Roughly rectangular shell with rounded corners up to about 4cm in length. White or cream in colour sometimes with red-brown streaks. Periostracum yellow-green. Surface sculptured with fine concentric lines and very fine, serrated, radiating lines in the anterior half. Growth stages clear.
Key identification features
- Shell has one straight side and one obviously curved side
- Posterior adductor muscle scar meets the pallial sinus
Similar species
- Pharus legumen has more cylindrical outline
Ecology and behaviour
Burrows in fine sand or muddy sand offshore or occasionally at extreme low water.
Distribution and status
Distributed from northern Norway and the Baltic south to the Iberian Peninsula.