Posted: Oct 31 2009
Caribachlamys mildredae (F. M. Bayer, 1941), Mildred's Scallop
Marlo posted on Conch-L:
"Caribachlamys mildredae is another rather uncommon Florida shell sought by many collectors. It is readily confused with C. sentis. It was reasonably findable when I was actively collecting in the '80's if enough time was spent in the water. I've only found this shell in the Keys and off Palm Beach County.
I'd like to hear from those with first-hand collecting knowledge of this species from Florida waters."
Wayne Harland, avid shell collector and scuba diver (Broward County, FL) reponded with the following collecting information:
"I found this shell many times off Pompano Beach and Boca Raton. In shallow water (8-12') it was found in the exact habitat as P. sentis. In fact, I had instances where I found P. mildredae and P. sentis under the same rock. In deeper water, P. mildredae was found less frequently, but the sculpture on the rays was much more defined and larger. P. sentis was not commonly found in these deeper habitats (45-75'). We found more P. imbricata and, rarely, P. multisquamata in this deeper habitat. Additionally, I found P. mildredae in this deeper habitat off Boca Raton, Boynton, and Palm Beach. Always they were found in rubble areas on the reef that had current, tidal, or wave surge to stimulate the water flow. Mildredae, like sentis, is highly variable in color, red/orange and purple being the most common, followed by white, an orange/white "sunrise ray" pattern and lastly yellow. I only found 1 yellow P. sentis -- never a yellow mildredae."
