“7 x # 4 -
? a“ “£-2-g1 Cege3s oa SL .
eT OSL eZ

SEA SH ELLSA~* 4

OF THE Af ie

JERSEY GQ HORE,

BY z

be ie FAL SER Y 4
CONSERVATOR OF THE CONCHOLOGICAL SECTION OF THE == ,
ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA, =

ASBURY PARK NOVELTY CO.,
ASBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY,

1891.

Copyright, 1891, by H. A. PILSBRY.

PREP ACE.

Among the thousands who visit the New Jersey coast dur-
_ ing the summer months, there are no doubt many who would
take pleasure in becoming better acquainted with the sea
shore and its many forms of life.

The desire of the author to assist in such an introduction
to nature, has resulted in this lttle book.

In the following pages all the commoner shells of our shore
are illustrated and described ; there may be other interesting
species found. In that case the author will gladly name them
if sent to him, and include them in future editions.

The illustrations are partly original, but they are mainly
photographic reproductions of those of Gould’s “ Invertebrata
of Massachusetts.”

15 Pass "eal og

Philadelphia, Jane, 1891

=o

At 0 agygegeess

Saas OF DEE | ERSEY SHORE.

CHAPTER JI.—BEGINNINGs.

A walk along the beach is the best beginning in the col-
lection and love of shells. Not the most brilliant shells that
ean be bought give us the pleasure we have in those of our
own collecting ; the additional joy of discovery belongs to
these.

We will take a few of the shells we find in our first walk,
and see what they will tell us. A common “ round clam” is
almost. certain to be one of them. The outside is a dingy
brownish ; within it is white with a purple spot, and various
lines and mark-
ings.

It is as if in a

Hinge gamenZ.
Ate

pagna we were to
find an old Roman
coin or medal.
3 How much the
pleasure of find-
ing would be in-
creased by our be-
ing able to decipher
! its Latin legend ;

Fig. 1. Inside view of Venus mercenaria, the round clam. so it iS with our
common clam shell; each of its lines has a meaning which we
may learn to read. re

f

First, we see that the shell is composed of two parts, called
valves, fastened together at the back by a strong but flexible
ligament. Below this, the hinge has several prominences,
called “teeth” which fit into corresponding cavities in the
opposite valve. These strengthen the hinge and make it open
and close accurately. Above the hinge, projects the “beak ”
or umbo of the valve. At each end of the shell there is a
scar (A, P) marking the places where two muscles are
attached. These muscles are called “adductors” because
they close the shell. The line connecting the sears of the
adductors is where the mantle or lining of the shell is attached,
and is called the
pallial line. The
edge of the man-
tle extends to the
edge of the shell,

and gradually
Fig. 2. Hinge of Beach clam, Mactra solidissima. buildsthelatter

up by depositing thin layers of lime. A bay (or pallial sinus)
in this line indicates that the two siphons or tubes through
which the animal draws water to the gills, and expels it, are
long, as in the common sand clam.

In some bivalves there is no ligament on the outside, it being
transformed into a cushion of cartilage which occupies a pit
or cavity below the beaks. Such a one is Mactra (Fig. 2.)

Univalves, or spiral shells, called GASTEROPODs in scientific
language, have the shell in one piece, usually in the form of a
spiral cone. The opening or aperture is generally round or
oval, and has either a continuous even margin, or a notch

9

or canal at its lower part. The axis around which it is coiled
is called the colwmedla (little column) and is only visible at the
aperture, unless the shell be broken. The suture is the line
where the whorls or turns of the shell come together. The
names of these parts are marked on figure 5.

The shell is a part of the animal, just as the bones are a
part of the buman body; and while life lasts, the soft part of
the mollusk is never separated from
its shell. ee

The names of shells are derived from
Greek or Latin words, because these
languages are studied in all countries,
and so the confusicn of having as
many different names for each species as
there are modern languages is avoided.
Each mollusk has two names: that of
the species or particular kind, which
is written last (corresponding to the
“Christian name” of a person), and
Pe ickogoa chell, that of the genus or group, which is

Eupleura caudata. written first. The generic name is a
noun ; the specific name an adjective or genitive form of a
proper noun. The first name should be written with a capi-
tal, the second with a smali letter unless it is derived from a
proper name. After the name, is written the initials or name
of the naturalist who first described and named the species.
English pronunciation may be used for scientific names unless

10

the Roman is preferred. The accented syllable is indicated in
the text.

