2 anomia. bojvl - shell . 
o Anomia Ephippium. Wrinkled Bowl-shell 
Lister , pi. 201. f. 38— Pennant, pi. 65. upper fig.-Da 
Costa, pi. 11. f. 3—Xinft. Trans, vi. pi. 18. f. 11,12—l^ono- 
qjajiy pi. 26— Dorset Cat. pi. 11. f-3. 
Shell thin, more or less transparent, rather convex, 
rounded, irregularly wrinkled and plaited, and often in¬ 
dented on the margin ; the outside dirty white, or, of a 
brownish cast; inside perlaceous; beak small pointed, 
curved, and reaching to the end of the margin: the flat 
valve with an oblong rather oblique perforation close to i 
the hinge, which is generally cut off by the margin of the 
upper valve, and often taking the impression of shells and 
other substances to which it may be attached. diameter 
hardly three inches. 
Variety A. Reversed, or with the convex valve perforated. 1 
Variety B. Thick, strong, somewhat orbicular, but a 
little produced on one side, quite even round the circum¬ 
ference and not wrinkled nor plaited ; the upper-valve a . 
little rugged on the outside, and scaly towards the margin: | 
color dull white with a slight tinge of purple, and of k . 
most rich pearly lustre when the outer coat is removed: I 
beak reaching close to the margin, which is rather rounded; 
inside finely polished, of the most splendid perlaceous 
lustre, with ii tinge of dark green towards the produced I 
side: lower valve a little concave; thin, transparent,per¬ 
laceous except round the margin of the aperture, whichis 
large oval and extending to the hinge: length two inches 
and a quarter ; breadth two and a half. /' 
This most beautiful shell, by far exceeding the finest 
pearls wc have ever seen in the richuess and splendor of 
its iridescent gleams, was brought to us from Torbay in | 
the autumn of 1817- Beneath the cartilage impression i 
arc two oblong cavities, about a quarter of an inch in length, 
evidently the lodgement of pearls : and it is probable, that 
i: the larger species of this family could be procured from 
the deeps of the ocean, the most valuable pearls might be 
obtained from them. Our knowledge of this shell being 
confined to this single specimen, we can for the-preset 
only consider it as a variety. 
Variety C. Of a triangular shape, appealing as if regu¬ 
larly 
