THE CONCHOL.OGICAL. MAGAZINE 



Vol. II. March, 1908. No. 3. 



TALKS ON SHELLS (VI) 



(In these talks on shells by Mr. Iwakawa, we have only 

 selected a few interesting facts.) 



SOLECUKTUS CONSTRICTUS Lam. — Agemaki. 



This species is never found in any other part of Japan than in 

 the Ariake Bay, Hizen, Kyushu. It is said that the species 

 received the name of Agemaki, from its being round and like Age- 

 maki, a style of dressing the hair common to girls. Both ends of 

 the shell of this species are open. The creatures live in soft mud, 

 where no big waves disturb the serenity of the place and where 

 the clear water pours from the streams round about. To get these 

 shells one must wait for the ebb-tide and then dig them out. We 

 call the creatures when boiled and dried, "Hoshi Agemaki" (dried 

 Agemaki), and they are exported in great quantities to China. 

 We hear that the Chinese like them very much. In Che-Kiang 

 and To-Kien countries in China, the natives are said to breed 

 them in a special field, called "Agemaki Ta", which is prepared 

 for this purpose. 



Pinna japonica Rve. — Tairagi. 



The Japanese name Taiiagi originated from the fact that this 

 species is flat. The creatures are chiefly found in the south- 

 western sea and we sometimes have occasion to see them in the 

 market in Tokyo, while we have never heard of their being taken 

 from the north-eastern region. The adductor muscle is used for 

 food, especially in China. 



Occasionally, we find a kind of crab, living in the shell. I 

 have a specimen of a female crab, 13 m.m. in length, over 16 m.m. 

 in width and the body is somewhat round and inflated. The 

 scissors are very small and the legs are rather short, and slender. 

 This species is especially different from others in its incomplete- 

 ness of the eyes and the shortness of the claws. 



I think this is perhaps Pinnoteres veterum Bosc. It seems to 



