XV111 
CONCHOLOGICAL AUTHORS. 
Da Costa has evidently been collated through subsequent 
writers. His figures of Lepas anatifera, and Turbo Lacuna 
are omitted. Turbo lubiatus, and T. nigricans are both re¬ 
ferred to the same description, omitting his figure. His Ve¬ 
nus verrucosa, and V. Casina, are confounded together. 
And it may possibly be an error of transcription, that the 
figure of Mactra truncata is referred to for Mactra solida, of 
Alya Pictorum for Pliolas crispata, and of Lepas anatifera 
for Solen Siliqua. 
In looking casually over their references to Lister, whose 
noble volume wc have been in the habit of examining for 
nearly thirty years, we were something puzzled to know 
what was meant at p. 86, of the Descriptive Catalogue, by 
a reference to Lister's Conchology, p. 1113 $ till turning to 
the Svstema Natur;e, we found that the subject under de¬ 
scription was at p. 1113, and 1114 ofLiime, one of which 
pages they had given in its place, and had transferred the 
other to Lister’s Conchology. Th6 figure they refer to for 
Lepas Scalpellum is L. pollicipes : the figure Quoted for 
Alya Pictorum is M. Batava ; and the same plate is refer¬ 
red to for Area pilosa, and A. Glycvmeris. Such is also 
their most strange misconception and perversion of Lister’s 
numbers, that the plate referred to for Pholas Candida is 
Venus Dysera; the plate referred to for Pliolas crispata is 
Venus Paphia ; and to complete this climax of ridiculous 
blunders, the plate referred to for Donax complanata is 
Chama Gigas. 
Montagu. Testacea Britannic a, or a Natural History of 
British Shells, and Supplement, by George Montagu, 
F.L.S. in 3 vols. quarto, with thirty plates, 1803. 
To this laborious andlyncean naturalist, who that of late 
has studied this elegant department of the Fauna of these 
islands, is not indebted for the greater part of his know¬ 
ledge 1 The pages of the present work, as well as the pages 
of all who have written on the subject since his publica¬ 
tions, bear large testimony of his diligence and accuracy. 
In the thirty plates and vignettes are figured about 230 spe¬ 
cies of the more rare and minute shells, all drawn and en¬ 
graved under his immediate inspection, from original sub¬ 
jects in his own possession, and generally of his own col¬ 
lection. His cabinet of the natural history of the British 
islands 
