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414 American SeasheUs
Genus Pitar Romer 1857
Anterior left lateral fitting into a well-developed socket in the right
valve. Middle left cardinal large; posterior right cardinal split.
Subgenus Pitar s. str.
Pitar juhiiinata Menke Lightning Venus
North Carolina to Florida and the West Indies.
Plate 39d
I to 1/4 inches in length, plump, umbones large and full; lunule very-
large and outlined by an impressed line. Anterior end broader than the pos-
terior end. Sculpture of crowded, rather heavy lines of growth. Exterior
whitish with spots and/or zigzag markings of yellowish brown. Moderately
common in shallow water, %-inch young are commonly dredged off Miami.
Pitar albida Gmelin of the West Indies is very similar, but all white
in color, more quadrate in shape, has a narrower and more elongate lunule,
and is usually more compressed. Common.
Pitar morrhtiana Linsley Morrhua Venus
Gulf of St. Lawrence to North Carolina.
Plate 32I; figure 8ie
I to I /4 inches in length, oval-elongate, moderately plump, with the
lunule large and elongate. With numerous, heavy lines of growth. Color
dull grayish to brownish red. P. fuhrmjata is similar, but is found only to the
south of Cape Hatteras, is not so elongate (compare figures), and is marked
with brown. Fairly commonly dredged off New England.
Pitar simpsoni Dall Simpson's Venus
South half of Florida and the West Indies.
% inch in length, plump, with fine, irregular, concentric threads; the
large, ovate lunule is polished smooth. Color white to purplish white, commonly
with zigzag, yellow-brown markings. Escutcheon absent. Nearest
in shape to inorrhiiana. Uncommon at low tide to 26 fathoms.
Subgenus Pitarenus Rehder and Abbott 1951
Pitar cordata Schwengel Schwengel's Venus
Off the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico.
Plate 3811
1V2 inches in length, very similar to morrhuana, but much fatter, with