PLEIOCENE FOSSILS. 33 



MYTILUS INFLATUS.— {New Species.) 

 Plate XIV., Fig. 3. 



M. testa inflata, gibbosa, laevigata, concentrice striata; lateri buccali, inflato, angulato ; 

 lateri anali truncato, lateri palliali arcuato. 



Description. Shell inflated, gibbous, smooth, concentrically striated ; buccal side infla- 

 ted, angulated ; anal side truncate ; pallial margin arched. 



This fossil bears a strong resemblance to Modiola Ducatelli, Con.; but, after a careful 

 comparison with Conrad's description and figure, we are forced to regard our fossil as a 

 different species. It is more gibbous, the pallial margin is wider and more arcuated ; and, 

 above all, it differs from the Maryland fossil in the ratio of the breadth to the length, which 

 is in M. Ducatelli 44-100, and in M. inflates 27-100. 



The genus Modiola has been re-united, we think very properly, to Mytilus. The mere 

 character of the beaks being terminal, or placed on one side, is too variable to render it 

 possible, with any degree of certainty, to separate the two genera. 



This genus has inhabited every sea, since the beginning of life, on our globe, and is still 

 found living in vast numbers. 



Plate XIV., Fig. 3. Interior of fossil natural size, imbedded in marl. 



Locality. Giles's Bluff, Pee Dee. 



Museum, College of Charleston. 



