Plate 4.
Page 25.
SPONDYLUS.
"Spondylus. Valves unequal, rough; hinge with two recurved teeth, with a hollow between them; shell sometimes eared. (See Plates 3 and 5.)
"I think," said Lucy, "that the English name, thorny-oyster, is not very suitable: it is more like a scallop; but it differs from both in having two strong teeth in the hinge, and I observed this morning that neither the oyster nor the scallop have any hinge."
"So that was the object you had in view," said Charles, "when you were so quietly handling those shells in the kitchen: I confess I could hardly help laughing; and now my father will say that you are 'Eyes,' and I the 'No Eyes,' of 'Evenings at Home.'"
"Perhaps I might have made the observation," replied Mr. Elliot; "but you have reproved yourself, which is far better.
"Spondylus can scarcely be mistaken from any other bivalve shell. The species gæderopus is remarkable for its projecting beak; the surface is rough, with either tubercles or spines. Some authors reckon only four species, others thirteen. The Spondyli are frequently found attached to rocks at some depth in the ocean. The animal is eaten on the coasts of the Mediterranean. We have no British Spondylus.