Inside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by TGW Fowler from Oban March 1934. Length = 14mm.
Modiolus modiolus
<em>Modiolus modiolus</em> (Linnaeus, 1758)
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by TGW Fowler from Oban March 1934. Length = 14mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by TGW Fowler from Oban March 1934. Length = 14mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected from Shellness, Kent. Length = 35mm.
Modiolus modiolus
Distribution and status
CommonNorway south to the Bay of Biscay
Ecology and behaviour
Lives on muddy gravel attached by byssus threads where it feeds by filtering phytoplankton. It can occur in very dense communities.
Key identification features
- Periostracum is not 'hairy' except in juveniles where the hairs are smooth
- Dark blue or purple shell with no rays
- The beaks are a slight distance from the extreme end of the shell
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000188548]
Sort order
9310
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
Solid shell up to about 20cm in length. Dark blue or purple in colour bu this is generally obscured by dark brown periostracum. The inside of the shell is white. The surface is sculptured with fine concentric rings and ridges.