Tellina agilis is represented in the NEFC Specimen Refer- 

 ence Collection by 1,131 specimens, representing 1% of the 

 total number of specimens, from 114 samples which also 

 represent 1% of the total number of samples (Table 5). 



The NEFC samples are distributed from Georges Bank and 

 the Cape Cod region along the continental shelf into the 

 Middle Atlantic Bight region south to the environs of Cape 

 Hatteras, N.C.; there is also one sample in the mid-section of 

 the Florida Peninsula (Fig. 103; Theroux and Wigley footnote 

 4, table 186). 



Gosner (1971) stated that this species is Boreal and Virgi- 

 nian in distribution while Dance (1974) placed it in the Boreal 

 as well as the Transatlantic province. 



The range of water depth occupied by this species is from 

 to 120 m (Porter 1974). 



Our samples are from water depths which range between 1 

 and 146 m with a mean of 22 m. The majority of both samples 

 and specimens are in the shallowest depth range grouping, 

 0-24 m, which contains 69% of the samples and 91% of the 

 specimens; the 25-49 m grouping which contains 27% of the 

 samples and 9% of the specimens, while the 50-99 m grouping 

 contains 3% of the samples and 0.5% of the specimens; the 

 100-199 m grouping contains 2% of the samples and 0.5% of 

 the specimens (Table 228). There are 2 samples containing 12 

 specimens which do not contain any depth information. 



Abbott (1968) reported that this species is normally found in 

 sandy-mud bottoms. 



Our samples occurred in all sediment types but in varying 

 proportions. The majority of both samples and specimens 

 occurred in sand substrates which contained 72% of the sam- 

 ples and 92% of the specimens; next largest amounts of sam- 

 ples and specimens occurred in silty sand containing 11% of 

 the samples and 3% of the specimens; there were significantly 

 lower amounts in gravel, sand-gravel, shell, sand-shell, silt, 

 and clay substrates (Table 229). There are 13 samples contain- 

 ing 56 specimens which are unclassified with regard to sedi- 

 ment type. 



Tellina consobrina Orbigny 1842. Consorbine tellin. Figure 

 104. 



The distributional range for this species is southeast Florida 

 to the Lesser Antilles and Tobago, it also occurs at Bermuda 

 (Boss 1968; Abbott 1974). 



This small tellin is uncommon and is represented in the 

 NEFC collection by 20 specimens from 7 samples (Table 5). 



One of our samples is from Cape Fear. N.C., the majority, 

 however, are between Charleston, S.C., and the mid-section 

 of the Florida Peninsula below Jacksonville (Fig. 104; Ther- 

 oux and Wigley footnote 4, table 187). 



The consobrine tellin occupies offshore waters down to 

 approximately 128 m (Abbott 1974). 



Our samples occupy water depths which range between 8 

 and 16 m with a mean of 1 1 m. This depth range places them in 

 the 0-24 m depth range grouping. 



Sediment types in which our samples were found were sand 

 and sand-shell; the former contained 57% of the samples and 

 65% of the specimens, while the latter contained 43% of the 

 samples and 35% of the specimens. 



Tellina versicolor DeKav 1843. DeKav's dwarf tellin. Figure 

 105. 



DeKay's dwarf tellin occurs from Cape Cod to Trinidad in 

 the West Indies and in the Gulf of Mexico, on the west coast of 



Florida to west Texas (Abbott 1968, 1974; Andrews 1971; 

 Morris 1973; Porter 1974; Emerson et al. 1976). 



This is a common northwest Atlantic tellin of which there 

 are 297 specimens from 58 samples in our collection (Table 5). 



The NEFC samples are distributed from Atlantic City, 

 N.J., to north of Miami, Fla., on the continental shelf (Fig. 

 105; Theroux and Wigley footnote 4, table 188). 



The zoogeographic distribution of this species is Virginian, 

 Carolinian, and Caribbean (Coomans 1962): Gosner (1971) 

 placed it in the Virginian province. 



The depth distribution for this fairly common species is 

 from 2 to 92 m (Johnson 1934; Abbott 1968, 1974). 



Our samples are from water depths which range between 6 

 and 65 m with a mean of 23 m. The majority of both samples 

 and specimens are in the shallowest, 0-24 m depth range 

 grouping which contains 64% of the samples and 87% of the 

 specimens; the 25-49 m grouping contains 33% of the samples 

 and 13% of the specimens, while the 50-99 m grouping con- 

 tains 3% of the samples and 1% of the specimens (Table 230). 



Both Abbott (1968) and Andrews (1971) reported this spe- 

 cies occupies sand substrates. 



This sand preference is also apparent in our samples with 

 67% of the samples and 68% of the specimens occuring in this 

 sediment type, while sand-shell substrates contained 29% of 

 the samples and 31% of the specimens; gravel and silty sand 

 substrates each contained 2% of the samples and 0.3 and 

 0.7%, respectively, of the specimens (Table 231). 



Tellina sp. Figure 106. 



There are 151 specimens from 70 samples in the NEFC 

 collection which are classified to the level of genus Tellina 

 (Table 5). 



Samples containing this genus are from the mouth of the 

 Bay of Fundy in the Gulf of Maine, and on Georges Bank, and 

 also range from Cape Cod, Mass., to Miami and the Florida 

 Keys (Fig. 106; Theroux and Wigley footnote 4, table 189). 



Our samples are from water depths which range between 

 and 146 m with a mean of 37 m. The majority of both samples 

 and specimens are in the 0-24 m depth range grouping which 

 contains 44% of the samples and 53% of the specimens; there 

 is a gradual diminution in abundance with increasing depth 

 range: the 25-49 m grouping contains 39% of the samples and 

 34% of the specimens; the 50-99 m grouping contains 1 1% of 

 the samples and 11% of the specimens, while the 100-199 m 

 grouping contains 6% of the samples and 3% of the specimens 

 (Table 232). 



No samples containing members of the genus Tellina were 

 found in gravel, sand-gravel, or till sediments, but were found 

 in all the other sediment types considered in this report. The 

 majority of samples (68%) and specimens (71%) occurred in 

 sand, while sand-shell substrates contained 19% of the sam- 

 ples and 18% of the specimens; all other sediment types in 

 which they were found, shell, silty sand, silt, and clay, con- 

 tained 6% or less of both samples and specimens (Table 233). 

 There are two samples containing nine specimens which are 

 unclassified with regard to sediment type. 



42 