The most merciful way to kill living mollusks is to place
them in a basin and pour water nearly boiling hot, over them.
They die almost instantly, and may be removed with a knife
or pin. If quite small, they need not be removed from the
shell. The operculum or plate which closes the aperture of
Gastropod shells, should be kept with the shell. Bivalves
should be tied together until dry, so that the valves will not
be broken apart.

CHAPTER I1.—OvystTers iS SCALLOPS.

We will begin with the most simply organized class of mollusks, those having
bivalve shells. The animal has broad gills on each side of the body, to which water is
brought by a tube. The food consisting of minute creatures is also strained out of this
water. They havea fleshy ‘“‘ foot’’ used for digging, but no head or eyes. ©

The oysters and scallops differ from other bivalve shells in
having only one muscle for pulling the valves together. The
place where the muscle is attached to the shell is at about the
middle of each valve. They lie upon one side, instead of stand-
ing upon the end or edge, as other bivalves do, and the under
valve becomes flattened in consequence. They move about so
little when a residence has once been selected, that the “ foot”
is all but lost from sheer want of exercise.

The first of this tribe (at least on bills-of-fare) is the Oyster
Ostrea virginica Gmelin, a bivalve of such broad repute as
to need no introduction to us; for Ostrea has been talked of,
written about and eaten since before the founding of Rome.
Our oysters build a
rough, rude, irregu-
lar shell, and the mus-
cle-sear or “eye” is of
a dark purple color.

Next to the Oys-
ters come those pretty

Fig. 4. Anomia sig

Anomia simplex Orb. “ Anomia” means nameless; but they

have several names for all that; “Saddle-oysters” is one of
11

little seale-like golden ,
and silver shells 2a».
which dot the sands, «»:

micSc

12

them. The shell is thin and yellow, of a tough, fibrous text-
ure, not nearly so fragile as it looks. They attach themselves
in early life to a shell or rock, by the solid “ plug” extending
through a round hole in the lower or flat valve. The other
valve is quite convex, and is the one usually found on the
beach. You must find living ones to get both valves together.
When Anomia grows on a scallop shell its own shell becomes
fluted in harmony with the scallop. Headless, footless and
blind; but still like everything living, they reflect in them-
selyes the beauty or rudeness of their surroundings.

The Scallops or Pectens differ from the other bivalves hay-
ing a single muscle, in being
much more symmetrical or reg-
ular in the growth of the shell.
The two valves are almost
equally convex.

Our common species, Pee-
ten irradians Linné, is a cir-
cular shell, fluted, having about
eighteen rounded ribs on each
valve. It is usually dark,
with light concentric zones,
but the young are quite

Eig ay 5 eee rea ans. prettily marked with zigzag
stripes. They prefer a sandy bottom and shallow water, and
may be found scattered far and wide all along our shores.
Pectens are capital eating ; and thousands of bushels are sent
to the markets of the New England cities and of New York;
but in the restaurants of Philadelphia, one usually asks for

oo

13

them in vain. The central muscle only is eaten, and it makes
a delicious fry. Other modes of cooking I cannot commend
so highly.

CHAPTER III.—MusseEts.

The mussels are oblong shells with two equal valves, covered

Fig. 7. Mytilus edulis, var.
pellucidus,

with an epidermis, and hay-
ing two adductor muscles. In
the true mussels or Mytilide
the adductor muscle nearest to
the beaks is very small, and
the hinge practically without
teeth. They live attached

Fig. 6. Mytilus edulis.
to wooden piles or anything convenient, by a cord composed

of strong threads. This cord is called the ‘* byssus.”
14

e&
15

The common mussel, Mytilus edulis Linné, (figs. 6, 7) is
smooth, varying in color from black to light yellow. The
lighter specimens frequently have radiating green lines and
stripes and are very beautiful. Mussels are considered edible,
but Iwould not recommend them to anyone but book-reviewers
and other natural enemies of mankind.

