Hinge detail of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Herm, Channel Isles. Length = 105mm.
Mactra glauca
<em>Mactra glauca</em> (Born, 1778)
Hinge detail of right valve with angle of anterior cardinal tooth relative to hinge line highlighted in red
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Herm, Channel Isles. Length = 105mm.
Hinge detail of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Herm, Channel Isles. Length = 105mm.
Inside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Herm, Channel Isles. Length = 105mm.
Inside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Herm, Channel Isles. Length = 105mm.
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Herm, Channel Isles. Length = 105mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Tomlin or Sailisbury from Herm, Channel Isles. Length = 105mm.
Mactra glauca
Distribution and status
Rare
Distributed from the south of Britain to the Mediterranean
Ecology and behaviour
Burrows in clean sand where it filter feeds on phytoplankton. If exposed by the tide it burrows deeper (to about 7cm)
Similar species
- Mactra stultorum has the anterior cardinal tooth in right valve almost parallel to hinge line
Key identification features
- The anterior cardinal tooth of the right valve is not parallel with the hinge line
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000176333]
Sort order
10370
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
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.