424 



Dall, W. H. 1902. 



Synopsis of the family Veneridae and of the North American recent species. 

 Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus. 26: 335-412. 



Contains a complete synonymy of Meraenaria mercenaries. - from Wells, Ecology 

 38 (1) , 1957 - J.L.M. 



425 



Dall, William Healey. 1903. 



Synopsis of the family Veneridae and of the North American recent species. 

 Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus. 26: 335-412, pi. 12-16. 



Venus meraenaria is the type species of the genus Venus. Shell large, heavy, 

 earthy, trigonal; with faint radial and stronger concentric lamellar 

 sculpture; lunule and escutcheon well defined; internal margins crenulate; 

 pallial sinus small, triangular; two bifid cardinals in the left valve, one 

 bifid and two anterior simple cardinals in the right valve, with a rugose 

 area in each valve representing a supplementary cardinal below the ligament, 

 the rugosities interlocking when the valves close; ligament strong and wholly 

 exposed; posterior dorsal margin of right valve grooved to receive edge of 

 left valve. The genus is American. It is Meraenaria Schumacher, 1817, and 

 Crassivenus Perkins, 1869. Venus meraenaria Linnaeus, 1758, lives from Bay 

 of Chaleurs, Gulf of St. Lawrence and at Sable Island, southward, locally, 

 to Cape Cod, thence generally southward to the Florida Keys, westward to the 

 Mississippi Delta and, sparsely, on the coast of Texas as far west as Corpus 

 Christi Bay. Fossil from the early Miocene to recent times. This is the 

 Venus meraenaria of Spengler, 1785, and subsequent authors; V. meretrix 

 Bolten, 1798, not of Linnaeus, 1758; Meraenaria violaaea Schumacher, 1817; 

 M. aanaellata Gabb, 1860; M. antiqua Verrill, 1875; and Crassivenus meraenaria 

 Perkins, 1869. Varieties notata, aanaellata, radiata, and alba are described. 

 Venus campeahiensis Gmelin, 1792, Chesapeake Bay and southward to Cuba; 

 westward to Texas and southward to Yucatan, near low-water mark. Fossil from 

 the Miocene to recent. This is the largest species of the family and the 

 most ponderous. Characterized by high inflated beaks, blunt ends, white 

 shell, frequently with zigzag brown lineation in the young externally, and 

 a surface sculpture of dense, low, thin concentric lamellation. Young 

 usually begin in a somewhat quadrate form, with more distant lamellation, 

 without a purple border internally, but sometimes a purple flush in the 

 cavity of the beaks. It passes through a series of mutations analogous to 

 those of V. meraenaria. Various names have been given to young shells about 

 2 inches diameter, and several names to adults and their mutations. 

 Varieties alboradiata, quadrata, texana, tetriaa, cuneata, and aarolinensis 

 are described. - J.L.M. 



426 



Dance, S. Peter (edj . 1974. 



The Collector's Encyclopedia of Shells. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 

 288 p. 



Phylum Mollusca, Class Bivalvia, Superfamily Veneracea, Family Veneridae, 

 Genus Meraenaria Schumacher. Resembles Chione in shape, but much larger. 

 Lunule heart-shaped or elongated, escutcheon long and narrow but border 

 indistinct. Fine, sometimes lamellate, concentric ridges which are 

 strongest around umbones . Radial ornament absent or limited to fine 

 riblets between concentric ridges. Three cardinal teeth in each valve. 

 No lateral teeth. Pallial sinus not very deep. Few species, in cool and 

 temperate waters. M. aampechiensis Gmelin, southern quahog. Very similar 

 to M. meraenaria but much more inflated, heavier and strongly ridged 

 concentrically over entire shell even in adults. Same color as M. 

 meraenaria but may have a purplish stain on escutcheon and brown mottlings 

 elsewhere. Inside white without purplish staining. 7 to 15 cm. Trans- 

 atlantic, Caribbean. Common. M. meraenaria , northern quahog. Thick, 



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