Closely related to these are the
Horse mussels, Modiola plica-
tula Lam. They have the beaks
a little distance from the narrow
end of the shell, not at the end
as Mytilus has. ‘The larger end
of the shell is finely fluted, as
well as a little triangle at the
smaller end. They are found
living where there is an admix-
ture of fresh water. -

Fig. 9g. Arca transversa.
The Ark Mussel family or
Fig. 8. Modiola plicatula. ~ Arcide have the beaks near the
middle of the hinge line, the two adductor muscles equal, the
hinge furnished with many very fine interlocking teeth, like
fine comb teeth. The outside is fluted like a cockle. They

16

have red blood, an exception to the rule that the blood of
mollusks is colorless. From this peculiarity Area is some-
times called the “bloody clam.”

An Arca not often found in good condition on our coast is
Arca transversa Say, (Fig. 9). This is an oblong shell,
sculptured with about twenty-five squarish riblets. The brown
epidermis is generally lacking on specimens washed up on the
beach.

YY

Fig. ro. Arca pexata.

Another species often found all along the Jersey coast is

Arca pexata Say. It is more rounded than the other species,

and the comb-toothed hinge-line is more curved. It has about

thirty-two radiating riblets, and when fresh is covered with a

dark epidermis which is hairy in the grooves between the ribs.
irtan Cornfe tonite

“ q]
We ‘ (id w & 4 A ‘hes »)
- /

ve

aes

CHAPTER IV.—C rams.

One of the commonest clams all up and down the coast is the
Round Clam or Qua-
hog, Venus mercen-
aria Linné, a large,
solid, oval shell, dull
enough outside,
although the young
are occasionally
marked with zigzag
stripes. It is white
inside, with a spot of
Fig. rr. Venus mercenaria. One-half natural size. purple at one or both
¥ ends. Everybody
knows that our red
skinned predecessors
used to carve their
currency or “ wam-
pum” from these
shells. Quahogs are
eaten everywhere,
but they are not
nearly so tender and a
delicate as the “Littl “~~
Fig. 12. Cytherea convexa. = Neck ” or" Sand”

clams (Mya arenaria). Vitor Manph,, a,
17 SUANY Ceulg

18

The Little Round Clam, Cytherea conyexa Say, is much
like the Venus ; but it is more rounded, instead of triangular-
oval; very convex. Inside it is pure white. It is not a com-
mon shell,

The shell here pictured is a most familiar object on the
| sands. It isthe Petricola
pholadiformis Lam.
“ False Pholas” would be
a good common name, if
it needs one, for it is very
much like a Pholas in
form and ornamentation
of the surface. Not content with aping the Pholas’ person,
this Petricola goes so far as to copy their manner of living too.
It bores into hard mud, or sometimes into wood softened by
lying in sea water.

Now comes one of the smallest and prettiest of the common
clams, Donax fossor Say. When you find Donax at all, you
are likely to find about a million of them. The shell is trian-
gular-oblong, smooth except for faint radiating riblets, and of
a pure white or yellowish color, generally
having a faint purplish streak from the
beaks downward. The inside is white,
tinted with faint orange, or is of a royal
purple color. The edge of the valve is

Fig. 14. Donax fossor. finely crenulated. When you find living
Donax take a few home in a bottle of sea water. They will
soon reach out the long slender siphons, one for drawing the
water in, the other conducting it out, after the food particles

>

Fig. 13. Petricola pholadiformis.

*

<<

19

are strained from it and the gills have absorbed its oxygen.
From the other end of the shell the white muscular foot is seen
protruding.
Another little shell having the form of Donax, is Tellina
2 teneraSay. It ismuch more fragile than Donax,
wider, and the edges of the valves are smooth, not
crenulated. The color is generally a delicate pink
Telli: ccsera. OF deep rose color.
Macoma baltica Linné, another member of the Tellinide
or Tellea family, is larger than the last, and rounder in out-
line. sees is either white or pink, and is covered with a very

thin brown epidermis, usually worn off
except around the lower edge.

