546 



CATALOGUE SHELLS. 



prqfunde sulcata, lineis elevatis creberrime plicatis ; valvis posticis 

 valde productis, acunmiatis. 



Habitat ad oras Concepgionis et insulam Childe. Mns. Brit., 

 nost., Broderip, 8^c. 



This cirrhiped which, at Conception de Chile, is frequently 

 found of a larger size than b\ inches long and 3 J in diameter, 

 forms a very common and highly esteemed food of the natives, 

 by whom it is called Bico, from the acuminated processes of the 

 two posterior opercular valves. The anterior and posterior oper- 

 cular valves, when in contact, present some resemblance to a 

 parrot's beak, whence Molina's name. It is also found very abun- 

 dantly at Valdivia and at Calbuco, near the north end of the 

 island of Childe. It occurs in large bunches, and presents some- 

 what of a cactus-like appearance. The parent is covered by 

 its progeny, so that large branches are found composed of 

 from fifty to one hundred distinct individuals, each of which 

 becomes in its turn the foundation of another colony. One 

 specimen in the possession of my friend W. J. Broderip, Esq., 

 consists of a numerous group based on two large individuals. 

 They are collected by being chopped off with a hatchet. At Con- 

 ception, where they are found of larger size than to the south- 

 ward, they are principally procured at the Island of Quiriquina, 

 which lies across the entrance of the bay ; whence they are 

 exported in large quantities to Valparaiso and Santiago de Chile, 

 where they are considered as a great delicacy, and indeed with 

 some justice, for the flesh equals in richness and delicacy that 

 of the crab, which, when boiled and eaten cold, it very much 

 resembles. 



2. Elminius LeachiIc* 

 B, testa albidd, truncatd, lojigitudinaliter striata, radiis creberrime 

 longitudinaliter substriatis ; operculo ad basin transvershn striata^ 

 quadripartito ; long. | ; lat. | ; poll. 

 Habitat. In Miiseo Geo. Sowerby et nost. 



3. SCALPELLUM PAPILLOSUM. 



S. pedu?iciclo creberrime papilloso ; testa lasvi valde compressd ; long, 

 omnino ^ J ; -^^ p>edunculi ; lat. -f^, poll. 



* Elminius Kingii, Gray in Zool. Miscell. from a specimen collected 

 during- the voyage. — Ed. 



