Elegant Dosinia
Dosinia elegans (Conrad, 1844)
Family Veneridae
The Elegant Dosinia (Dosinia elegans) is rare on S. Hutchinson Island beaches.
Elegant Dosinia found on S. Hutchinson Island in November, 2020.
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Elegant Dosinia:
Pretty All Around
By Patricia B. Mitchell.
The Elegant Dosinia, Dosinia elegans, is a lovely white bivalve which may reach a diameter of 3 inches. Its surface is marked with numerous uniformly-spaced concentric ridges, though the lines are not as close together as are those of the quite similar Disk Dosinia, Dosinia discus. The Elegent Dosinia has slightly broader ridges than does the Disk Dosinia, with about 10 ridges to a centimeter compared to about 20 ridges on the Disk Dosinia.
The Elegant Dosinia is almost circular in shape, except for its small beaks, which point anteriorally. The bivalve is very compressed — that is to say, the two halves of the bivalve fit together rather flat, almost like a ladies' compact. The periostracum, or shell covering, is translucent, grayish, and varnish-like.
Elegant Dosinia has a range from North Carolina to Texas and the Caribbean.
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Dosinia elegans (Conrad, 1844: 325*) ** Elegant Dosinia Right Valve
World record sized specimen - 11.18 cm.
Dosinia elegans (Conrad, 1844: 325*) ** Elegant Dosinia Right Valve
Dosinia elegans (Conrad, 1844: 325*) ** Elegant Dosinia Right Valve
Single valve found on the beach by Eulala Paddock (Irmo, South Carolina) on the outer shore at the northeast end of Topsail Island, North Carolina circa. 1960's. Original digital images by David Pugh.
* Because essentially all authorities, e.g., Abbott, 1974 ("1846"), Malacolog 4.1.1 <http://www.malacolog.org/search.php?nameid=13313> ("1843"), except this website and Huber (2010; chapter 5) have the date of Conrad's original description (fig. 1) incorrect, an expanded explanation of an earlier analysis (Lee, 2009: 44) of the reference containing the original description (cited in full below with URL) is in order: Although Conrad read his paper introducing Artemis elegans to the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia on December 26, 1843, this number of the published proceedings did not reach subscribers until the next month, January, 1844; see fig. 2, taken from Nolan (1913: ix).
** It's important to note that Huber (2010: 410 & chapter 5) considers this taxon a junior synonym of D. concentrica (Born, 1778) - a "form," but, because (1) his largest record of the unified taxon is only 10.15 cm. [compatible with 10.2 cm. (Lee, 2009: 44) and (2) the American shell world is not quite ready for such a nomenclatorial shake-up at this time, this website will continue to apply Conrad's name to this elegant species.
Abbott, R.T., 1974. American Seashells, 2nd ed. Van Nostrand Reinhold: New York. [viii] + 663 pp. + 24 pls.
Conrad, T.A., "1843" [1844]. Descriptions of nineteen species of Tertiary fossils from Virginia and North Carolina. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 1(33): 323-329. <http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/84736#page/426/mode/1up>
Huber, M., 2010. Compendium of bivalves. A full-color guide to 3,300 of the world’s marine bivalves. A status on Bivalvia after 250 years of research. ConchBooks, Hackenheim, Germany. 901 pp.
Lee, H.G., 2009. Marine Shells of Northeast Florida. Jacksonville Shell Club, Inc. 204 pp. + 19 color plates. 28 May.
Nolan, E.J. [ed.], 1913. Contents of the Journal and Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. i-xiv + 1-1419. After 26 March. <http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/84786#page/5/mode/1up>.