44 THE SHELL-FISH OF THE COAST. 
ent in the siphonal region of Solecurtus gibbus, a 
common mud-burrower of the ocean front (Pl. 2, 
Fig. 2). 
Before finally parting from our siphonated friends 
of the coast it may be well to turn our attention for 
a moment to a number of small and insignificant- 
looking shells, which are at times fairly abundant, 
their fragments, indeed, frequently making up much 
of the long white lines which define the boundaries 
of the surf. These are the tellens and their allies 
the wedge-shells (Donax, Pl. 3, Fig. 13). In both of 
these groups, as a distinguishing peculiarity, the 
beak of the shell is placed nearer the posterior 
margin than the anterior, thus making the front of 
the animal very long in comparison with the back. 
In by far the greater number of the bivalve shell- 
fish the reverse is the case; in a few, again, the two 
sides are nearly equal. The shells of Tellina (PI. 
2, Figs. 10, 11) may be recognized by their rounded 
outlines, the position of the beaks, and the minute 
teeth by which the valves hinge. In the wedge- 
shells, which, though small, are conspicuous by their 
beautiful coloring, the shell is clearly wedge-shaped, 
with nearly direct outlines. 
One of the rarer shells of the coast, although ex- 
tending in its range from Maine to Florida, is the 
delicate Pandora (Pl. 2, Fig. 9), which can be almost 
immediately recognized by the flatness of its beau- 
tifully-arched valves, and their pearly structure. 
Observe that one valve is considerably smaller than 
the other. 
