Description
The shell of the fan mussel tapers to a point at the umbos, and is very brittle. It is yellowish to dark brown with blackish patches. The two valves are equal and triangular in outline, with prominent gapes. The shell surface has a sculpture of concentric lines and 8 to 12 ribs, which may have fluted spines. Shells can reach 48 cm in length, and the largest individuals may be 10 to 12 years old.
Read more about this topic: Atrina Fragilis
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St Pauls, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (17171797)
“To give an accurate description of what has never occurred is not merely the proper occupation of the historian, but the inalienable privilege of any man of parts and culture.”
—Oscar Wilde (18541900)
“It [Egypt] has more wonders in it than any other country in the world and provides more works that defy description than any other place.”
—Herodotus (c. 484424 B.C.)