44 THE SHELL-FISH OF THE COAST. 



eiit in the siphonal region of Solecurtus gibhus, a 

 common mud-burrower of the ocean front (PI. 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, PI . 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 Telliua (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 (PI. 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. 



