Vernacular names: Common basket-shell
Solid shell up to about 1.5cm in length. The right valve is very much larger than the left. The outside is white tinged with yellow. The inside is also white but tinged with blue, pink or yellow. The surface is sculptured with strong concentric ridges with a few faint radiating lines present on the left valve. The pallial line is faint and shows little indentation for the pallial sinus.
Key identification features
- Right valve markedly larger than the left
Ecology and behaviour
Burrows just below the surface in muddy sand or gravel where it feeds by filtering phytoplankton
Distribution and status
Common. Distributed from Norway south to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.