No. 6(I92I) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDIA I9I 



alarms the clam and causes it suddenly to retract its siphons and 

 close its valves. In so doing a slight movement of the mud at 

 the entrance of its burrow is necessarily caused and it is this 

 that reveals its presence. Alphaeids — the so-called "clicking 

 prawns" — are common on these flats and possibly the noise made 

 by striking two shells together is mistaken by the clams for the 

 clicking of Alphaeids. 



The flesh is used either to form a curry, a soup, or a savoury, 

 this considerable variety betokening the high esteem in which it is 

 held. In all cases the preparatory operation is to steam the shells 

 open and extract the flesh. This may then be made forthwith into 

 a curry with the usual condiments, or it may be ground fine with 

 coconut and spices, and boiled to form a highly tasty and nutritious 

 soup, or, lastly, it may be ground to a paste, and fried in ghee or in 

 sesamum oil and eaten with other food. The last mode of prepara- 

 tion is a strong favourite with those who habitually utilize this food. 

 Probably no other bivalve is so universally valued on the shores of 

 Palk Bay as is this cockle-clam ; everybody seems fond of it with 

 the exception of the higher caste Hindus. 



The empty shells are used for lime-burning on the shores of 

 Palk Bay, where it is the most abundant littoral mollusc. Along 

 the Coromandel Coast, Circe gibba is scarce and does not seem to 

 be used there as food. It is not found or at least is very scarce on 

 the Malabar Coast. 



More characteristic in shape of the true Circes are C. scripta and 

 C. personata. These are greatly compressed nearly circular shells 

 found sparingly in the neighbourhood of Pamban and along the 

 Tinnevelly coast. The colouring of the former, which is the more 

 common, is yellowish, with a broken chevron pattern on the outer 

 half of the valves that suggests the idea of writing. Closely set 

 concentric ribbing covers the whole surface. 



The Tapestry-shells {Tapes), so called from the close 

 ribbing and handsome markings that recall the texture and the 

 patterns of tapestry, are generally characteristically oblong 

 in shape with perfectly smooth ventral margins. A superb 

 species is Tapes adspersa, found in the shallows south of Pamban. 

 It grows to a length of three inches and the handsome colouring 

 and bold concentric ribbing make it one of the most striking 

 of our commoner bivalves. Tapes textrix is another typical form, 

 in this case with smooth valves marked with closely set dark 



