged up in the most perfect 

 state, both English and Irish, are now before us, all of 

 them marked more or less with the minute longitudinal 

 lines, but not uniformly on all parts of the shell ; in the 

 younger shells these fine lines often extend over the surface 

 of the ridges : in all of them we likewise observe the fur- 

 row on the inside of the beaks, running from the inner side 

 of the posterior lateral tooth ; and also the depressed line, 

 but not punctured on the inside and parallel with the mar* 

 gin. We therefore suspect that the next species, T. reti- 

 culata, \vhich Montagu describes from a specimen sent 

 him by Mr. Rackett, is nothing more than a perfect and 

 closely examined specimen of this shell : and we are the 

 more inclined to this opinion, as the outline of this species is 

 subject to very considerable variation. We however give 

 the description of what has been supposed to be the T. re* 

 ticulata, in the words of Montagu himself, v. v. 



18. Tellina reticulata. Reticulated Tellcn. 



Linn. Trans, viii. pi. 1. f. 9 Wood, pi. 42. f. 2, 3 

 Dorset Cat. pi. 5. f. 4. 



**T. with a suborbicular, subdiaphanous shell, beset with 

 numerous fine, regular, elevated, concentric ridges ; the 

 interstices or furrows crossed with minute striae, scarce 

 discernible but by the help of a glass : umbo small, pro- 

 minent, placed nearly central, and turns a little to one 

 side : hinge with two small central teeth, and brond kmi- 