Macoma tenta Say is longer and nar-
rower than ZT. tenera and white or yel-
lowish. These tiny species are our

iene Macoma baltica, northern representatives of the family
to which that beautiful white, pink-rayed, Tellina radiata of
Florida belongs.

The Soft Clam or Sand Clam, Mya arenaria Linn. is by
far the choicest of our food clams; but all its tenderness and
sweetness are concealed beneath a rude and un-
») polished exterior, as the novelists say. Mya be-
~ longs to that class of bivalves which have the lig-

Mac sen znta. ament for opening the shell inside or below the
hinge-line, instead of outside—an important difference from a
mechanical point of view, for in pulling the valves shut, the
ligament or cartilage is compressed in these forms, whilst in
those with an external ligament, such as Venus, Solen, Tellina,

20

etc., it is stretched. -In Mya there is an erect, spoon-shaped
process in one valve, for the attachment of this cartilage, and

‘

Fig. 18. Mya arenaria.
a triangular pit in the other valve. The valves gape at each
end of the shell; the siphons of the animal are very long.

Fig. +5. P aedaiea solidissima.
The Beach Clam family, Mactride, have the eortiinas pit
of the same form in both valves, and on’ each side of it there

—s

a

are narrow lateral teeth ; the valves shut closely all around.

The Beach Clam, Mactra solidissima Chemnitz, is a
smooth, yellowish-white shell. It grows to a very large size,
and is so abundant that one cannot walk the beach without
seeing quantities of them.

Frequently they are found with a very neatly bevelled round
hole near the beaks. This is the work of the Natica, a fat and
good-natured looking mollusk, but secretly most blood-thirsty.
Boring along through the sand, like a mole, goes the Natica
until he finds a clam ; he then brings his tongue, armed with
rows of sharp teeth, into play, and bores a hole through the
shell of his victim, through which the soft tissues may be eaten
at leisure. This is a very ingenious way for Natica to get a
meal, but the feelings of the clam at being bored to death are

not pleasant to think about ; but it is the way of the world.

‘* Big fleas have little fleas
And smaller fleas to bite ’em;
And these again have other fleas,
And so ad infinitum.’

A little brother of the big fellow last pictured is the Little
Beach Clam, Mactra lateralis Say. The
shell is small, thin and differs from young
of the larger species in having a rather
sharp and distinct ridge running from the
beaks downward and backward ; in being
more triangular and less compressed. It
has also less of a yellow tint than I. sol-

.Fig. 20. Mactra lateralis.

idissima.
The Smooth Cockle, Cardium mortoni Conrad, is rather
rare on the N ew Jersey coast, but common southward. Car-

~,

22

dium differs from most of the preceding clams in having lat-
teral teeth on each side of the cardinal
teeth, which are right under the beaks.
The sheil is rather globular, rather
thin, smooth and white outside, tinted
with yellow inside, with a reddish-
cell brown stripe or blotch on the posterior
Fig. ot. Cardium mortoni, end. By holding a valve up to astrong
light, delicate riblets may be seen
through it.

Another circular white ha is the
Lucina dentata Wood. I have never
found a perfect specimen, but single
valves are occasionally cast up by the
waves. The delicate sculpturing is
peculiar and entirely different from
any other species.

At Asbury Park and along the
northern part of the coast, a very
pretty dark chestnut brown species,
Astarte castanea Say, is found.

Pig oat aka, Castadha: It is a solid little clam of a peculiar
and very graceful form, covered with a chestntt epidermis
outside, white within. A number of related species are found
upon the New England coast, but I. have seen no Astarte but
this one from New Jersey.

Fig. 22. Lucina dentata.

23

Fagelus gibbus Spengler, is a long
clam, “gaping” or open at both ends.
One valve has two long slender car-

Fig. 24. - Tagelus gibbus.

dinal teeth, but in the other they are
scarcely visible. When living in the
sand they are covered with a yellow
epidermis ; but they usually live in
mud, and are then almost free from
this covering and stained black. The
common size is nearly twice as large
as this figure.

