:-NRLF OUR COUNTRY'S SHELLS WJ.GORDON THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID FRONTISPIECE PLATE 22 L> 341 OUR COUNTRY'S SHELLS AND How TO KNOW THEM. H (Suifce to tbe JSrftfsb flDollusca, W. J. GORDON, AUTHOR OF "OUR COUNTRY'S FLOWERS," "OUR COUNTRY'S BIRDS, " OUR COUNTRY'S BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS," ETC. WITH A COLOURED ILLUSTRATION OF EVERY SPECIES, AND MANY ORIGINAL DIAGRAMS, BY A. LAMBERT. LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., LIMITED. OUR COUNTRY'S SERIES, BY W. J. GORDON. Each with 33 Coloured Plates and other Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 6/- each, OUR COUNTRY'S FLOWERS AND How TO KNOW THEM. A Complete Guide to the Flowers and Ferns of Great Britain. OUR COUNTRY'S BIRDS AND How TO KNOW THEM. A Guide to all the Birds of Great Britain. OUR COUNTRY'S BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS AND How TO KNOW THKM. A Guide to the Lepidoptera of Great Britain. OUR COUNTRY'S SHELLS AND How TO KNOW THKM. A Guide to the British Mollusca. . [5 ,o f INTRODUCTION. HP HIS book, like the rest of the series, is intended as an -*- introductory working manual for the collector, the object of its analytical tables being to enable him to name any specimen in the British list without reading more than is needful for that one purpose. It is on the same principle as its predecessors. In the Flowers we dealt with a natural kingdom ; in the Birds with a natural class, in the Butterflies and Moths with a natural order ; in this volume we are dealing with a natural sub-kingdom, so that we have had an example of each of the four highest systematic groups treated on the same plan. Every living species of the sub-kingdom generally claimed as a native of our country is here sufficiently described to distinguish it from the rest, whether it has a shell or not ; thus rather a wider range is covered than the main title would indicate, as many of the mollusca do not have shells. The coloured plates include all the species having shells, and these are drawn the size of life or enlarged in the case of those too small to be clearly shown and then their natural dimensions are given alongside. Of those without shells a representative of each genus is figured. The sea-slugs are given in colour, and are either of the natural size or enlarged. The cuttle-fishes are illustrated in two full-page plates, but it need hardly be said have had to be reduced ; indeed it would have been difficult to draw them to full scale, particularly if we had followed the lead of one enthusiast and included Archi- Uuthls among the British genera, on the strength of the specimen captured off the Irish coast which had tentacles thirty feet long, mandibles four inches across, and eyes fifteen inches in diameter. There is no species of the mollusca solely British except perhaps Limntza, involuta, which comes from a pool on the Cromagaun mountain, near Killarney, and is consequently Irish ; but even this is regarded by some as a variety. The other land species occur IV INTRODUCTION. throughout Northern Europe and Asia, and the sea species on almost every coast of the North Sea and along the eastern half of the North Atlantic. Some are found much further away. lanthina, the most beautiful of our univalves, comes drifting to us across the wide ocean, and is known all the way from Patagonia. A mollusc is British if it has been dredged up in British seas or found alive in any part of the British Isles. Thus a good wide net is spread for stragglers, and nationality seems to have been occasionally determined by the arrival of an individual in a gale of wind. This is inevitable, but it should