82 



EAST COAST MARINE SHELLS 



shell, sixteen spines on final whorl; area 

 of umbilicus often excavated but usually 

 imperforate; interior silvery. Exterior 

 whitish or light brown. Length 16-80 mm., 

 diameter 30-60 mm. It lives upon grasses. 



PI. 31, Fig, 2 



PI. 43, Fig, 9 



Florida Keys and West Indies 



ASTRAEA LONGIEPINA SPINULOSA Lamarck. Spiny 

 Star. Shell conlcally elevated, whorls 

 flattened above; keel usually with spines 

 or knobs; exterior of operculum white or 

 brown, very convex and smooth. Diameter 

 65 mm. 



PI. 31, Fig. 1 



Florida Keys and West Indies 



ASTRAEA BREVISPINA Lamarck. Short-spined 

 Star, Shell sharply keeled, short triangu- 

 lar spines which decorate the suture and 

 project there as well. Ten to fourteen 

 spines upon the last whorl; area of umbili- 

 cus excavated, whitish and surrounded by an 

 orange-red area. Diameter 1.5 inches. 



PI. 31, Fig. 9 



PI. 43, Fig. 6 



Florida Keys and West Indies 



SUBGENUS LITHOPOMA Gray 1850 



ASTRAEA TUBER Linne. Humped Star. Shell 

 dull white or green, spotted above with 

 brown; whorls six, the upper two smooth; 

 base almost smooth, aperture silvery. Diam- 

 eter 2 inches. It lives upon rocks near 

 shore. 



Disabled specimens are frequent 

 upon the east Florida beaches after storms. 

 PI. 31, Fig. 3 



Jupiter Inlet, Florida to Marti- 

 nique 



ASTRAEA CAELATA Gmelln. Carved Star. Shell, 

 imperforate, solid, whorls slightly convex, 

 periphery subcarinate; below the suture a 

 series of strong ribs which are oblique, 

 finer ribs between- them, rest of surface 

 with strong revolving ridges; aperture very 

 oblique; columella curved. Color greenish 

 or white, presenting a soiled appearance. 

 Operculum oval, convex outside and white or 

 brown with a granulose surface. Length 3 

 inches, diameter the same, 



PI, 31, Fig. 10 



Florida Keys and West Indies 



ASTRAEA AMERICANA Gmelin. American Star. 

 Shell elevated, whorls seven, the last 

 whorl with thirty-six folds which terminate 

 in knobs upon the keel of adults or spines 

 in young specimens; outer lip generally 

 crenulated. Operculum convex outside, 

 white and with a granulose surface, interi- 

 or of operculum dark. Length 1 inch. 



Abundant among weeds on sandbars of 

 Card Sound, Florida. 



PI. 31, Fig. 6 



Florida Keys and West Indies 



ASTRAEA IMBRICATA Gmelin. Shell solid, 

 imperforate, light brown or greenish in col- 

 or, whorls seven; eighteen to twenty folds 

 on last whorl, excavated at their centers, 

 forming square descending spines on the 

 sharply keeled periphery; base flattened, 

 radiately striate, also four to six concen- 

 tric lines; aperture oblique, wide, scal- 

 loped at outer angle; columella two toothed 

 below, its face a little grooved. Length 

 40 mm. 



PI. 31, Fig. 5 



Florida Keys and West Indies 



Family Nerltidae 

 GENUS NERITA Linne 1758 (NERITES) 



Animal with broad, short, muzzle 

 and long slender tentacles. 



Operculum calcareous with project- 

 ing lobes upon the surface, the inner mar- 

 gin of aperture corresponding to the same. 

 Aquatic, although some species live out of 

 the water near the sea. 



NERITA VERSICOLOR Gmelin. Variegated 

 Nerite. Ribs upon surface broad and round 

 with narrow grooves between, sometimes 

 these almost absent; marked with zigzag 

 stripes of red and black or spiral bands of 

 one of these colors or both; interior white, 

 outer lip toothed within, three to four dis- 

 tant strong teeth upon columella margin. 

 Diameter 15 to 30 mm. 



PI. 29, Fig. 11 



Florida; West Indies 



NERITA PELORONTA Linne. Bleeding Tooth, 

 Ribs broad and flatly rounded, marked with 

 red and black; aperture white; outer lip 

 feebly toothed Inside, columellar margin 

 with one to two strong central teeth, this 



