For those of you that have never seen Elliptio complanata, you can easily
make your own (this is new to Conch-L, I believe, and is called virtual
conchology). Cut a piece of paper in an oval about 3.5 inches long. Color
one side black. Color the other side purple. Voila! A valve of Elliptio
complanata with all of the important diagnostic characteristics that
Lightfoot (via Lister) gave us to differentiate it. By randomly snipping
off small pieces you can make any of the other 100 names for this mussel.

Below is an accurate rendition:

             ------------------------------
           /                                \
           |          left valve           |
           \                                /
             ------------------------------

             ------------------------------
           /                                \
           |        right valve           |
           \                                /
             ------------------------------


*****************************************
 G Thomas Watters
 Ohio Biological Survey &
 Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
 Ohio State University
 1315 Kinnear Road
 Columbus, OH 43212 USA
 v: 614-292-6170  f: 614-292-0181
******************************************

"The world is my oyster except for months with an 'R' in them" - Firesign
Theater

"If I only had a brain" - The Scarecrow