4308 Mollusks. 



valves of it have been found at Lossiemouth both by him and Mr. 

 Macdonald. Banff, Edwards' collection. 



Iridescent Syndosrnya, Syndosmya prismatica, (Amphidesma pris- 

 matica, Mac.) Dredged off Lossiemouth, and also in Burghead bay, 

 by Mr. Macdonald. Not unfrequently seen as part of the multifarious 

 contents of the haddock's stomach. Banffshire coast, Edwards' 

 collection. 



Lister's Scrobicularia, Scrobicularia piperata, {Amphidesma com- 

 pressa, Flem., Lutraria Listeri, Mac.) Frequent, in a recently 

 fossil state, in the bed of the now fresh-water loch of Spynie, 

 Mr. Martin. It is the Lutraria compressa, noticed as occurring with 

 many other sea-shells under a foot or two of sand in the old beds of 

 the Loch of Spynie, in the excellent sketch of the Geology of the dis- 

 trict, by the late Alexander Robertson, Esq., Woodside, in the 

 Messrs. Anderson's ' Guide to the Highlands and Islands of Scot- 

 land,' edition printed in 1850. 



Common or Oblong Donax, Donax anatinus, [Donax trunculus, 

 Flem. and Mac.) " This extremely common shell," from its more 

 durable texture and its bright colours and gloss, attracts the eye of 

 even the less observant who saunter on the sea-beach. 



Thick-shelled Mactra, Mactra solida. A fine specimen of this 

 " common frequenter of most of our sandy shores all round Britain," 

 is placed in the Elgin Museum by Patrick Duff, Esq., who found it 

 on the shore at Stotfield. To show its great range as to depth when 

 the soil is suitable, it is stated by Messrs. Forbes and Hanley, that 

 "in one instance it was dredged from water as deep as thirty-five 

 fathoms at a distance of fifteen miles from Duncansbay Head, 

 (McAndrew)." Mactra truncata has been found on both sides of the 

 Moray Firth, although not within its limits, viz., at " Stronsa in 

 Orkney," and * on the shores of the Firth of Forth," F. % H. 



Elliptical Mactra, Mactra elliptica. Mr. Martin first discovered 

 this as a Moray Firth species, and has placed a specimen in the Elgin 

 Museum. Mr. Murray has also found it at Burghead; Mr. Mac- 

 donald has met with it on several occasions brought up by the 

 fishermen's lines, and considers it by no means uncommon. 



Subtruncated Mactra, Mactra subtruncata. " Dredged in fifteen 

 fathoms, Moray Firth, (McAndrew)," F. & H. " Abundant in Burg- 

 head bay, also off Lossiemouth, August, 1852 ; probably equally 

 so throughout the Firth, wherever the bottom is sandy," Mr. Mac- 

 donald. 