The curious family of Razor shells,
Solenide have long, smooth shining
shells, very beautiful when found alive
or in good condition. They live in
holes in the mud between tides, reach-
ing their siphons to the surface when
the water covers them. They dig
with wonderful speed when danger, in
the form of a shell-hunter or other-
wise threatens, and about the only
way to catch them alive is to cut off
retreat by thrusting a spade under
them.

Solen Americanus. ~

24

The largest is Solen Americanus Gould, the common
American Razor Shell. The beaks are quite at the end of
of the shell, which is gently
curved and from four to five
}, inches long. Itis very smooth,
y ) of an olive-brown color, some-
= what stained with pink at the
Bese. Sieh costata:. beaks and along a widening

band which extends forward from the beaks.

Very much like the American Razor
Shell is the Green Razor Shell, Solen
viridis Say; but this is much smaller
than the other, rarely more than two
inches long, and of a delicate green tint.
The band extending from the beaks for.
ward is not sharply defined as it is in the
Solen Americanus. It is not frequently
found.

Closely related to the Solens are the
Ribbed Razors, Siliqua costata Say.
The shell is oblong, rounded at both ends,
en iti decals, the beaks at about au third of the length.

ae. Inside there is a strong white rib crossing
from the beaks to the lower margin. The common length is
from one to one and three-fourths inches.

CHAPTER V.—Borine BIVALVEs.

The Piddocks (Pholadide) and
the Ship Worms (Teredide) are
more especially adapted for bor-
ing in wood, hard mud or stone
than any other mollusks.

Fig. 29. Pholas truncata.

Fragments of the largest one
of these, Pholas costata Linn.,
are frequently found on the beach
after storms; but living speci-
mens can only be had by dredg-
ing. Rarely perfect valves are
thrown up. It is a most beauti-
fully sculptured shell, pure white
in color. The margin of the

se ;
Fig 28. Pholas costata. valves is turned outward over

the beaks and there is a slender curved arm projecting from
under the beaks. 25

26 ’

A more abundant species is Pholas truneata Say. It
bores in stiff mud, between tides, making a perpendicular
round hole, sometimes a foot
)\ \ _or more in depth. Fig. 29.
}}\ Zirphea crispata Linn. is
2 often found in soft wood. Its
tunnels are very small at the
opening, larger within. A
whole colony sometimes lives
in a single small piece of float-

Fig. 30. Zirphza crispata.

ing wood.

The Teredo nayalis Linn. or Ship
Worm, is the pest of sea-faring
men. It riddles wharfs or submarine
woodwork of any kind, with its long
tunnels, lined with a white chalky
layer. The body of the Teredo is long
and worm-like; the shell is small, and
situated at the extreme end of the
burrow. The shells are white and
fragile, and have a certain resemblance
to the Pholas.

Teredo, like other boring mollusks,
does not eat the wood from its ex-
eavations, but obtains food from the sea
water which it draws in through the
perforation with which the burrow

Fig. 31. Texedo navalis.

begins.

CHAPTER V1I.—GasrerRopops.

The univalve or Gasteropod mollusks are much more active
and intelligent than the bivalves. They have a head, with
eyes and tentacles or feelers. The mouth is at the end ofa
proboscis. The
foot is flat and
constructed for
crawling. There
is often a siphon
to conduct water

Fig. 32. A Gasteropod, Nassa trivittata.

to the gills. The aperture of the shell is closed when the
animal is retracted, by a small plate, the operculum.

The name Gasteropod means stomach-foot, in allusion to the
fact that the entire lower surface of the body is thickened and
flattened to form a broad muscular disk for crawling. This
disk or “foot” is marked f. in the figure. Upon the back
part of the foot, the operculum, 0, is carried. The proboscis
or rostrum is marked r in the figure. On each side of it, the
tentacles, ¢, are situated, near the bases of which are the eyes.
The tube marked s in the figure, conducts water to the gill
cavity which is in the last whorl of the shell. When the ani-
mal retreats into the shell the water is squirted from the gill
cavity to make room for the foot.

