tellin
n. countablen. a type of small sea animal with a flat, colorful shell that lives in the sand. You usually find these shells on the beach after the tide goes out.
n. any of various small, marine bivalve molluscs belonging to the family Tellinidae, typically possessing a compressed, often brightly coloured shell. Found globally in sandy or muddy coastal environments.
The children found a pink tellin shell on the beach.
Marine biologists studied the tellin population to determine the health of the local sandy ecosystem.
The delicate, translucent valves of the tellin are often washed ashore in great numbers, serving as a primary indicator of the biodiversity present in the intertidal zone.
Often used in the plural when referring to the group of shells or the species in general.