be remembered that most of the mollusca are dioecious, though some are monoecious, and among the bivalves the same genus may have the sexes of its species distinct or combined. For instance, the British oyster is monoecious, but the American oyster is dioecious, and when trans- planted to this country has to have both sexes brought across the Atlantic. This oyster is one of several cases of successful acclimatisation, though mollusca are not so easily settled in strange lands as might be supposed. The fact that nineteen of our land shells have taken up their abode in Australia merely shows that a few species are capable of thriving almost anywhere. There are British snails in most ports frequented by British ships ; they travel in the packages and packing materials. Foreigners evidently come here in a similar way, and some of our novelties are traceable to nursery gardens, to which they have been imported in the mould around the roots of the plants. But no matter how they came or how widely they may be distributed over the world, they are British if they are found here, and thus our country's mollusca number over 700 species, with perhaps three times as many varieties. W. J. G. CONTENTS, CHAP. PAGE I. LOCAL AND POPULAR NAMES i II. THE COLOURED PLATES Plate I., figures i to 18. NUCULIDM, ANOMIID&, ARCADE. Plate II., figures 19 to 29. MYTILID&. Plate III., figures 30 to 34. AVICULID&, OSTREIDM, PECTINID&. Plate IV.. figures 35 to 43. PECTINIDJE. Plate V., figures 44 to 54. LIMIDJE, CARDITID&, ASTARTID&, CYPRINIDJE. Plate VI., figures 55 to 58. UNIONIDsE. Plate VII., figures 59 to 90. UN ION ID M, DREISSENSIID&, LUCINIDM, ERYCINID&, GALEOMMWm, CYR&NIDM, TELLINID&. Plate VIII., figures 91 to 106. TELLINID&, SCROBICULARIIDjE, DON ACID &. Plate IX., figures 107 to 117. MACTRID&, VENERID&. Plate X., figures 118 to 128. VENERIDM, PETRICOLID&. Plate XI., figures 129 to 138. CARDIIDM. Plate XII., figures 139 to 148. PSAMMOBIID&, MYIDJE. Plate XIII., figures 149 to 155. SOLENID&. VI CONTENTS. THE COLOURED PLATES — Continued. Plate XIV., figures 156 to 171. GLYCIMERWSE, GASTROCHCENID&, PHOLADID&, TEREDINID&. Plate XV., figures 172 to 189. PANDORID&, LYONSHD^E, ANATINID&, POROMYID&, DENTALIIDM. Plate XVI., figures 190 to 200. CHITON ID &. Plate XVII., figures 201 to 229. AURICULID^E, OTINID^E, LIMN&ID32, PHYSIDM. Plate XVIII. , figures 230 to 246. TESTACELLID&, LIMACIDM. Plate XIX., figures 247 to 278. HELICID&. Plate XX., figures 279 to 318. HEL1C1DM, PUPID&, STENOGYRID&, SUCCINEID&, ONCHIDIIDM. Plate XXI., figures 319 to 337. ACM&W&, LEPETID&, PATELLID/E, FISSURELLID&, HALIOTID&, PLEUROTOMARIID&, CYCLOSTREMA TIDsE. Plate XXII., figures 338 to 369. TROCHID&, TURBINID&, NER1TID&, IANTHINID&, SCALARIIDM. Plate XXIII., figures 370 to 399. NATICID&, LAMELLARllDM, TRICHOTROPW&, CAPULID/E, HOMALOGYRID&, L1TTORINID&, CYCLOSTOMATID&, ACICULID&, TRUNCATELLIDM. Plate XXIV., figures 400 to 451. R1SSOID&, HYDROBIIDJE, ASSIMINEID^E, SKENEIDM, JEFFREYSIIDJE, ADEORBIDJE, VIVIPARIDM, VALVATID&, CERITHIID^E. Plate XXV., figures 452 to 467. TURRITELLIDM, CJECIDJE, APORRHAIDM, CYPRJEID1E, TRITON ID Mt EULIMIDJE. Plate XXVI., figures 468 to 516. PYRAMIDELLID&, MURICID&, COLUMBELL1DM, NASSIDJE. CONTENTS. Vi THE COLOURED PLATES — Continued. Plate XXVII., figures 517 to 520. BUCCINID&, FASCIOLARIID&. Plate XXVIII., figures 521 to 525 FASCIOLARUDM. Plate XXIX., figures 526 to 549. FASCIOLARIIDM, MARGINELLID&, CONIDJE. Plate XXX., figures 550 to 585. ACTIEONID/E, TORNATINIDM, SCAPHANDRIDM, BULLID&, PHILINID&, APLYSIIDM, PLE UROBRA NCHID&, R UNCINID&, LIMACINWJS, CAVOLINIIDJE, CLIONID&. Plate XXXI., figures 586 to 596. HERM&ID&, ELYSIIDJS, LIMAPONTIIDM, JEOLIDIDIE. Plate XXXII., figures 597 to 602. LOMANOTID&, DOTONID&, DENDRONOTID&, SCYLLMID&, PLEUROPHYLLIDIID&, TR1TONIID&. Plate XXXIII., figures 603 to 611. DORIDIDJE, POLYCERIDM, GONIODORID&. III. CUTTLE FISHES . . 