Wodarch's Introduction to the study of conchology: describing the orders, genera, and species of shells: with observations on the nature and properties of the animals; and directions for collecting, preserving, and cleaning shells / [Charles Wodarch].

  • Wodarch, Charles.
Date:
1827
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Wodarch's Introduction to the study of conchology: describing the orders, genera, and species of shells: with observations on the nature and properties of the animals; and directions for collecting, preserving, and cleaning shells / [Charles Wodarch]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    being broad at one end, and gradually tapering to the other; in some cases so much'so, that the pointed termi- nation of the shell forms a perfect beak or proboscis, as in the T. rostrata, T. virgata, &c. Others, on the con- trary, are more of an orbicular, or spherical form, as the T. scobitina, &c. and some again, as the T. radiata, &c. are nearly allied to species of the Solen genus, with which (from their near resemblance) they are sometimes con- founded; however, from the general propensity of all Tellinee to terminate in a more or less acute beak, much inaccuracy cannot well be committed. At the same time, the hinge of the Tellina will remove any doubts that may have originated from the simple observance of the exte- rior; for it is usually furnished with three teeth, the mid- dle one often cleft; the lateral teeth are most commonly smooth: the interior margin rarely, if ever, crenulated. The outside of the shells is surprisingly varied, some being perfectly smooth and polished, whilst others are covered with minute strize and undulations. In some in- . stances the whole surface is beset with coarse imbrica- tions or scales; but the more elegant species of the Tel- lina are chiefly remarkable for their beautiful radiations, the colors of which are rarely to be equalled in any of the other genera. As the Tellinze are most important among the Bivalves, so the sources from whence they are derived, usually abound in the different varieties they afford. The Me- diterranean, Adriatic, European and Northern Seas, and the American and Atlantic Oceans produce a great num- ber. The rivers, pools, ponds, and marshes of Europe and America, supply only a few. The finest varieties are found in the pearl] fisheries of Ceylon.
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