Or THE UNITED STATES. 223 



Several naturalists who now devote a portion of 

 their attention to conchotomy, and particularly to 

 that of the United States, having recently requested 

 me to publish an account of our marine shells, I have 

 thought it iniirht be useful to communicate to them 

 immediately, descriptions of those which 1 do not 

 find to be distinctly described by attainable authors. 

 Such species or varieties, only, are made known in 

 the following essay. 



With a view to condense this paper as much as 

 possible, 1 have omitted the generic characters, but 

 at the same time, I have been careful to subjoin to the 

 generic names that are here adopted, abbreviations 

 of the authors names, who formed them respectively, 

 or whose generic definitions I have followed. 



Type and Class, 



MOLLUSCA GASTEROPODA. 



PATELLA. Lin. Lam. 



P. *amoena. Shell oblong-oval, whitish reticula- 

 ted with reddish-brown, and sculptured with nume- 

 rous minute concentric wrinkles and close set radii; 

 margin entire ; apex placed behind the middle, and 

 pointing backwards. 



Coast of New England states. 



Length of a small specimen, 7-20, breadth 1-5 of 

 an inch. Breadth of a larger one 3-10 nearly. 



My cabinet. 



It may be readily distinguished in general by the 

 beautiful reticulated disposition of the rufous colour, 



