86 Mollusks, 



Dillwyn of Swansea, sent me word in October that a young oblong 

 sun-fish had been recently washed up on the sands there, and was 

 preserved at the Institution. This is the more rare species of the 

 two. — Wm» Yarrell ; Ryder St,, St. James's, February, 1843, 



Notes on Mollusks, 8fc. observed at Whiting-bay, in the Isle of Arran, 

 in August, 1842. By the Rev. David Landsborough, Minister 

 of Stevenston, Ayrshire, N. B. 



Every naturalist knows the pleasure arising from visiting a new 

 locality, even for a few days. Though the whole of this pleasure can- 

 not be imparted to others, some portion of it might, could naturalists 

 be induced to take up the pen, though they may have no discoveries 

 to boast of, and nothing very remarkable to communicate. 



Were I disposed to try my hand at description, I should have a fine 

 field in all that I saw firom the time that I left the harbour of Ardros- 

 san till I reached Whiting-bay, after touching at Brodick and Lam- 

 lash. And were I inclined to geologise, I should here have ample 

 scope, since Arran is an epitome of the Geology of the world. In- 

 stead however of even looking at the twenty-five square miles of gra- 

 nite in the centre of the island, pushed up by some tremendous power, 

 and rising into pinnacles nearly 3000 feet in height, let us place our- 

 selves at once on the lowly shore at Whiting-bay ; and the chief geo- 

 logical feature which there attracts attention, is the numerous trap 

 dykes which intersect the sandstone, and indurate it in such a man- 

 ner that it seems to have undergone the operation of broiling. To- 

 wards the north of the bay the mass of trap rocks, instead of appear- a 

 ing as veins, assumes in some degree the form of basaltic pillars. 



Prowling along the shore among these dykes and rocks, I had the 

 pleasure of discovering Echinus lividus, being the first time that it 

 had been observed in Scotland or England, though it had been found 

 in several places in Ireland. It was not the fine dark pui*ple variety 

 which burrows in limestone rocks, but the greenish variety, the tips 

 of the spines only being pui-ple, their base and the whole crust being 

 greenish. It appears to be gregarious, as wherever it was found there 

 were generally about a dozen in the same little pool, among the rocks. 

 Echinus sphaera was very common ; but instead of being found in the 

 little pools, it occurred in rather deep water along tlie shore, and not 

 congregated like Echinus lividus. From the lightness of its colour it 

 was more easily detected than E. lividus ; and when full grown was 