The Gasteropods may conveniently be divided into two
classes, according to the shape of the aperture. In the her-

bivorous species the base of the aperture is rounded; in the
27

28

carnivorous or flesh-eating species it has either a deep notch
or is prolonged intoa canal. This rule, however, is not
without exceptions,
- We will begin with Melampus lineatus Say, a small shell,
not found on the open coast. It lives among the rank grass
of the mudflats, where the water does not cover it ;
for Melampus, unlike all of the other mollusks in this
book, breathes air iustead of water. The shell is
either plain or banded; and has fine white teeth
Melampus within the aperture.

The Scalide, Ladder shells, you will find on the beach.
They have a long spire. The whorls are tubular,
separated by deep sutures, and crossed by regular
strong ribs. The aperture is oval.

None of the species are common on our coast ;
but the one most frequently met is Seala Hum-
phreysii Kiener, a slender white species, having
right rounded whorls. The riblets are rather
widely separated, and upon each whorl there are
Scala Hum. “ight or nine of them.

phreysii. Scala angulata Say is a stouter, shorter shell,
rarely found.

Scala lineata Say has much more delicate riblets.
It is brown, with a dark brown band near the base.

Bittium alternatum Say is a small slender shell,
Bittium from one-fourth to five-sixteenths of an inch in length.

alterna The surface is cut into rounded beads by revolving and

29

longitudinal furrows. The color is light brown finely dotted
| with dark brown.

J Another smail slender shell is Seila terebralis
Ad. Itis of a more narrow and tapering form
than Bittium, and has strong spiral ridges on the
whorl. The aperture is deeply notched at its base.

Seila terebra-
lis.

CHAPTER VII.—HERBIvorows SNAILS.

A new-comer to our shores is the periwinkle, Litorina
litorea Linn. Time was, and not many years ago, that this
species was unknown south of Cape Cod.
But during the last decade or two, the ery
in the bivouacs of Litorina has been “ south-
ward ho!” And flourishing colonies at
Point Pleasant, Atlantic City and other
points, attest the success of their crusade.
Our friends across the “pond” eat boiled
periwinkles. Thousand of bushels annually
Fig. 37. Litorina litorea, are gathered for the London market.

Another species of periwinkle, but this one a native Amer-
ican, comes from the Gulf up to
mid-Jersey, and sometimes even fur-
ther north. It is Litorina irror-
ata Say. It is narrower, more
pointed than ZL. litorea, with a white =~
mouth and orange-brown columella. Sag
It prefers salt grass to live in, and has an am-
bition to climb to the very top of the grass.

be

Fig. 38. Litorina 4 : 3 : : +
irrorata. Litorinella minuta Totten is the name of

a tiny smooth shell somewhat related to the periwinkles. It
has rounded whorls. — It is of a light yellowish-gray tint, but

when the animal is dried in it is blackish.
30

31

The family of Slipper Limpets or Boat Shells is one of the
most numerous on our coast. These clumsy half-decked boats
live wherever they find a shell, stone or
bit of wood to cling to. ‘The largest is
Crepidula fornicata Linn. The curved
beak (all that is left of what was a spire
in its ancestors) is quite at the edge of
the shell. The back is convex, white,
speckled with reddish, and covered with
a very thin yellowish epidermis. It is

= white inside, more or less clouded with
Crepidulafornicata- + purplish-brown. ~The white deck has a
wavy edge, and a decided notch on the left side. They live
in all sorts of places; upon old Fulgur shells especia!ly ;
and I have often seen individuals with a taste for travel on
Horse-shoe crabs.

WS
e
e
‘| @
| @

>9ng@?00

Living inside of all sorts and conditions
of shells, often sharing these shelters with
Hermit Crabs and its own brethren of the
preceding species, we find the flat Crepidula
plana Say. It is snowy-white, flat or con-
cave outside, according to the curvature of
its adopted home. The wonder is where such
a flattened creature finds room for its organs

Crepidula plana. at all. The deck is convex, its edge wavy,
like that of Crepidula fornicata.

