380 



A^jierican Seas he Us 



Subgenus Fleurovieris Conrad 1867 

 Venericardia tridentata Say Three-toothed Cardita 



North Carolina to all of Florida. 



V4, inch in length and height, trigonal in shape, inflated, with 15 to 18 

 heavily beaded strong radial ribs. Beaks close together, pointing slightly 

 forward. Lunule oval, sharply impressed, smoothish. Escutcheon small, nar- 

 row. External color grayish brown, sometimes with red-brown mottlings. 

 Hinge-teeth often purplish blue. Interior of valve stained with light-brown 

 on white background. A common, moderately shallow-water species, usually 

 confused with Cardita do77nngiiensis which, however, lacks the strong tri- 

 dentate hinge, is ovate in shape, whose ribs are weakly beaded and whose 

 beaks point toward each other. 



Venericardia perplana Conrad 



North Carolina to southern half of Florida. 



Flattened Cardita 



Plate 2 81 



^ inch in size, similar to V. borealis but much smaller, without a peri- 

 ostracum, pinkish or mottled brown, and more obhque. The ribs are wider, 

 and close to each other. The subspecies flabella Conrad from Tampa Bay, 

 Florida, has fewer ribs which are squarish and separated by furrows almost 

 equal in size to the ribs themselves. V. perplana is common, flabella only 

 locally found at certain seasons in few numbers. 



Figure 76. Kelsey's Milner Clam, Milneria kelseyi Dall, Yg to ^ inch (southern 



California). 



Kelsey's Milner Clam 



Figure 76 



Genus Milneria Dall 1881 

 Milneria kelseyi Dall 



Monterey to Lower California. 



% to ^ inch in length. An extraordinary clam which resembles a tiny 

 Brazil nut. The bottom margins of the valves are pushed in to form a small 

 cup-shaped hollow. Into this, the females put the 50 or so young whose 



