In case anyone is wondering, Astraea did not suddenly experience a huge
range extension: Astarte was intended.  This is one of the most commonly
misidentified family of the North Atlantic (Turridae is #1 in this
category! Nuculanidae is a close second, probably tied with Astartidae)
- even the two most common species, undata and subaequilatera, are
routinely confused.  Interestingly enough, this is one of the few
families where the microsculpture of the periostracum is a truly useful
identification aid: for example, in A. undata, the fine-scale
microscupture is only visible under 25 to 40 magnification, while that
of subaequilatera is much coarser, being easily seen with a 10x hand lens.

-Ross.

Ross Mayhew wrote:
>
> The shells found at
> http://community.webshots.com/album/15635734DeXAOdskpF are:
> Top row - the brachiopod Hemithyris psittacea Chemnitz (sorry i don't
> have the date).
> Second row: 1) sorry i don't do fresh-water beasties 2) Yoldia
> hyperborea (A.A. Gould, 1841, ex Loven, ms.)  3) Macoma calcarea
> (Gmelin, 1791)
> Next two rows: Chlamys islandica
> Last one: Astraea montagui (Dillwyn, 1817), i think: this family is
> REALLY difficult (so don't believe the literature about distributions,
> habitats, etc.!), and it didn't seem to be hooked up to the larger photo
> very well.  Would help to have the size given, for unknowns, and basic
> habitat data.
>
> If anyone has specimens from the NW Atlantic, north of Cape Cod, that
> need an ID, i'll gladly give it a shot.
>
> >From Indian Summerland,
> Ross.

--
Ross Mayhew: Schooner Specimen Shells:
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