Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 May 2009
Wheelton hind in his Monograph on Carbonicola gave a critical review of what was known about hinge structure in that genus up to 1896; he described and figured the hinge structure in various species of Carbonicola, notably in shells which he referred to C. acuta (Sowerby). Since that time little has been published about hinge structure in Carbonicola. A paper by M. C. March on the structure and relationships of Carbonicola appears only to have been published in abstract (1913): In that, mention was made of the specialization of the ligament and “cardinal plateau” in the hinge line of Carbonicola, the “cardinal plateau” being grooved for the reception of an internal ligament. It was also stated that hinge structure was absent in C. antiqua, poorly represented in C. turgida and similar forms, and most highly developed in C. aquilina.