Family Veneridae

Shell size to 170 mm; shell elongate, ovate. Surface glossy. Sculpture almost completely absent, except for weak growth lines and radial riblets. Lunule oval, purplish. Long external ligament. Color salmon to grayish-purple, with darker, brownish radial bands. On sandy bottoms.

Shell size to 35 mm; shell very thick, solid, with 5-9 concentric ribs rounded or slightly flattened in cross-section. Shell triangular, with postero-dorsal margin straight. Color cream, with rose or light-brown mottlings. Species lives in deeper water in the Gulf of Mexico and in shallower areas in the Gulf and the Caribbean; it is very rare on the beaches of SW Florida. The left valve illustrated was found by Kimberly Nealon on Captiva, on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014; its presence on the beach most likely resulted from the late-2013 beach renourishment project. The picture on the bottom is an inverted image of the same left valve as in the other view. This is Lirophora latilirata (Conrad, 1841) of other authors. This latter taxon, however, is strictly a Miocene fossil species.

Shell size to 8 mm; shell small, triangular, solid, umbo central. Sculpture of fine radial lines and concentric growth lines. Growth lines stronger on anterior region. Color white, sometimes with purple or brown streaks. The shell in four views in the main image was collected by Kelsey Hausmann at Island Inn Beach, Sanibel, on January 8, 2022.

Shell size to 65 mm; shell circular, compressed. Surface smooth. Sculpture of numerous concentric ridges, about 20 per cm in adults. Ligament internal, strong. Umbones well-developed. Lunule well-defined, heart-shaped. Periostracum thin, brown. Color white. Differs from Dosinia elegans by the larger number of concentric ridges. The specimen in the additional is "deformed," having a "squashed" (instead of circular) aspect to its outline. This deformity has most likely a genetic origin.

Shell size to 70 mm; shell circular, compressed. Surface smooth. Sculpture of about 8-10 concentric ridges per centimeter. Ligament internal, strong. Umbones well-developed in adult specimens. Lunule heart-shaped. Periostracum thin, brown. Color white. Known for many years by a junior synonym, Dosinia elegans (Conrad, 1843).

Shell size to 28 mm; shell circular, inflated, thin. Surface dull. Sculpture of weak, fine, irregular, growth lines. Umbones well-developed. Pallial sinus v-shaped, medium-sized. Color whitish. Additional shell collected by Susan J. Hewitt at Gulfside City Park on Sanibel in December 2014.

Shell size to 24 mm; shell with sculpture of coarse radial ribs crossed by narrower commarginal lines, gaping posteriorly. Beaks point anteriorly. Color dirt white to light gray. Bores into limestone rock or live corals. Formerly known as Rupellaria typica, or Petricola typica, and previously in the family Petricolidae. Specimen found by Dr. Jim Scatterday within a dead coral skeleton just east of Bowman's Beach, Sanibel Island.

Shell size to 38 mm; shell heavy, thick, inflated. Sculpture of numerous, low, rounded concentric ridges that are serrated on posterior edge. Lunule heart-shaped with raised lamellae. Color white to cream with irregular brown markings. Internally white, frequently with violet markings. Do not confuse with young southern quahogs, Mercenaria campechiensis, which lack the serrations/crenulations on ridges and are more rounded in outline.

Shell size to 10 mm; shell elongate. Sculpture of radial ribs crossed by weaker concentric lines. Lunule elongate, heart-shaped, brown. Color whitish, grayish, or light tan. Internally white, with posterior purple-brown area. Hinge purple.

Shell size to 34 mm; shell thick, trigonal. Sculpture of blade-like concentric ridges crossed by radial ribs. Interspaces between ribs smaller than between ridges. Lunule heart-shaped, dark. Color white to light gray. Sometimes brown rays. Internally white, frequently with blue-purple markings.