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American Seashells


Subgenus Fleurovieris Conrad 1867 Venericardia tridentata Say Three-toothed Cardita North Carolina to all of Florida. V4, inch in length and height, trigonal in shape, inflated, with 15 to 18 heavily beaded strong radial ribs. Beaks close together, pointing slightly forward. Lunule oval, sharply impressed, smoothish. Escutcheon small, nar- row. External color grayish brown, sometimes with red-brown mottlings. Hinge-teeth often purplish blue. Interior of valve stained with light-brown on white background. A common, moderately shallow-water species, usually confused with Cardita do77nngiiensis which, however, lacks the strong tri- dentate hinge, is ovate in shape, whose ribs are weakly beaded and whose beaks point toward each other. Venericardia perplana Conrad North Carolina to southern half of Florida. Flattened Cardita Plate 2 81 ^ inch in size, similar to V. borealis but much smaller, without a peri- ostracum, pinkish or mottled brown, and more obhque. The ribs are wider, and close to each other. The subspecies flabella Conrad from Tampa Bay, Florida, has fewer ribs which are squarish and separated by furrows almost equal in size to the ribs themselves. V. perplana is common, flabella only locally found at certain seasons in few numbers.

Figure 76. Kelsey's Milner Clam, Milneria kelseyi Dall, Yg to ^ inch (southern California). Kelsey's Milner Clam Figure 76 Genus Milneria Dall 1881 Milneria kelseyi Dall Monterey to Lower California. % to ^ inch in length. An extraordinary clam which resembles a tiny Brazil nut. The bottom margins of the valves are pushed in to form a small cup-shaped hollow. Into this, the females put the 50 or so young whose