14
SOLEXID.^.
erman sprinkles some oil on tlie surface^ in order to see
these marks more clearly. He then steadies himself by
leaning on a staff with his left hand^ and feels for the
Solen with his naked right foot. This he catches, and
holds between his big toe and the next ; bnt although
his toes are protected by linen bands, the struggles of
the Solen to escape are so violent, and the edges of the
shell so sharp, that very often a severe wound is inflicted by it. Where the sea is five or six feet deep,
another mode of fishing is adopted. It consists in the
fisherman di\dng or swimming under water with his
eyes open, and, after having found the holes, digging
with his hands for the razorfish.
Sometimes the Solen
80 forcibly resists being taken, that it will suffer its own
foot to be torn away, or will even die rather than surrender.
Their power of locomotion is not limited to
burrowing; they can dart from place to place in the
water as quickly as a scallop, and apparently in the
same way.
Pliny instances the razorfish as a luminous
moUusk ] but this has not been confirmed by any recent
observation.
The breadth of the shell is very remarkable in comparison with that of any other bivalve. In
the west of France they are called "couteaux^^ or "couteliers.^'
Another name (" seringues ^') was suggested
by Reaumur as more appropriate.
A. Shell somewhat curved, flattened and thin ; hinge near
one end, and furnished with cardinal and lateral teeth.
CuUellus, Schumacher.
1. Solen pellu'cidus ^, Pennant.
jSf. pellucidus, Penn. Br. Zool. iv. p. 84, pi. kvi. f. 23 ; F. & H. i. p. 252,
pi. xiii. f. 3, and (animal) pi. I. f. 2.
Body compressed, varying in colour from pale ycUowish* Transparent.
SOLEXID.^.
erman sprinkles some oil on tlie surface^ in order to see
these marks more clearly. He then steadies himself by
leaning on a staff with his left hand^ and feels for the
Solen with his naked right foot. This he catches, and
holds between his big toe and the next ; bnt although
his toes are protected by linen bands, the struggles of
the Solen to escape are so violent, and the edges of the
shell so sharp, that very often a severe wound is inflicted by it. Where the sea is five or six feet deep,
another mode of fishing is adopted. It consists in the
fisherman di\dng or swimming under water with his
eyes open, and, after having found the holes, digging
with his hands for the razorfish.
Sometimes the Solen
80 forcibly resists being taken, that it will suffer its own
foot to be torn away, or will even die rather than surrender.
Their power of locomotion is not limited to
burrowing; they can dart from place to place in the
water as quickly as a scallop, and apparently in the
same way.
Pliny instances the razorfish as a luminous
moUusk ] but this has not been confirmed by any recent
observation.
The breadth of the shell is very remarkable in comparison with that of any other bivalve. In
the west of France they are called "couteaux^^ or "couteliers.^'
Another name (" seringues ^') was suggested
by Reaumur as more appropriate.
A. Shell somewhat curved, flattened and thin ; hinge near
one end, and furnished with cardinal and lateral teeth.
CuUellus, Schumacher.
1. Solen pellu'cidus ^, Pennant.
jSf. pellucidus, Penn. Br. Zool. iv. p. 84, pi. kvi. f. 23 ; F. & H. i. p. 252,
pi. xiii. f. 3, and (animal) pi. I. f. 2.
Body compressed, varying in colour from pale ycUowish* Transparent.