Table Of ContentEncyclopedia of Texas Seashells
The following individuals and organizations helped
make it possible to publish this book in full color:
Will Harte
Houston Museum of Natural Science
(Lillie and Roy Cullen Endowment Fund)
Harvey Weil Trust (Rotary Club of Corpus Christi)
Houston Conchology Society
Dr. Harley Moody
J. Oscar Robinson
San Antonio Shell Club
Suncoast Conchologists
Stephen and Nancy Browning
Richard Hardin
Lillian Murray
Jan Roberts
Coastal Bend Shell Club
Brazosport Museum of Natural Science
Sea Shell Searchers of Brazoria County
North Texas Conchological Society
Harte Research Institute
for Gulf of Mexico Studies Series
Sponsored by
the Harte Research Institute
for Gulf of Mexico Studies,
Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi
John W. Tunnell Jr.,
General Editor
Encyclopedia
of Texas Seashells
Identification, Ecology, Distribution, and History
By John W. Tunnell Jr., Jean Andrews, Noe C. Barrera,
& Fabio Moretzsohn
in collaboration with Roe Davenport
with contributions by David W. Hicks and Kim Withers
Texas A&M University Press • College Station
Copyright © 2010 by John W. Tunnell, Jr.
Manufactured in China by, Everbest Printing Co.,
through FCI Print Group
All rights reserved
First edition
This paper meets the requirements of
ANSI / NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper).
Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Encyclopedia of Texas seashells : identifi cation, ecology, distribution,
and history / by John W. Tunnell, Jr. . . . [et al.]; with contributions by
David W. Hicks and Kim Withers.
– 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60344-141-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-60344-141-7 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Shells–Texas–Gulf
Region–Encyclopedias. 2. Mollusks–Ecology–Texas–Gulf Region–En-
cyclopedias. I. Tunnell, John Wesley. II. Hicks, David W. III. Withers,
Kim. IV. Series: Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
series.
QL415.T4E53 2010
594.147'709764–dc22 2009031135
Chapter 6 designed by Noe C. Barrera
This book is dedicated to our good friend
Roe Davenport
(March 8, 1939–October 10, 2005).
It was Roe’s passionate and meticulous work on
Texas seashells that inspired us to begin this project.
His untimely death strengthened our resolve to fi nish it.
Roe’s monthly trips along the Texas coast produced
not only a fantastic seashell collection
but also a fantastic collection of friends.
He was a joy and inspiration to all of us.
Roe Davenport, Lower Laguna Madre near U.S. Coast Guard Station on South Padre Island,
November 1995. Photograph by Rusti Stover.
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
CHAPTER
1. Shells in Texas Coastal History 5
Kim Withers
2. Chronology of Marine Malacology in Texas 21
3. Molluscan Ecology and Habitats 28
David W. Hicks
4. Collecting Seashells 76
5. General Features of Mollusks 81
6. Texas Seashells 97
Class Aplacophora 99
Class Polyplacophora (Chitons) 101
Class Gastropoda (Snails) 104
Class Cephalopoda (Squid, Octopus) 295
Class Bivalvia (Bivalves) 300
Class Scaphopoda (Tusk Shells) 388
Appendix: Outline of Classifi cation and Checklist of Texas Seashells 393
Glossary 433
References 453
Index 479
Preface
It was in late 1968 when I fi rst met Jean Andrews, already fa- in the lab primarily involved the use of Jean’s shell books. They
mous on the Texas coast for her knowledge of Texas seashells, were the best available, with great photographs showing shell
even before her fi rst book came out. It was in her home, strewn details better and larger than those in most other identifi cation
with all kinds and sizes of seashells, that she gave me assistance guides or books.
with identifying shells collected on Seven and One-h alf Fathom A research project on the fauna associated with submerged
Reef off Padre Island. The project was my MS thesis (Tunnell banks on the outer Texas continental shelf and upper slope com-
1969) completed at Texas A&I University in Kingsville (now pleted for the U.S. Geological Survey in the late 1970s (Tunnell
Texas A&M University–Kingsville) under the direction of Allan et al. 1978) revealed many shells that were not in Jean’s books.
