Glossy shell up to about 11cm in length. Creamy white in colour with pale brown radiating rays. The inside is white tinted with pale brown. The surface is sculptured with fine concentric rings and is covered with a satin brown periostracum.
Key identification features
- The anterior cardinal tooth of the right valve is not parallel with the hinge line
Similar species
- Mactra stultorum has the anterior cardinal tooth in right valve almost parallel to hinge line
Ecology and behaviour
Burrows in clean sand where it filter feeds on phytoplankton. If exposed by the tide it burrows deeper (to about 7cm)
Distribution and status
Rare
Distributed from the south of Britain to the Mediterranean