36 



NATUEAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



Christi Bay. It burrows from one 

 to two inches below the surface. I 

 found it in the water three feet 

 deep, summer tide. 



Cardium senatum. L. 



Several dead valves on Mustang 

 Island, gulf beach. 



Chama arcinella^ L. 



Beach-worn valves on Gulf coast 

 peninsula. 



Lucinopsis tenuis. Reel. 



Gulf beach; single valves only. 



Lucina Jamaicensis. Lam. 



I found this living on the flats in 

 Keller's Bay, buried from four to 

 six inches, the dead shells I found 

 on Lavaca Bay and Matagorda 

 Bay. 



Loripcs edentula. Lam. 



Dead shells on beach of Mata- 

 gorda Bay, have not found it liv- 

 ing. 



Cardita Floridana. Con. 



Beach-worn shells on Matagorda 

 and Espiritu Sancto Bays and all 

 along the gulf coast visited by me. 



Area imbricata. Brug. 



Beach-worn valves all along the 

 gulf. 



Area incongrua. Say. 



A very common shell all along 

 the gulf coast — forms the bulk of 

 the drift shells on Matagorda is- 

 land — the most durable shell I have 

 seen. Live ones are thrown up by 

 the waves in great numbers. 



Area pcxata. Say. 



I have found this living in Mata- 

 gorda Bay, and fresh shells on the 

 gulf beach on Matagorda island. 



Area transversa. Say. 



Dead shells all along the gulf 

 beach. 



Distortrix reticulata. Link. 



I found three specimens on 

 Mustang island gulf beach, one 

 fresh and the others beach-worn. 

 Mytilus exustus, L. 



Fresh shells in Port Lavaca Bay 

 — none alive. 



Mytilus hamatus. Say. 



This shell is very common wher- 

 ever there are oysters, to which it 

 fastens itself and is sometimes so 

 numerous on the oysters as to ren- 

 der them unfit for market. 



Modiola papyratia. Say. 



I found this shell living in Car- 

 ancahua Bay, Keller's Bay and 

 Matagorda Bay and dead speci- 

 mens on beach of Espiritu Sancto 

 Bay and Corpus Christi Bay on thd 



flats near Shell Bank. It fastens 

 its byssus to the roots of sea grass. 



Modiola plicatula. Lam. 



This shell is abundant along the 

 reedy shores of Carancahua Bay, 

 Lavaca Bay and Matagorda Bay. 

 I found four dead ones on the 

 gulf beach, Matagorda Island. It 

 buries itself in the mud and fastens 

 to the reed roots with its byssus. 

 In winter it is sometimes dry for a 

 month at a time, but being well 

 buried don't seem to suffer. I kept 

 some in a cool place 22 days and 

 they were still alive. They are 

 •not good eating. 



Margaritiphora radiata. Lam. 



I found this plentiful fastened to 

 floating seaweed in Pass Cabello. 



Pinna murieata. 



I found two beds of these in 

 Matagorda Bay and one at Shell 

 Bank, Corpus. It grows well 

 down in the bottom, the broad 

 edge just above the bottom, it an- 

 chors its byssus to anything it can 

 find. I found it in water from three 

 to five feet, summer tide. It is 

 good eating, the flavor resembling 

 lobster. The oyster crab is its 

 frequent tenant and companion. 



Pinna seminuda. Lam. 



I found fine specimens on penin- 

 sula and Matagorda gulf beach, 

 and young ones on beach of Mata- 

 gorda Bay. 



Pecten dislocatus. Say. 



Living in Matagorda and Espir- 

 itu Sancto Bays and at Shell Bank. 

 I found it on sandy or shelly bot- 

 tom, on its side the colored valve 

 uppermost, in water from one to 

 tli ree feet deep. By snapping its 

 valves quickly it can travel quite 

 freely through the water, and on 

 one occasion I saw one come to the 

 top of the water, the depth being 

 three feet. 



Anomia simplex. Orb. 



The largest and finest specimens 

 I found in Espiritu Sancto Bay. I 

 also found it in Carancahua Bay, 

 Keller's Bay, Lavaca Bay -and 

 Matagorda Bay and dead shells in 

 Corpus Christi Bay. It fastens it- 

 self to any hard substance, wood, 

 rock or shell, by its foot and grows 

 to fit the surface on which it is lo- 

 cated. 



Bclanus ebernus. 



The most common of the bar- 

 nacle family. In all the bays I 

 visited — a curse to boatmen. It 

 locates on any solid substance. It 

 has a solid bottom to its cup and 

 only one pair of valves. 



Chelenobia patula. Ranzani. 



This is a barnacle and locates on 

 living objects. I have found it on 

 the backs of turtles and crabs. It 

 has no bottom to its cup and has 

 two pair of valves inside of its cup. 



Lepas peetinata. Darwin. 



I found young live ones floating 

 on sea weed in Matagorda Bay and 

 Espiritu Sancto Bay; have never 

 seen an adult. 



Gnathodon enneatus. Con. 



This shell is plentiful in all the 

 small bays that empty into Mata- 

 gorda Bay. Those found at the 

 head of these bays and in the creeks 

 and lakes that empty into these 

 bays are twice the size of those 

 found farther down these bays; in 

 other words they grow largest in 

 water that is slightly brackish and 

 smallest in water that is salt all the 

 time. Beach-worn shells are very 

 numerous on the gulf coast penin- 

 sula and become less numerous as 

 you go westward. I saw none on 

 the gulf that were in any way fresh. 

 The immense piles of Post Pliocene 

 shells around Green Lake, Victoria 

 county, are of this species. 



Maetra lateralis. Southern var. 



Common in all bays in which I 

 collected. It hides in the mud or 

 sand with its beak at the surface. 



Maetra similes. Say. 



I have found fine examples 

 thrown up on Corpus Christi Bay 

 and Matagorda Bay, and have 

 dredged it alive in the latter bay. 



Labiosa canaliculata. Say. 



Matagorda Bay and Corpus 

 Christi Bay, also gulf beach on 

 peninsula and Matagorda Island. 

 Although I found many good spec- 

 imens I never found it at home. 



Tagelus gibbus. Spengler. 



I found alive in Carancahua Bay, 

 Keller's Bay, Lavaca Bay, Mata- 

 gorda Bay, Espiritu Sancto Bay, 

 Corpus Christi Bay, and fresh 

 shells with valves fastened togeth- 

 er on gulf beach, Matagorda Is- 

 land and peninsula. It forms a 

 cell about 10 inches deep up which 

 it travels, coming to the top to 

 feed and quickly dropping to the 

 bottom when disturbed. Stewed, 

 they are good eating, having a good 

 flavor. 



Semelc obliqua. Wood. 



Beach-worn valves on peninsula, 

 gulf beach. 



Sanguino laria rosea. Lam. 



I found some fresh shells at Pass 

 Cabello; found none living. 



