Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson. Length = 44mm.
Venus verrucosa
<em>Venus verrucosa</em> Linnaeus, 1758
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson. Length = 44mm.
Inside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson. Length = 44mm.
Venus verrucosa
Distribution and status
Not uncommon; locally common.
Found in the English Channel and SW Ireland and south to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.
Ecology and behaviour
Shallow burrower in sand or fine/mixed gravel. Feeds by filtering phytoplankton from the water.
Similar species
- Circomphalus casina lacks the wart like sculpturing
- Clausinella fasciata lacks the prominent concentric ridges
Key identification features
- Prominent concentric ridges on shell surface
- Wart like spines on outside of shell near the anterior and posterior margins
- Inner margin of shell crenulate
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000178622]
Sort order
10900
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
Solid shell up to 6.5 cm long. Plump shell that can be as wide as it is long. Pallial sinus small and triangular. Sculpture strong concentric ridges which are warty especially towards the front margin and the sides. Yellow-brown occasionally with three or four red-brown or purple rays; sometimes broken or zigzag. Inside white but may be stained purple or brown.