Another Boat Shell is found on our coast, Crepidula if
ShateaSay. This is smaller than ©. fornicata. It is oval,
~¢onvex, dark colored, about ahalfinch long. The apex forms

i, a Aco ee

52

a little hook a short distance away from the edge of the shell.
The interior is dark brown, with a white deck. The edge of
the deck is straighter than in the other two species, and it is
not notched at the left end. When C. glauca grows on a flat
surface it is like this; but when it
grows upon a small shell or pebble,
it becomes very deep, very convex,
the deck concave ; but still the edge
of the deck has the same form. C. gtanea.
Z* This convex form of C. glauca is Saar

called variety convera Say. They vary from dark to light or

Crepiduliglausy

mottled in color.

The Naticide or Moon
Shell family have the
appearance and organ-
ization of the plant-eat-
ing snails, but for all
that, they have carniy-
orous habits. Their
shells are globular, the Y
aperture half-moon
shaped, and closed by a
thin plate or opercu-
lum. The fleshy part

of the animal is very

large. Naticide live Fig. 44..Natica dapltestis

on sandy beaches, where they burrow along a little way
below the surface, in search of bivalve mollusks upon
which they feed. A peculiar little hillock, which one soon
learns to recognize, shows where a Natica may be found under
the sand. ‘

33

Natiea duplicata Say, the calloused moon-shell, is most
abundant upon the sandy beaches of middle and southern New
Jersey. It is large, brown or gray above but snowy white on
the base around the tongue-shaped, rich chestnut brown cal-
lus which passes out of the
aperture. This is a beau-
tiful shell when perfect.

The Hero Natica, Natiea
heros Say, growseven
larger than NV. duplicata, i
but it has no callus, being
open beneath. I have
found it less abundant on
this shore than the other
species. There is quite a
pretty variety occasionally
met with which has the
plainess of its ground-color
relieved by three rows of

Fig. 45. Natica heros.
brown spots. It is known as WN. heros variety triseriata Say.

The eggs of Natica are connected into

a broad ribbon by soft mucus, which be-

comes covered and filled with sand, and

curves into a shape like a saucer without

a bottom, and with a segment broken from

N- heros var. triseriata, ifs rim. By holding this up to the light
the small eggs may be seen through it.

2

¢t

AMINES SP ee

CHAPTER VIIIL—PrREDATOoRY Swarts.

Buccinum undatum Linn. is a large whelk not often to
be collected on our coast, although common northward.
The shell has broad low waves
upon the upper part.

The banded whelk, Nassa tri-
vittata Say, is not uncommon on
sandy beaches. It is light colored
with spiral brown bands. The
surface is elaborately sculptured,
being cut into beads arranged in
close regular rows. It -
is often found contain-
ing the living animal. ¢

Nassa vibex Say is
stouter than the WN. tri-
vittata, with less distinet rr.

Nassa trivit-
sculpture. It is not tata.
common in New Jersey.
Buccinum undatum., Next to this clean

looking species comes the Scavenger whelk, Nassa
obsoleta Say. You will not find this black fellow
living upon the clean fresh sands of the open shore ;
but go back to the mud flats and you see him in his Nassa vibex.
element. His element, as I have said, is mud; and if it is

Ji ssa cheleta S£:34 p
Ja Meee GhSoleta Say-}.

30

sticky and black, and very deep, so much the better for him.

Nassa obso-
leta.

Fortunately, Nassas
may be had without
digging... Their
crooked trails often
cover the surface.
And if one uses a
tooth-brush vigor-
ously upon them, the
shells become really
quite presentable.
The Fulgurs, or
Conch Shells, are our~
largest gastropods.
They are an exclu-
sively American
group, inhabiting the
shores of the United.
States from Maine to
Texas. We fre-

quen t ] y see these : Fulgur canaliculata.
shells used as flowerbed borders and hanging baskets, together
we

*

.

36

with the large pink-mouthed Conch, Strombus gigas, of the

West Indies.

