Cuming’s Tellin Shell, Tellinella cumingii

Cuming’s Tellin Shell, Tellinella cumingii. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, February 2022. Size: 5.1 cm (2.0 inches) x 2.2 cm (0.9 inches). Collection, photograph and Identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Cuming’s Tellin Shell, Tellinella cumingii. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, February 2022. Size: 5.6 cm (2.2 inches) x 2.5 cm (1.0 inch). Collection, photograph and Identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Phylogeny: Cuming’s Tellin, Tellinella cumingii (Handley, 1844), is a member of the Tellinidae Family of Tellin Shells. The genus Tellinella is one of one hundred four genera in this family, and there are thirteen species in this genus. This species was named in honor of Hugh Cuming, a British natural historian collector in the 1800s who was known as the Prince of Collectors. He amassed a shell collection of over 80,000 specimens and 100,000 dried plant specimens. He collected  birds, plants, reptiles and shells from Chile, Mexico, the Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific Ocean. Cuming custom built a yacht to support his collecting. Twenty-four species have been named in his honor.

Description: Cuming’s Tellins have a an elongated oval, flattened, profile. They are inequilateral, and the posterior end has a strong flexuous rib. The exterior of Cumin’s Tellins are yellowish-white and marked with bold radiating brown or purple stripes. The exterior is sculptured with fine, closely set concentric lamellae. The interior is shiny white or yellowish. They have two long siphons that reach up to the surface of the sediment.  They reach a maximum of 5.5 cm (2.2 inches) 6.9 cm in length and 2.3 cm (0.9 inches) in height.

Habitat and Distribution: Cuming’s Tellins reside in soft sediment at depths between 9 m (30 feet) and 73 m (240). They are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific species. They are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from north of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur.

Ecology and Behavior: Cuming’s Tellins are suspension feeders that feed primarily on planktonic algae and suspended organic matter. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization. There is no mention in the available literature of them engaging in any types of parasitic, commensal, or symbiotic relationships. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated however they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern.

Synonyms: Tellina (Tellinella) cumingii and Tellina cumingii.