PHGLAS. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
A bivalve shell open at both ends, with several lesser shells 
at the hinge. 
A large incurvated tooth in the inside of the shell beneath 
the hinge. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
PholAs dactylus. P. testa oblonga hinc reticulato-striata. 
Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 1 . p. 3214. 
An oblong reticulated shell. 
Pholas muricatus. Da Cost. Brit. Conch. 
p. 244. pi. 16. f. 2, 2. 
Pholas hians. Pult. Cat. Dors. p. 2 6 . 
Pholas major striis cancellatis exasperata, 
subalbida. Gault. 1. Conch, pi. 105. 
fig. A. B. C. D. 
Common Pholas. . Penn. Brit. Zool. 4. p. ?6. no. 10. pi. 39. 
f. 10. Argenv. Conch, pi. 26. f. H. I. 
Borlase Com. pi. 28. f. 31. 
The animal inhabiting this shell has the faculty, in 
common with the rest of the genus, of boring a 
hole in hard clay, or penetrating the firmest wood, 
where it spends its life in security, and bids de- 
fiance to the winds and waves. It is difficult to 
say how the pholas effects its purpose, since the 
