by William Swainson

“ Animal byssiferous, attached to marine bodies by a fascicle of tendinous filaments. Shell foliaceous, the centre internally pearly and iridescent: the form irregular; the margins fragile and transparent. ”

“ The present is a small species, seldom exceeding the size of the figure: in young shells there is a cardinal tubercle in our valve, which disappears with age. The Pearl-oysters are nearly all inhabitants of warm seas ”