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TELLINIDAE 427
Tellina iris Say Iris Tellin
North Carolina to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and Bermuda.
Yo inch in length, very similar to similis, and often as colorful, but very
thin-shelled, translucent and more elongate. On the interior of the valves,
the wavy oblique lines are evident, and there are 2 radial thickenings or
weak, white, internal ribs at the posterior end. Common from intertidal
flats to 20 fathoms.
Tellina candeana Orbigny from the Lower Florida Keys and the West
Indies commonly yellowish white and is more wedge-shaped (blunter at the
anterior end) and, of course, has the peculiar sculpture of this subgenus.
Subgenus Scrobiculina Dall 1900
Tellina magna Spengler Great Tellin
North Carolina to southeast Florida and the West Indies.
Plate 40!
3 to 4/4 inches in length, half as high, quite compressed and glossy-
smooth. Posterior dorsal region dull, bordered by a weak, radial ridge. Left
valve glossy white, rarely faintly yellowish; right valve glossy orange to
pinkish and microscopically cut with concentric scratches. An uncommon
and very lovely species much sought after by collectors. Found just below
low tide in sand.
Subgenus Eury tellina P. Fischer 1887
Tellina lineata Turton Rose Petal Tellin
All of Florida and the West Indies.
Plate 4oh
1 34 inches in length, moderately elongate, slightly inflated, solid and
with a fairly strong twist to the right at the posterior end. Smoothish and
glossy, but under a lens fine, concentric, crowded grooves may be seen.
The outer surface has a slight opalescent sheen. Color pure-white or strongly
flushed with watermelon-red. Pallial sinus just touches the anterior muscle
scar, while in the similar but more elongate T. alternata it does not. Common
in shallow water.
Tellina alternata Say Alternate Tellin
North Carolina, Florida, and the Gulf States.
Plate 4on
2 to 3 inches in length, elongate and compressed, solid, and with a
moderately pointed and slightly twisted posterior end. Sculpture of numer-