Chaney, my primary mentor for my professional career. Collect- Studies on the Flower Garden Banks (coral reefs) off Galveston
ing seashells together on the beach in Mexico, south of the Rio in the late 1990s also revealed many tropical species that were
Grande, fi rst sparked my interest in seashells and, ultimately, not included. The need for a new expanded book, including
marine biology. off shore and tropical species, as well as updated taxonomy and
All of those shells in Jean’s studio, and in the rest of her house name changes, was evident. However, I did not have the time
and garage, became the subject of her MS thesis at Texas A&I or microphotographic ability to do the job. However, one of
University and of her fi rst book, Sea Shells of the Texas Coast my former graduate students, Noe Barrera, while completing
(1971). She then headed to North Texas University to work on additional graduate courses, not only learned microphotogra-
her PhD and an updated version of the shell book, Shells and phy for the micromollusks (shells less than 10 mm, or ⅜ in)
Shores of Texas (1977). Small fi eld guides were subsequently but also learned Adobe InDesign, a book- publishing program
made from the larger shell books (Texas Shells—A Field Guide, used by professionals.
1981; A Field Guide to Shells of the Texas Coast, 1991); scientists, I contacted Jean and asked if she would join us in updating
students, and agency personnel alike have used both, which are a new book on Texas seashells and if we could use her book
widely acclaimed to be excellent works. While working on her format and some information as a template. She agreed but
PhD in art, Andrews switched from seashells to peppers and said, “Let’s hurry before I croak!” Thus, the compilation began
published a number of defi nitive works, ultimately becoming in 1999.
known as “The Pepper Lady.” Because the genus of pepper Working with Roe Davenport, the most knowledgeable
plants, Capsicum, the most used spice in the world, had never Texas conchologist (seashell collector) I have ever met, we began
been illustrated, she decided to illustrate it in her books. compiling a new list of Texas mollusks ranging from the Texas
My career path took a diff erent route. I was drafted into the coast, across the continental shelf, and down the continental
U.S. Army (1969–71) before working on my PhD at the Uni- slope to the deep (abyss) Gulf of Mexico. This eff ort almost
versity of South Florida (1971–72) and Texas A&M University tripled the number of species from 325 to 900. Originally, Roe
(1972–74). At Texas A&M, I studied the mollusks of two coral was going to write chapter 4 and provide his expertise and ex-
reefs off the State of Veracruz, Mexico, which introduced me to perience of many years collecting seashells along the entire Texas
many tropical seashells (Tunnell 1974). coast. He had envisioned describing his favorite shelling spots
I then began my career at Texas A&M University–C orpus and where to fi nd certain species that only he knew. Unfortu-
Christi (TAMU–CC; formerly known as University of Cor- nately, Roe’s premature passing in 2005 left us without that
pus Christi, Texas A&I University at Corpus Christi, and knowledge. Therefore, chapter 4 will present some information
Corpus Christi State University), which involved teaching and on shell collecting in general and will refer the reader to Jean
research in coastal ecology, coral reef ecology, and the study of Andrews’s account of “A Shell Collecting Trip” along the Texas
mollusks. Following Allan Chaney’s example and tutelage, all coast in her book Shells and Shores of Texas (1977), which is still
my classes were lab and fi eld oriented. For example, Biology of relevant and interesting.
the Mollusca was a graduate class involving fi eld trips to various Using my university shell collection and Roe’s personal col-
marine habitats in the Texas Coastal Bend and one week-l ong lection, Noe began photographing all micromollusks, and John
fi eld trip to tropical marine environments along the central and Woelke, another TAMU–CC student, began photographing
southern Veracruz coast of Mexico. Identifi cation of Texas shells all the macro species. For species missing in our collections, we
ix
