Andrew et.al.- Seems to me that diving is the best way to find
tellina magna in FL.  As I said, I have found pairs snorkeling in
the Bahamas and my friends on the same shelling trips have often
found them when I didn't.  And my strategy of simply picking up
separate valves in the same area and trying to match them later
has paid off.
 
When they don't match I simply add them to a box I have that I
call my "look and weep" box. In it are pieces of junionia, halves
of lion's paws, broken golden olives, a piece of an albino strombus
alatus with a purple streak across the part of the lip that is there.
 
 
But another friend, diving off the West Coast of FL - south of
Tampa I believe - found the absolutely most incredible pair that
I have been heard to say  is the most beautiful shell I have ever seen.
The pair is in perfect condition, suffused with yellow, orange and pink.
 
Tellina magna is probably my favorite of all shells - find 'em, or buy
'em, I love 'em.
 
Karen