Fulgur carica.

string of capsules the shape of shallow

Fulgur canalien-
lata Say, the Velvet
Conch, is pear-shaped
and rather thin for
so largeashell. The
sutures of the spire
are deeply channelled
and a row of little
tubercles surmounts
the angle on the
upper part. When
fresh and perfect it

*. Egg-cases of
Fulgur carica.
is covered with a thin

velvety epidermis of

“a buff color. The

‘egg cases of this
conch are often seen.
They consist ofa long
saucers, held together

7

37

by a tough cord attached to one edge of each. If the capsules
are torn open, each is found to contain a number of young
shells. The capsules of the Velvet conch have sharp edges,
but those of Fulgur carica are angular and flat edged.

The Spiney conch, Fulgur carica Linn., is
a much heavier, stronger shell than the preceding,
and has no channel running along the suture, nor
does it have a velvety epidermis. The angle of
» the whorls has short spines. The interior of the
mouth is sometimes of a beautiful salmon color.
The figure shows a short section from the string of
ege-cases.

_. The family Muricide contains a great many
Urosalpinx cin- ‘ r “
cereus. tropical shells very beautiful in color and contour,
many of them being elaborately spined. Our cooler climate
does not encourage exuberance in form or color, at least under
water, although a different conclusion might be reached from
an inspection of the fauna just above the water line. Our
Muricide are very plain.

The common one is Urosalpinx cinerets tes Say, the “ Drill”
or oyster borer. The Drill is a typical carnivorous snail, and
a deadly foe to the oyster-men. They destroy young
oysters by boring through the shell, in the same way
@)? Natica attacks clams. The shell is fusiform ; largest

; sculptured with numerous spiral threads and rounded
Eupleura longitudinal folds.
caudata. —_ An ally of the Drill, and a co-conspirator against
the lives of tender young oysters, is Eupleura caudata Say.

~ in the middle, tapering toward both ends. They are .

38

This is a more angular species, with the outer lip strongly
thickened. There is another thick rib or “ varix” opposite the
lip, giving the shell a flattened appearance. They
grow nearly as large as Urosalpinx.

Another tropical family, Columbellide,— little
dove shells”—has a few small representatives here.
ae atin Although small, they are very pretty. Like Muri-

lunata = cide they are carnivorous.

Columbella lunata Say is small, smooth, marked
with two series of new-moon shaped chestnut brown
lines.

Columbella avara Say, is larger, with rather slen-
Columbella Ge? pointed spire. The base of the shell has spiral

avara. lines only; but above there are beautiful regular
folds.

39

GLOSSARY.

Appuctor Muscies. The muscles which connect the valves
and pull them together.

APERTURE. The opening in a spiral shell.

Apex. The tip of the spire.

Beaks. The first formed part of a bivalve shell. See figure
2. Also called the Umbo.

Brvatve. A shell composed. of two parts or valves, such as
the Oyster and Clam.

Canau. A narrow prolongation of the aperture of a spiral
shell, for the protection of the siphon conducting water to
its gills.

CotuMELLa. The pillar around which the whorls or turns
of a spiral shell revolve.

Eprpermis. The horny coating which covers the outside of
some shells.

Lunute. A heart-shaped impressed area just below the
beaks. It is prominent in the round clam, or Venus.

MANTLE. The fleshy or membranous lining of the shell.

OpercuLuM. A horny or shelly plate closing the aperture of
a spiral shell. |

PALLIAL LINE. . The impressed line in the interior of a bi-
valve shell, where the mantle is attached. See figure 1.

Pp -

40

PaLuIAL sinus. The bay or indentation in the pallial line,
where the muscles which retract the siphons are attached.
See figure 1. Clams with short siphons have no pallial
sinus.

SrpHons. The tubes through which water is drawn to the
gills and mouth of a bivalve, and expelled from them when
used.

Spree. All of the whorls of a spiral shell except the last one,
together form the spire.

Suture. The line where the turns of a spiral shell unite.

TreetH. The tooth-like projections upon the hinge of a
bivalve shell.

Umepriicus. The cavity in the base of a shell in which the
columella or axis is hollow; such as Natica heros.

Umpo. See figure 2. Also called beaks.

Unrvyatve. A shell composed of one part only, such as the
Conch.

VALVE. One of the two parts of a bivalve shell, such as a
clam.

Wuorts. The spiral turns of a shell.

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