Beautiful Shells of New Zealand / An Illustrated Work for Amateur Collectors of New Zealand Marine Shells, with Directions for Collecting and Cleaning them

by Edward George Britton Moss

MACTRA DISCORS (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 9 is a large, rotund, greyish-white shell, with a blackish-brown epidermis. It is over 3-1/2 inches across, and is found on sandy ocean beaches all over New Zealand. The Maori name is Kuhakuha.

MACTRA ÆQUILATERA (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 10 is a yellowish or white shell. It generally has a bluish-purple patch round the hinge. It is found on ocean beaches, and is over two inches long. The Maori name is Kaikaikaroro, which is also used for the Struthiolaria (Plate IV.), and Chione costata (Plate VIII.).

STANDELLA OVATA (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 11 is a thin, brownish-white, and somewhat wrinkled, shell over three inches long. The edge of the shell, and sometimes the whole shell, is covered with a brownish epidermis, the interior being yellowish. This shell is found all over New Zealand on muddy beaches, and especially near mangrove bushes in Auckland Harbour.

STANDELLA ELONGATA (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 12 (late Hemimactra notata) is a solid, greyish-white shell, four inches long. It is covered with an epidermis of pale chestnut, sometimes with darker chestnut bands, dots and splashes. The interior of the shell is yellowish.

RESANIA LANCEOLATA (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 13 (lately known as Vanganella taylori) is a smooth, white shell, covered with a thin, pale chestnut epidermis, the interior being white. It is upwards of four and a-half inches in length. It inhabits sandy ocean beaches in both Islands of New Zealand.

ZENATIA ACINACES (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 14 is a greyish-yellow shell, four inches long, and covered with a brown epidermis. The interior is bluish-green, pearly, and iridescent. This shell also inhabits the sandy ocean beaches of both Islands.

PSAMMOBIA STANGERI (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 15 is a purplish-white shell, sometimes rayed with darker purple. The interior is pinkish-purple. Its length is 2-1/2 inches, and the shell is found in both Islands on sandy ocean beaches. The natives call it Wahawaha.

PSAMMOBIA LINEOLATA (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 17 is a purplish-pink shell, with darker concentric bands. Its interior is reddish-purple. This shell, which is found in both Islands on open ocean beaches, attains a length of 2-1/2 inches. The Maori name is Kuwharu, or Takarape.

SOLENOTELLINA NITIDA (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 16 (late Hiatula nitida) is a thin, almost transparent, purplish-white shell, covered with a smooth, polished, horny epidermis. The interior is much the same colour as the exterior. Its length is about two inches. It is found in both Islands on sandy banks in harbours, and on sandy ocean beaches, but those found in harbours have sometimes little or no colour. The Maori name is Pi-Pipi.

SOLENOTELLINA SPENCERI (Plate VIII.).—Fig. 18 is a thin, almost transparent, milky-white shell. The interior is white. It is very like the Tellina alba (Fig. 21) in colour and general appearance, but much narrower, and the posterior end is curved and comes to a finer point. Its length is about two inches. I have found over a dozen live specimens washed up on Buffalo Beach, in Mercury Bay.