25 IV. MULTIVALVES AND BlVALVES 30 V. UNIVALVES 47 VI. TABULAR SCHEME 66 VII. IDENTIFICATION . . . . . . . . 74 VIII. GLOSSARY 78 IX. CLASSES, ORDERS, AND SUB-ORDERS .... 82 X. ORDERS AND FAMILIES 85 XI. FAMILIES AND GENERA ....... 95 XII. GENERA AND SPECIES 106 XIII. LIST OF SPECIES 146 DIAGRAMS, PAGE BRITISH CUTTLE FISHES 26 BRITISH CUTTLE FISHES .*..... 27 PARTS OF A MULTIVALVE SHELL . . . . -30 PARTS OF A BIVALVE SHELL . . . . . -31 LEFT VALVE OF Unio pictorum . . . . -32 PARTS OF AN OYSTER (Ostrea edulis) . . . .40 PARTS OF A UNIVALVE SHELL (Nassa reticulata) . . 52 VARIETIES OF THE MOUTH 53 LIVING SHELLS 56 CHAPTER I. LOCAL AND POPULAR NAMES, w THE numbers in this list refer to the coloured plates, and are those adopted throughout the book. Amber Snail, 313-317. Capped Cyclas, 82. Dog- Whelk, 513-516. Succinea (the genus). Sphaerium lacustre. Nassa (the genus). Anodon, 58, 59. Cheese Snail, 277. Dove Shell, 511, 512. Anodonta (the genus). Helix obvoluta. Columbella (the genus). Apple Snail, 279. Helix pomatia. Chrysalis Snail, 288-291. Pupa (the genus). Ear Shell, 333. Haliotis tuberculata Ark, n-15. Area (the genus). Clam, 143. Mya arenaria. Eight- Whorled Mud Shell, 208. Limnaea glabra. Banded Cockle, 134. Cardium fasciatum. Cockle, 136. Cardium edule. Field Slug, 235. Limax agrestis. Banded Snail, 276-278. Helix nemoralis and Helix pisana. Cockle, BrUlion, 143. Mya arenaria. File Shell, 44-48. Lima (the genus). Barnagh, 520. Coil Snail, 215-226. Fusus antiquus. Planorbis (the genus). Fresh - water Limpet, 205, 206. Bearded Mussel, 21. Cowry, 457. Ancylus (the genus). Mytilus barbatus. Cypraea europaea. Gaper, 143-148. Black Mussel, The, 55. Unio margaritifer. Cup-and-Saucer Limpet, 383. Calyptraea chinensis. Mya (the genus), Corbula gibba, Lutraria (the genus). Black Slug, 241. Arion ater. Cyclas, Capped, 82. Garden Slug, 244. Arion hortensis. Sphasrium lacustre. Bonnet Limpet, 383. Garden Snail, 273 Calyptrasa chinensis. Cyclas, Horny, 81. Helix hortensis. Bonnet, Torbay, 382. Capulus hungaricus. Sphaerium corneum. Cyclas, Oval, 83. Garlic Snail, 249. Zonites alliarius. Brown Slug, 236. Limax lasvis. Sphasrium ovale. Cyclas, River, 84. Glass Snail, 247. Vitrina pellucida. Bubble Shell, 227-229, 565- 567. Sphaerium rivicola. Dog Cockle, The, 16. Gowrie, 457. Cypraea europaea. Physa (the genus) and Bulla (the genus). Pectunculus glycimeris. Green Snail, 282. Helix revelata. Dog Periwinkle, 344, 508. Buckle, 520. Trochus cinerarius and Heart-Cockle, 54. Fusus antiquus. Purpura lapillus. Isocardia cor. LOCAL AND POPULAR NAMES. Horny Cyclas, 81. Mussel, Swollen Fresh- Razor Fish, 152-155 Sphaerium corneuin. water, 57. Solen (the genus). Unio tumidus. Horse Mussel, 20. Razor SheU, 149-155. Mytilus modiolus. Irish Slug, 246. Mussel, Zebra, 60. Dreissensia polymorpha. Solecurtus (the genus), Ceratisolen (the genus), and Solen (the genus). Geomalacus maculosus. Notched Limpet, 329. Red Whelk, 520. Keeled Slug, 233. Emarginula fissura. Fusus antiquus. Amalia marginata. KentisV Snail, 266. Nut SheU, 1-4. Nucula (the genus). River Cyclas, 84. Sphaerium rivicola. Helix cantiana. Old Maid, 143. River Limpet, 206. Mya arenaria. Ancylus fluviatilis. Keyhole Limpet, 326-328. Fissurella (the genus) and Ormer, 333. Rock Limpet, 324. Puncturella (the genus). Haliotis tuberculata. Patella vulgata. Land Sole, 241. Otter Shell, 147, 148. Scallop, 43. Arion ater. Lutraria (the genus). Pecten maximus. Limpet, 324. Oval Cyclas, 83. Sea Hare, 577-579. Patella vulgata. Sphaerium ovale.