114 MYA. 



GREAT GAPER. 

 PL 25. /. 1. Mrs. Mawe. 



41. Mya Glycimeris. M. testa utrinque hiante, crassissima, lamellata, 



oblongo-ovata, transverse striato-rugosa ; cardinis dente primario cras- 



sissimo. Linn. Gmel. p. 3222. 

 Shell gaping at both ends, very thick, lamellated, of an oblong oval, with 



transverse wrinkled striae; hinge with a very thick primary tooth. 

 List. Conch, t. 414. f. 258. Gault. Test, pi 90. f. A. Born. Mus. p. 20. 



pi. 1. f. 8. Chem. Conch. 6. pi. 3. f. 25. Donov. Brit. Shells. 1. 142. 



Linn. Trans. 8. p. 34. Mont. Test. Brit. Suppl.p. 19. 



This is a very large shell, gaping greatly at both ends, 

 and often covered, externally, with unequal waved ridges, 

 distributed in the form of bands ; it is of a yellowish, 

 or reddish fawn colour, on the outside, and whitish with- 

 in ; the hinge is strongly united by cartilage, and there 

 is a thick tooth in one valve, which fits into a corre- 

 sponding cavity in the other. The anterior, or truncated 

 end of the specimen figured in pi. 25., is partly decom- 

 posed at the edge, where particles of the shell are form- 

 ed into small globular bodies, like those calcareous con- 

 cretions called Oolites. 



This shell is about five inches long, and ten broad. 

 It is found in the Mediterranean, and on the coasts of 

 Spain, and the South of France, but never, we believe, 

 in England, though Donovan has admitted it among the 

 British Testacea. It is considered as an ambiguous 

 species, connecting the Mya with the Solenes, it is placed 

 therefore at the end of the genus. 



It will be proper to observe in this place, that the 

 Mya Perna, of Linnaeus, is a muscle ; and that the Mya 

 Vulcella, is an oyster. The Mya oblonga, of Gmelin, is 

 the Mactra Mans; the Mya Gaditana, is the Mactra 

 Listeri ; and the Mya australis, is also a Mactra. The 

 Mya byssifera, is the Mytilus rugosus. 



