Jewel Boxes: Family Chamidae
There are at least nine types of jewel boxes in the S. Hutchionson Island area beside the Florida Spiny jewel box (below).
Florida Spiny Jewel Box (Arcinella cornuta) S. Hutchinson Island- January, 2021
Here's the basic information supplied by Harry Lee. Identification is dependent on knowing whether the growth lines are clockwise or counterclockwise:
Harry Lee: "There are potentially nine species of chamids (jewel boxes) in your area. Of them the upper (unattached) valve of:
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Pseudochama cristella always grows clockwise
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Chama inezae is enantiomorphic (about half clock- and half counterclockwise)
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C. congregata, C. florida, C. lactuca, C. macerophylla, C. sarda, and C. sinuosa clockwise.
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Arcinella cornuta is usually hard to classify in this regard as it soon outgrows its tiny holdfast, which is an essential reference point."
Below (see Wiki) is a longer list of genera and species. Jewel boxes are often very colorful and may be bright yellow, orange, red, and sometimes tinged with light purple.
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Chamidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Subclass: Heterodonta
Order: Venerida
Superfamily: Chamoidea
Family: Chamidae
Lamarck, 1809
Genera
See text.
Chamidae, common name the jewel boxes or jewel box clams, is a taxonomic family of saltwater clams, the marine bivalve mollusks in the order Venerida.[1]
Genera and species
Genera and species in the family Chamidae:
Arcinella Schumacher, 1817
Arcinella arcinella (Linnaeus, 1767) – spiny jewelbox
Arcinella cornuta Conrad, 1866 – Florida spiny jewelbox
Chama Linnaeus, 1758
Chama arcana Bernard, 1976 – secret jewelbox
Chama congregata Conrad, 1833 – corrugate jewelbox
Chama echinata Broderip, 1835
Chama florida Lamarck, 1819 – pretty jewelbox
Chama frondosa Broderip, 1835
Chama hicksi Valentich-Scott & Coan, 2010
Chama lactuca Dall, 1886 – milky jewelbox
Chama macerophylla Gmelin, 1791 – leafy jewelbox
Chama pellucida Broderip, 1835
Chama sarda Reeve, 1847 – cherry jewelbox
Chama sinuosa Broderip, 1835 – smooth-edge jewelbox
Chama venosa Reeve, 1837
Pseudochama Odhner, 1917
Pseudochama exogyra (Conrad, 1837) – Pacific jewelbox
Pseudochama granti Strong, 1934 – deep jewelbox
Pseudochama inezae Bayer, 1943 – alabaster jewelbox
Pseudochama radians (Lamarck, 1819) – Atlantic jewelbox
References
Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 53.