- Aplysia (the genus). Limpet, Bonnet, 383. Oyster, 32. Sea Lemon, 662-683. Calyptraea chinensis. Ostrea edulis. Doris (the genus). Limpet, Cup-and-Saucer, Painters' Mussel, 56. Shining Pisidium, 87. 383. Calyptrasa chinensis. Unio pictorum. Pisidium nitidum. Limpet, Fresh • water, 205, 206. Papier Mache SheU, 333. Haliotis tuberculata. Shipworm, 166-171. Teredo (the genus). Ancylus (the genus). Pearl Mussel, The, 55. Six-toothed Whorl SheU, 301. Limpet, Keyhole, 326-328. Unio margaritifer. Vertigo substriata. Fissurella (the genus) and Puncturella (the genus). Limpet, Bock, 324. Pelican's Foot, 455. Aporrhais pes-pelecani. Sliggaun, 59. Anodonta cygnea. Patella vulgata. Perforated Limpet, 328. Spindle SheU, 520. Looping Snail, 399. Puncturella noachina. Fusus antiquus. Truncatella truncatula. Periwinkle, 387-391. Spout SheU, 455. Marsh Shell, 440. Littorina (the genus). Aporrhais pes-pelecani. Viviparus vivipara. Periwinkle, Dog, 344, 508. Sting Winkle, 506. Milky Slug, 235. Purpura lapillus, and Tro- Murex erinaceus. Limax agrestis. chus cinerarius. Striped Sunset, The, 141. Mussel, 19-23. Pheasant Shell, 355. Psammobfa ferroensis Mytilus (the genus). Phasianella pulla. Sunset SheU, 139-142. Mussel, Black, 55. Piddock, 160-163. Psammobia (the genus). Unio margaritifer. Pholas (the genus). Mussel, Painters', 56. Unio pictorum. Pigmy Cockle, 133. Cardium exiguum. Swan Mussel, 59. Anodonta cygnea. Swollen Fresh • water Mussel, Pearl, 55. Pinpatch, 390. Mussel, 57. Unio margaritifer. Littorina littorea. Unio tumidus. Mussel, Swan, 59. Pond Snail, 207-214. TeUen, 90-97. Auodonta cygnea Limnaea (the genus). Tellina (the genus). LOCAL AND POPULAR NAMES. Tender Slug, 237. Wedge Shell, 104-106. Whorl Snail, 292-302. Limax tenellus. Donax (the genus). Vertigo (the genus). Tooth Shell, 184-189. Siphonodentalium (the genus), Cadulus (the Wentletrap, 360-364. Scalaria (the genus). Wood Snail, 276. Helix nemoralis. genus), and Dentalium (the genus). Whelk, 517, 518, 520. Wrinkled Snail, 267. Torbay Bonnet, 382. Capulus hungaricus Buccinum (the genus) and Fusus antiquus. Helix caperata. Vine Snail, 279. Helix pomatia. Whelk, Red, 520. Fusus antiquus. Yellow Slug, 234. Limax flavus. Violet Sea-Snail, 357-359. White Snail, 280. Zebra Mussel, 60. lanthina (the genus). Helix pulchella. Dreissensia polymorpha. THE COLOURED PLATES. CHAPTER II. THE COLOURED PLATES, THE numbers inset are those of the land and fresh-water species. The bringing of the bivalves to the front and putting the pulmonates immediately after the chitons is not an attempt at a new classification. It is simply the arrangement which was eventually found convenient for the grouping of the illustrations. PELECYPODA. PROTOBRANCHIATA. NUCULIDJE. Plate I. i. NUCULA SULCATA. 2. NUCULA NUCLEUS. 3. NUCULA NITIDA. 4. NUCULA TENUIS. 5. LEDA PYGM^A. 6. LEDA LUCIDA. 7. LEDA MINUTA. 8. LEDA PERNULA. FILIBRANCHIATA. ANOMIACEA. ANOMIHXE. 9. ANOMIA EPHIPPIUM. 10. ANOMIA PATELLIFORMIS. ARCACEA. ARCAD.fi. 11. ARCA PECTUNCULOIDES. 12. ARCA OBLIQUA. 13. ARCA LACTEA. 14. ARCA TETRAGONA. 15. ARCA NODULOSA. 16. PECTUNCULUS GLYCIMERIS. 17. LIMOPSIS AURITA. 18. LIMOPSIS BOREALIS. THE COLOURED PLATES. MYTILACEA. Plate II. MYTILID^. 19. MYTILUS EDULIS. 20. MYTILUS MODIOLUS. 21. MYTILUS BARBATUS. 22. MYTILUS ADRIATICUS. 23. MYTILUS PHASEOLINUS. 24. CRENELLA RHOMBEA. 25. CRENELLA DECUSSATA. 26. MODIOLARIA MARMORATA. 27. MODIOLARIA COSTULATA. 28. MODIOLARIA DISCORS. 29. MODIOLARIA NIGRA. PSEUDOLAMELLIBRANCHIATA. Plate III. Plate IV. Plate V. AVICULID/E. 30. AVICULA HIRUNDO. 31. PINNA RUDIS. OSTREIDJE. 32. OSTREA EDULIS. PECTINIDJE. 33- 34- 35- 36. 37- 38. 3