Elements of Conchology, According to the Linnæan System

Front Cover
Ogles, Duncan & Cochran, 1818 - Mollusks - 245 pages

From inside the book

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 80 - Systema, the comparative length of the spire, with that of the body, has been suppressed ; because no two species answer exactly to the same measurement, and even in the same species the proportion will be found to differ. The character, therefore, can only create confusion. The division...
Page 76 - fIgyovaur,j;, a companion of Jason in the celebrated voyage of the ship Argo. The art of navigation is supposed to have owed its origin to the expert management of this instinctive sailor. He was observed by the ancients, and subsequent experience has confirmed the observation, to raise himself to the surface of the sea by ejecting a quantity of water, and thus diminishing the specific gravity of his vessel. When floating in a calm, he would throw out two or more tentacula, to serve as oars.
Page 81 - Greek xSivoi expresses the peculiar form to which the genus is indebted for its name. CYPR^EA. A. Mucronate, or with a projecting spire. (Plate XIV. Fig. 1.) B. Obtuse, and without manifest spire. (Fig. 2.) C. Umbilicate. (Fig. 3.) D. Margined. (Fig. 4.) SHELL univalve, involute, subovate, obtuse, smooth. Aperture effuse at both ends, linear, toothed on both sides, longitudinal. The genus is remarkable for the high polish which adorns it in its native state. The only species of other genera which...
Page 16 - ... lilaliata. Bilabiate; constructed with both an internal and external lip; in opposition to those shells which are destitute of the interior one. dehiscens. Gaping ; the lower part of the lip being distended. coarctala. Coarctate; contracted, straight : opposed to effuse. effusa. Effuse; having the lips separated by a sinus or gutter, so that if the shell were filled with water it would flow out at the back part. reflexa. Reflex ; having the fore part of the lip reflected towards the lowest whorl....
Page 67 - ... the division B. Strong locomotive powers have been attributed to the Pecten, which are, it is said, exerted in a most singular manner. A very rapid progress is effected by the sudden opening and closing of the shell. This is done with so much muscular force, as to throw it four or five inches at a time. In the water, an equal dexterity is evinced by the animal, in raising himself to the surface, directing his course ad libitum, and suddenly, by the shutting of his valves, dropping to the bottom.
Page 232 - Essay towards a Natural History of the County of Dublin. Dublin, 1772.
Page 15 - Left-handed ; heterostrophous, turning round the pillar from right to left, instead of pursuing their usual, opposite, course. spinoso-radiati. Spinosely radiate ; beset with spines in a circle, either concatenate, united at their bases, or setaceous, like bristles.
Page xiv - but in attempting to eradicate the faulty parts, and to supply their place more fitly, they have injured some of the main supports, and have nearly involved the whole edifice in ruin.
Page xiv - ... will readily be allowed ; but at the same time we cannot but regret, that the very acknowledgement of their existence has extremely increased their number; for a supposition seems to have been universally indulged, that conchology lay open as a common field for speculation, in which every individual, whether qualified or not, was at liberty to range, and exercise, without restraint, his genius for invention. The consequence has been, that scarcely two writers on the subject have agreed in their...
Page 54 - KapSia, or heart-like, as those which constitute the genus cardium, still the latter all possess this character, and are distinguished by their hinges. Cockles are taken by dredging, or else by hoeing, parties often being made up to go out and hoe for them ; they are usually found just beneath the surface, a small hole in the sand or mud pointing out to the experienced eye the spot in which the cockle is to be dug for. OSTREA MAXIMA...

Bibliographic information