164 ANIMALS OF THE SEASHORE 



Pholas costata Linne 



(Barnea costata Linne) (Large Angel Wings) 



PLATE XVII. Fig. 2 



This conspicuous white shell reaches as much 

 as 6 inches in length. It burrows 2 feet or more deep 

 in the mud or clay and is very difficult to obtain 

 alive. This species had not been seen alive along 

 our northeastern coast for a good many years and 

 it was thought that they were possibly becoming 

 extinct. However, it has recently turned up again 

 and is found to live in considerable numbers in the 

 mud flats along Delaware Bay and in Cape May 

 Harbor. 



There is a large bed of these mollusks along 

 Delaware Bay near Fishing Creek. They can some- 

 times be seen at low tide in the shallow pools with 

 their siphons slightly elevated above the mud. Upon 

 trying to capture them, they burrow very rapidly 

 some two feet or more into the mud. In attempting 

 to resist capture the animal will frequently draw 

 itself into the shell with such force that the shell 

 becomes broken. The shell is indeed very fragile 

 and although many fragments are found on the New 

 Jersey beaches, it is seldom than one finds a perfect 

 pair. 



A few years ago a fisherman at Cape May found 

 a bed of these bivalves in Cape May Harbor and re- 

 ported that they were good to eat. 



These shells are known from Cape Cod to the 

 West Indies, and are more frequent on beaches south 

 of Cape Hatteras. 



Although not closely related, this shell at first 

 glance resembles Petricola pholadiformis and the popu- 

 lar name for the two species is sometimes the same. 



