a Shells 
we New Zealand 
Plate X 
No. 17 
Plate X 
No. 11 
Plate [IX 
No. 9 
Plate IX 
No.8 
VENERICARDIA AUSTRALIS (Venericardia, the 
heart of Venus; Australis, southern) .—A thick, strong, large- 
ribbed cockle, brownish white, tinged with pink, and, 
towards the beaks, speckled or mottled with brown. The 
margins markedly crenated, the teeth of one valve fitting 
in between those of’ the opposing valve. The interior is 
white, porcellanous, washed with a rose pink, deepening 
to a bright purple. In order to remove the animal from 
the shell, do not resort to boiling, or the beautiful internal 
colouring will vanish. Simply leave the specimens for a 
few days until the animals die, then clean out and wash in 
cold water; scrubbing the external surface with sand and 
water will remove the sponge which is almost invariably 
attached to the posterior end. The sponge, attached to the 
shell in the same manner as the large seaweed is to the 
Horse mussel, is the direct cause of these shellfish being 
forcibly torn up from their beds by the fury of the ocean 
during the winter storms. 
The Venericardia Australis is about an inch and three- 
quarters long. ; 
Throughout New Zealand. Mount Maunganui; Chat- 
ham Islands. 
DIVARICELLA CUMINGI (di, two, double; varicella, 
a little varix, or rib; Cuming, the naturalist).—A_ beauti- 
fully-shaped shell of very attractive appearance, commonly 
called the Lace shell. It is a translucent, pure white bi- 
valve, almost circular in shape, very slightly flattened, with 
the hinge or dorsal border somewhat square. It owes its 
beauty not only to its graceful outlines and snowy white- 
ness, but to the unusual design of the sculpture, which 
takes the form of numerous fine raised ribs or lines shaped 
like chevrons with the points directed upwards towards 
the beaks. They are not arranged quite symmetrically, but 
always a little to the anterior side of the middle line. The 
ligament is, as in the majority of bivalves, situated on the 
posterior side of the beaks. About one and a-half inches 
in diameter, It is found on sandy beaches after storms. 
Whangarei; Hauraki Gulf; Mount Maunganui; Great 
Barrier Island; Chatham Island. 
DIPLODONTA GLOBULARIS (diplodonta, double- 
toothed ; globular). 
DIPLODONTA ZELANDICA (diplodonta, double- 
toothed; New Zealand). 
These two bivalves, both commonly known as double- 
tooth shells, are so much alike in appearance that I con- 
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