35 



vol. 1, p. 180. Flem. Brit. An., p. 406. It is called by 

 fishermen Cappa Longa, from its resemblance to the Razor 

 shell, the larger Solen ; which formerly bore that name, 

 as Lister informs us it also did at Venice. 

 The synonyms of the British Pinuse have become so con- 

 fused, that to prevent further mistake it is judged necessary 

 to give minuter descriptions of them, than of the other 

 species of shells described or referred to in this work. The 

 Greater Pinna, in the specimen selected, is in length on the 

 side of the hinge, 12 inches; but the longest in my collection 

 measures 17 inches. Length of the specimen on the wider 

 end, 13 inches : from the point to the remotest distance 

 I4f inches; greatest girth 16f inches: form of the outline, 

 somewhat that of a scimitar or cleaver. The longitudinal 

 strias are well marked, but irregular, and more commonly 

 without concave spines. Colour light brown, dark near the 

 pointed end, this colour passing upward in broad stripes, 1 

 have not had an opportunity of comparing this shell with 

 that from the Mediterranean, which bears the same name; 

 but the byssus of the latter is very different, being far more 

 soft, silky, and in colour a rich yellowish brown, whereas 

 that of our coast is rigid and of an intense black. 



Montagu's account of this species is as follows : " We 

 discovered a bed of these shells in Salcomb bay, in Devon- 

 shire ; where they are called by the fishermen French 

 muscles, or scallops. They lie on a gravelly bottom covered 

 with mud and long sea-weeds ; and are only to be got at 

 particular times, when the sea recedes farther than usual. 

 They stand upright, with the large end about an inch above 

 the surface ; the lower end fixed by a very large strong 

 byssus, so firmly attached to the gravel, that much force is 

 required to draw them up ; and most commonly the byssus 

 is left behind. This beard is composed of numerous, fine, 

 fcilk like Gbres, of a dark purplish brown, two or three inches 

 in length. The larger end of the shell is naturally a little 

 open, and cannot be closed by art, but the animal is capable 

 of effecting it, the beaks of the valves rarely cover each 

 other exactly. The bank on which these shells are found, 

 probably increases, so that the water leaves a greater part 

 bare, at every spring tide, than formerly." This species is 

 also reported as an inhabitant of Falmouth harbour; but it 

 is found in the greatest abundance, at the distance of from 

 three to six or eight leagues south of the Deadman point ; 

 where they stud the bottom in multitudes, with only two or 

 three inches of the pointed end inserted into the soil. It 

 is common for the line or hook to become entangled among 

 these shells, and powerful effort is required to drag them 

 from their attachment; which is only affected by breaking 

 the byssus, or tearing away the ground to which it is attached. 



