dark brown, and sometimes with opaque white. It is important as food. Small 

 or moderate-sized clams are preferred. Tongs and rakes are the principal 

 gears. Estuarine clams have rough, thick, dull-white or mud-stained shells, 

 those from sandy shores outside have thinner and more delicate shells, often 

 with high, thin ribs, especially when young. Some have angular or zig-zag 

 lines or streaks of red or brown (var. notata) . Hard clam is very abundant 

 from Cape Cod to Fla. North of Cape Cod it is comparatively rare and local. 

 On the coast of Maine and Bay of Fundy it occurs only in a few special 

 localities, in small sheltered bays where the water is shallow and warm. 

 In southern parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where water is warmer and 

 shallower than on the Maine coast, it occurs in some abundance. V. mercenaria 

 are found on muddy shores and sheltered sandy shores. Hard clam is abundant 

 where mud is somewhat firm and mixed with sand. It is especially abundant 

 in estuaries and harbors of Long Island Sound. Statistics of catch are 

 unreliable because they are mostly taken and sold by individual fishermen 

 and marketed along the coast from Fla. to Boston. It is probable that more 

 than 1.5 million bu are consumed annually. In New Haven the retail price 

 was $2 to $3 per bu for small clams, $1 to $2 for large. - J.L.M. 



1899 



Verrill, A. E. 1892. 



The marine nemerteans of New England and adjacent waters. Trans. Conn. 

 Acad. Arts Sci. 8: 382-456. 



List only. 



1900 



Verrill, A. E., S. I. Smith, and Oscar Harger. 1873. 



D. - Catalogue of the marine invertebrate animals of the southern coast of 

 New England, and adjacent waters. In Report on the condition of the sea 

 fisheries of the south coast of New England in 1871 and 1872. Spencer F. 

 Baird, Commissioner. U.S. Comm. Fish Fisheries, Washington, Govt. Print. 

 Off.: 537-747. 



Venus fragilis 0. Fabricius is listed in the synonymy of Maooma fragilis 

 Adams. In the synonymy of Venus mercenaria Linne are listed Mercenaria 

 violacea Schumacher, M. mercenaria Chenu, Crassivenus mercenaria Perkins, 

 V. notata Say, and V. praeparca Say. Venus gemma Totten is listed in the 

 synonymy of Tottenia gemma Perkins (Gemma gemma). V. manhattensis Prime is 

 listed in the synonymy of Tottenia manhattensis Verrill. Venus islandica 

 Linne is listed in the synonymy of Cyprina islandica Lamarck. V. castanea 

 Say is listed in the synonymy of Astarte castanea Say. V. minuta Fabricius 

 is listed in the synonymy of Turtonia minuta Stimpson. Venus mercenaria was 

 found from Florida to Massachusetts Bay; more rare and local north, at 

 Quahog Bay, Me: Nova Scotia; and southern part of Gulf of St. Lawrence to 

 Bay of Chaleur. Not found on coast of Me. east of Kennebeck River nor in 

 Bay of Fundy. Very common in Vineyard Sound, Buzzards Bay, Long Island 

 Sound, and southward. Fort Macon; South Carolina; Georgia; and Texas. 

 Fossil in Post-Pliocene of Point Shirley, Nantucket Is., Gardiners Is., 

 Virginia and South Carolina. In Pliocene of S.C. and in Miocene of Md. , 

 Va., N.C., and S.C. - J.L.M. 



1901 



Verrill, A. Hyatt. 1950. 



Shell Collector's Handbook. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, ix+228 p. 



Quahog is mentioned on the first page of Chapter 8, but only in general 

 terms. - M.W.S. and J.L.M. 



528 



