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VENERIDAE 409
% to % inch in length, similar to grns, but with prominent scales, 4 to 5
brown, zebra stripes on the escutcheon, with a white lunule, and the teeth
purple only on the posterior half of the hinge. Beaks commonly pink. In-
terior all white. Fairly common in shallow water.
Subgenus Lirophora Conrad 1863
Chione paphia Linne King Venus
Lower Florida Keys and the West Indies.
Plate 39a
1% inches in length, similar to latilirata, but not so heavy, with 10 to 12
smaller, concentric ribs which are thin at their ends. From a side view, the
dorsal margin of the lunule is very concave. Not very common in the United
States.
Chione latilirata Conrad Imperial Venus
North Carolina to Florida and to Texas.
Plate 39c
I inch in length, very thick and solid, with 5 to 7 large, bulbous, concentric
ribs, usually rounded, but may also be sharply shelved on top. The
ribs are not thin and flattened at their ends. Lunule heart-shaped, and, from
a side view, its dorsal margin is almost straight. Surface of shell glossy, cream
with rose and brown mottlings. Rather uncommon offshore in about 20
fathoms.
Genus Aiiovralocardia Schumacher 18 17
Anomalocardia cuneimeris Conrad Pointed Venus
South half of Florida to Texas.
Plate 39)
% to % inch in length, about % to ^ as high, pointed into a sharp,
wedge-like rostrum at the posterior end. Lunule oval to slightly heart-shaped
and faintly impressed. Wide, shallow escutcheon bordered by a weak ridge.
Beaks tiny and inrolled. Sculpture of small, but distinct, rounded, concentric
ribs which are more prominent near the beaks. Color variable: glossy-cream,
white or tan with brown or purple rays of fine specklings. Interior white,
purple or brown. Brackish water specimens are dwarfed. A common sandy
shore species.
A. brasiliana Gmelin (West Indian Pointed Venus) which is twice as
large, less elongate, and with the concentric ribs extending over into the
escutcheon area, has been erroneously reported from the United States.
Common in the West Indies and south to Brazil.