Thin shell up to 2cm in length. The shell is translucent white in colour. The surface is sculptured with radiating ribs and fine concentric lines.
Key identification features
- 40 to 60 radiating ribs
- The valves do not gape, or do so only slightly
- The shell is not symmetrical around the beak
Ecology and behaviour
This species prefers bottoms of muddy sand or gravel. Its orange tentacles which cannot be withdrawn make it vulnerable to predation and as a result is either lives in a chamber sunk into the sediment or in a nest bound together using byssus threads.
Distribution and status
Not commonDistributed from Norway south to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.