118 
published in the American Journal of Science and Arts for 
1834 and 1835, and Dr. A. A. Gould was largely indebted 
to him for material employed in his “ Invertebrata of Mas- 
sachusetts,” many of the species of shells contained in which 
were first found to inhabit our coast by General Totten 
others were new species discovered by him, though described 
by Dr. Gould, while some nine or ten specimens were not 
only discovered but described by him. The descriptions of 
species and remarks evince his powers of observation and 
critical acumen, and almost all of the forms described have 
stood the test of subsequent examination, and the validity of 
their specific distinction been confirmed, although several of 
them are among the most common shells of the coast; 0B 
account of their small size, they had been previously over- 
looked or neglected, but their insignificance in size did not 
diminish their interest in the eyes of one who viewed nature 
in all her manifestations as worthy of contemplation. One 
of the most: beautiful and almost the smallest of the bivalves 
of our coast, called by him Venus gemma, has since been 
dedicated to him under the name of Gemma Totienit by 
Mr. William Stimpson. 
General Totten cojlected principally on the shores of New 
England, and his explorations with the dredge were almost 
entirely made in the vicinity of Newport, R. L, and of 
Provincetown, Mass. A list of the shells of Massachusetts 
was contributed by him to one of the preliminary reports we 
the Natural History of that State. The principal species 
described by him are as follows: Madiola glandula (now 
known as Mytilus decussatus), Venus gemma (Gemma Tot- 
tenii), Solemya borealis, Bulla oryza, Natica immaculata, 
Turbo minutus (Kissoa minuta), Turritella interrupta ( 
mizia ottangy Acteon trifidus (Chemmitzia trifida,) and 
Pasithea ni -named species’ he described from 
