dark purplish blue patch, shading off to white at the ante- 
rior end. It is about two inches long, and very plentiful 
on sand banks in shallow water. 
Throughout New Zealand. Mount Maunganui; Chat- 
ham and Auckland Islands. 
CHIONE YATEI (Chione, the daughter of Boreas; 
Yates, the naturalist) —A beautiful shell, solidly built, 
yellowish cream or lemon-coloured, shaped like a cockle, 
with thin knife-like ridges arranged concentrically round 
the valves, parallel to the ventral border, and somewhat 
wide apart. The beaks are coloured pale purple, shading 
off to blue. The interior is white, bordered with pale yel- 
low. It is upwards of two inches in length. In older shells 
the ridges are generally worn down. Live specimens are 
often washed ashore on sandy beaches after storms. 
North and South Islands. Mount Maunganui. 
PAPHIA COSTATA (Paphos, a city of Cyprus, sacred 
to Venus; costata, ribbed).—The Carpet shell. An oval 
asymmetrical whitish-yellow bivalve of cockle-like appear- 
ance, and elegant proportions. The beaks are sharply 
pointed, and curve forwards. The anterior end is short 
and somewhat pointed, the posterior end more squarely 
rounded. Sculpture consists of well-defined radiate ribs, 
finer at the anterior end, broader at the posterior end, 
almost absent in the middle, and again well marked, but 
not so pronounced, at the posterior end. The ventral border 
is slightly curved; the interior white, with the posterior 
end and upper part dark purple. The margins are finely 
crenulated. About one and a-half inches long by one and 
a-quarter inches in height. 
Throughout New Zealand, but not common. Taka- 
puna; Mount Maunganui. 
PAPHIA INTERMEDIA (Paphos, a city of Cyprus, 
sacred to Venus; intermediate).—This is also a Carpet 
shell. A fairly large white or creamy-white bivalve of 
asymmetrical ovate shape. The sculpture consists of 
numerous concentric ribs, which become more marked, 
lamellar, or plate-like towards the ventral border and the 
posterior end. Many of them coalesce, running into each 
other to form one rib, and other ribs branch off into two. 
They are crossed by very fine radiate strie, more pro- 
nounced on the anterior end and the middle of the valves. 
The interior is white, and not polished; the margins smooth, 
107 
Plate XI 
No. 6 
Plate XI 
No. 9 
Plate XI 
No. 10 
Sea Shells 
of New Zealand 
