Hinge detail of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Rhossili, Gower, S. Wales. Length = 30mm.
Chamelea gallina
<em>Chamelea gallina</em> (Linnaeus, 1758)
Hinge detail of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Rhossili, Gower, S. Wales. Length = 30mm.
Inside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Rhossili, Gower, S. Wales. Length = 30mm.
Inside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Rhossili, Gower, S. Wales. Length = 30mm.
Sculpture of valve surface
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Rhossili, Gower, S. Wales. Length = 31mm.
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Rhossili, Gower, S. Wales. Length = 31mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Rhossili, Gower, S. Wales. Length = 31mm.
Chamelea gallina
Distribution and status
Very common. Recorded from the North of Norway to Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
The maps provided here show the distributional data, as currently stored, for C. gallina and C. striatula (based on Conchological Society data).
Ecology and behaviour
Shallow burrower in clean or muddy sand where it feeds by filtering phytoplankton.
Key identification features
- Exterior of shell sculptured with numerous concentric ridges
- Three red brown rays on valve surface
References and links
Backeljau, T., Bouchet, P., Gofas, S., & Bruyn, L. D. (1994). Genetic variation, systematics and distribution of the venerid clam Chamelea gallina. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 74(1), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400035773
García Souto, D., Qarkaxhija, V., & Pasantes, J. (2017). Resolving the Taxonomic Status of Chamelea gallina and C. striatula (Veneridae, Bivalvia): A Combined Molecular Cytogenetic and Phylogenetic Approach. BioMed Research International, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7638790
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000174471]
Sort order
10930
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
Shell solid, somewhat triangular, up to about 4cm long. Dirty white, cream or pale yellow usually with three red-brown rays. Sculpture of numerous concentric ridges. Periostracum extremely slight and thin. Inside sometimes shows purple stain around the lunule. Inner margin of shell crenulate.