coquinas

Noun

coquina (countable and uncountable, plural coquinas)

1. (countable) Any of several small marine clams, of the species Donax variabilis, common in United States coastal waters.
   • The pretty little coquinas (genus Donax, family Donacidae), often called butterfly shells or wedge shells, are distributed throughout the world. Perhaps the most noted species is the small Donax variabilis Say, so commonly found on the beaches of Florida. Coquinas live in droves just beneath the...1974, Elva D. Sheets, The Fascinating World of the Sea: Circling the Globe for the Wild Seashell, New York, N.Y.: Crown Publishers, →ISBN, page 122
2. (uncountable) A soft form of limestone made of fragments of shells, sometimes used as a building or road paving material.
   • The isthmus is nowhere more than about 8 or 9 feet above the water surface. The top soil is generally sand, with underlying coquina rock—a conglomerate of small broken shells held together by some natural cement.1882, “[Appendix] J15. Survey of the North End of Indian River with a View to Its Connection, by the Haulover, with Mosquito Lagoon.”, in Annual Report of the Secretary of War for the Year 1882. In...