Solid shell up to 6.5cm in length. White or cream shell with brown zig-zag lines on the surface; sometimes the whole shell is brown. Colouration may be partially obscurred by thick brown periositracum. The inside of the shell is white or dark brown. The surface of the shell is sculptured with very fine concentric and radiating lines.
Key identification features
- Almost round in outline
- Each valve has two rows of 6-12 teeth
Ecology and behaviour
Burrows in muddy sand or shelly gravel where it filter feeds.
Distribution and status
CommonDistributed from the Baltic south to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.