268 GALWEY : MOLLUSCA OF MAGILLIGAN STRAND. 



tide (neap) in gentle ripples brought in among the cast-ofif 

 *' sand cases " of Sabella chrysodon (?) specimens of more 

 fragile shells, namely: — Cyprcea Euiopcea, Cardium, Tornatella, 

 and Velutina, these two last especially delicate and beautiful. 



At my last visit, August, 1887, there was a great change, 

 few shells, in comparison, were to be found, except quantities 

 of Donax anatinus, very lovely and brilliant in colour, but for 

 a considerable distance the shore was strewn with little bunches 

 of sea-wrack, amongst which were splendid specimens of 

 lanthina fragilis, both shell and animal in excellent preserva- 

 tion, and the float perfect. There were also numbers of the 

 Hyalcea tridentata, several of which, as well as the lanthina, 

 I have preserved in spirits of wine, others I shut up tight in a 

 little box and found on opening, after three months' absence, 

 that they were quite dry and in perfect form ; they have the 

 appearance of frosted silk-gauze. 



I found no difficulty in taking the animal of the lanthina 

 out of its shell ; after being some hours in a basin of sea-water 

 a long pin easily brought them out. 



The Rev. J. G. Wood describes these shells as of "a pale 

 blue colour." Those I found are " deeply, darkly, beautifully 

 blue ! " but as it is probable they fade in strong light, I keep 

 mine in a shady corner of my cabinet. 



The following is a list of the shells which I found : — 

 Area tetragona. Common, imperfect, single valves. 

 Artemis exoleta. Rare, perfect. 

 A. lincta. Very plentiful, alive. 



Buccinum . Common. 



Bulla (Scaphander) lignarius. Not very common, 



Cardium rusticum. Very common. 



C. edule. Not common. 



C. fasciatum. Common. 



C. norvegicum. Rare. 



Cypraea europaea. Very common. 



Cyprina islandica. Very plentiful. 



J.C, v., Jan., 1888. 



