C0NCH0L0G1 



■i\r 



57 



menced his great work en shells in 1685, which he cal- 

 led Historia sive synopsis methodica Conchyliorum. The 

 plates which accompanied this edition were 1057 in 

 number, and contained precise descriptions of the shells, 

 with a reference to the place from whence the speci- 

 mens were brought. The plates vary in number and 

 situation in other editions of this work, and appeal 1 to 

 have been changed repeatedly by the author. The 

 plates themselves were afterwards bequeathed to the 

 University of Oxford, where they were republished, 

 under the inspection of the Rev. William Huddesford. 

 This gentleman added two indices, the one connected 

 with Lister's own distribution, and the other with the 

 Linnaean arrangement. 



Lister distributed testaceous bodies as follows : 

 Lib. I. De cochleis terreslribus. 



Pars. 1. De Buccinis et turbimbus terrestribus. 

 Lib. II. De turbinibus et bivalvibus aqua; dulcis. 



Pars. 1. De turbinibus. 



Pars. 2. De bivalvibus et fluviatilibus. 

 Lib. III. De tesiaceis bivalvibus marinis, et concJiis ana- 

 tiferis. 



Pars. 1. De testaceis bivalvibus, imparibus testis. 



Pars. 2. De testaceis bivalvibus, paribus testis. 



Pars. 3. De testaceis multivalvibus. 

 Lib. IV. De buccinis marinis, quibus etiam vermiculi 



dentalia et palelkc, numerantur. 



We conclude this account of Lister's labours, by sta- 

 ting, that he received the greatest assistance from his 

 two daughters, Susannah and Ann Lister. To them 

 was committed the charge of delineating and engraving 

 the various objects ; a task for which they appear to 

 have been fully qualified, and whose names, say two 

 eminent conchologists, " deserve to descend to posterity 

 with their father's, and whose truly meritorious indus- 

 try and ingenuity are patterns for their sex." 



During the eighteenth century, the works which ap- 

 peared on conchology were numerous and valuable. 

 Collections of objects in natural history began to be 

 formed on the continent, and in Britain, and vast sums 

 were expended in bringing together the productions of 

 nature. Naturalists were thus enabled to take more 

 comprehensive views of objects, and to make more ac- 

 curate arrangements. 



In the year 1 722, Langius presented to the public a 

 new system of conchology. To him we are indebted 

 for having founded the distinctions of the genera on the 

 aperture of univalves, and the hinge in bivalves. We 

 shall here give the outlines of his system. 



Pars. I. Teslacea Marina univalvia non turbinate 



Classis 1. Testacea marina univalvia non turbinata, 

 et in se non contorta. 



Classis 2. Testacea marina univalvia, non turbinata, 

 sed ita in se contorta, ut eorum spirae non prome- 

 neant. 



Pars. II. Cochlea marines, seu testacea marina unival- 

 via turbinata. 



Classis 1. Cochleae marinae longae, seu cochleae marinae 

 ore admodum elongate et superius aperto. 



Classis 2. Cochleae canaliculatac seu cochleae marinae 

 ore elongate et superius in canaliculum abeunte. 



Classis 3. Buccina seu cochleae marina? ore et mucrone 

 simul elongatis primaque spira notabiliter ventricosa. 



Classis 4. Strosnbi, seu cochleae marinae ore et mu- 

 crone simul insigniter elongatis, et prima spira nota- 

 biliter angustiore quam in buccinis. 



Classis 5. Cochleae marinae ore admodum breve seu 

 parvo, mucrone vero insigniter elongato. 



Classis 6. Cochleae marinae breviores seu cochleae 



VOL. VII. PART I. 



marinae ore et mucrone beviores, magisque contrac- History. 



Pars. III. Concha marince, id est testacea marina bi- 

 valvia qua duabus constant valvis in cardine, arliculatione 

 quadam inter se conjunctis, ut commode claudi et aperiri 

 queant. 



Classis 1. Conchae aequilaterae, seu conchas marinae val- 

 vis equalibus ex utroque cardinis latere equalibus ef- 

 fusae. 



Classis 2. Conchae inaequilaterae seu conchas marina? 

 valvis equalibus ex utroque cardinis latere inaequaliter 

 effusae. 



Classis 3. Conchae anomolae, seu conchae marinas 

 valvis inaequalibus. 



In perusing this system of Langius, it will be obser- 

 ved, that the author had bestowed considerable atten- 

 tion on testaceous bodies, and that he, in part, chalked 

 out the course which Linnaeus afterwards pursued. 



In the year 174-2, the splendid work of Gualteri made Tourne- 

 its appearance, containing 110 plates of shells. To this fort > 1742, 

 work Gualteri added a system of conchology composed 

 by Tournefort, whose manuscripts, on this subject, had 

 been presented to Gualteri, by Professor Targioni. This 

 system exhibits the same force of intellect, the same pe- 

 netration and discernment which characterise the other 

 productions of that eminent naturalist. His generic 

 characters are founded, in a great measure, on the struc- 

 ture of the hinge, and form of the mouth. His families 

 are distinguished by a difference of shape. The old 

 division of shells into univalves, bivalves, and multi- 

 valves, is retained, with this difference, that he gives 

 the preference to the terms monotonia, ditomo, and po- 

 lytomo. Shells in his system are thus arranged. 



Classis I. Testacea Monotoma. 



Familia 1. Testacea univalvia. 

 Fam. 2. Testacea spiralia. 

 Fam. 3. Testacea fistulosa. 



Classis II. Testacea Ditoma. 



Fam. 1 . Testacea quae arete clauduntur. 

 Fam. 2. Testacea quae semper hiant. 



Classis III. Testacea Polytoma. 



Fam. 1. Testacea quorum partes articulantur; 

 Fam. 2. Testacea quorum partes per cartilaginem coa- 

 nectuntur. 



In the same year that Italy had he honour of pub- D'Argen- 

 lishing the work of Gualteri, France presented to the ville, 1742. 

 world the voluminous Treatise of D'Argenville. In 

 this work, the ordinary division of shells into univalves, 

 bivalves and multivalves, is employed; but the pri- 

 mary divisions depend on the animal being an inhabi- 

 tant of the land, the fresh water, or the sea. The cha- 

 racter of many of his genera correspond very nearly 

 with those employed afterwards by Linnaeus. The 

 plates which accompany this work greatly surpass any 

 thing of tlie kind which the public had seen before, 

 being not only finely but accurately executed. 



In the year 1 757, Adanson, in his Histoire Naturelle Adanscn 

 du Senegal, published a new system of conchology. 1757, ' 

 His arrangement rests principally on circumstances 

 connected with the structure and habits of the animals, 

 to which he appears to have paid particular attention. 

 His divisions are the following : 



