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416 American Seashelh
Genus Macrocallista Meek 1876
Macrocallista nimbosa Solander Sunray Venus
North Carolina to Florida and the Gulf States.
Plate 39b
4 to 5 inches in length, elongate, compressed, glossy-smooth with a thin
varnish-like periostracum. Exterior dull salmon to dull mauve with broken,
radial bands of darker color. Interior dull white with a blush of reddish over
the central area. Moderately common in shallow, sandy areas and not uncommonly
washed ashore after storms.
Macrocallista maculata Linne Calico Clam
North Carolina to south half of Florida and the West Indies.
Plates lb; 396
I /4 to 2 34 inches in length, ovate, glossy-smooth with a thin varnish-like
periostracum. Exterior cream with checkerboard markings of brownish red.
Rarely albino or all dark-brown. Moderately common in shallow, sandy areas
in certain localities. A popular collector's item. Also known as the Checker-
board or Spotted Clam.
Genus Callocardia A. Adams 1864
Subgenus Agriopoma Dall 1902
Callocardia texasiana Dall Texas Venus
Northwest Florida to Texas.
Plate 32k; figure aSe
1/4 to 3 inches in length, % as high. Externally resembling Fitar mor-
rhuana, but much more elongate, having the beaks rolled in under themselves,
and with a more elongate, faint lunule. The posterior cardinal is S-shaped
in the right valve. Uncommon, if not rare. Found on the beaches, but its
biology and habits are unknown.
Genus Amiantis Carpenter 1863
Amiantis callosa Conrad Pacific White Venus
Santa Monica, California, to south Mexico.
3 to 4% inches in length, longer than high, beaks pointing anteriorly,
shell hard, heavy, glossy and with neat concentric ribs. Lunule small, heart-
shaped and pressed in slightly under the beaks. Anterior end round. Color
solid ivory. A very attractive, fairly common species living just below tide
line on sandy bottoms in the open surf. Commonly washed ashore alive after