Chain or stack of shells
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Site B, France. Length = 40mm.
Ventral view of shell
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Hanover Point, Isle of White (SZ 378 837). Length = 27mm.
Zirfaea crispata
Distribution and status
Distributed from Norway south to the Bay of Biscay.
Ecology and behaviour
Bores into peat, clay, shale, red sandstone, oolite or soft rock and rarely into wood.
Key identification features
- Shell possesses a median groove
- Front margin draw out into a beak with very rough sculpture
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000178664]
Sort order
11230
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
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Shell up to about 9cm in length and white in colour. Sculpture of concentric ridges folded at the anterior of the shell to create a very rough surface. Periostracum brown.
Barnea parva
Distribution and status
Extends from the south and south west costs of the British Isles south to the Mediterranean.
The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.
Ecology and behaviour
Bores into slate,linite, chalk, lias, marl, red sandstone and cement stone.
Key identification features
- Front margin drawn out into a beak
- No septa supporting the umbonal inflection
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000174098]
Sort order
11220
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
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Shell up to about 4cm in length. The shell is mainly white though often discoloured by bored rock attached to the surface. Periostracum light yellow. Shell is sculptured with concentric ridges and radiating ribs (particularly at the anterior of the shell).
Barnea candida
Distribution and status
Ranges from north Norway and the Baltic to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.
Ecology and behaviour
Bores into peat, wood, mudstone, shale, slate, chalk, marl and sand. The borrows tend to be horizontal.
Key identification features
- Front magin rounded
- Finger like apophysis
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000174097]
Sort order
11210
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
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Shell up to about 6 cm in length and white in colour. Surface is scupltured with concentric ridges and radiating ribs which form spines where they intersect. Periostracum light brown or straw coloured.
Pholas dactylus
Distribution and status
Found in the south and west of the British Isles down to the Iberian Peninsula and Atlantic coast of Morocco and into the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Ecology and behaviour
Bores into sand, peat, marl, wood, shale, slate, chalk, sandstone and schists.
Key identification features
- Front margin is drawn out into a beak
- Umbonal reflection is supported by septa
- Possesses a finger like apophysis
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000188558]
Sort order
11200
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
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Largest of the piddocks up to 15cm in length. White or pale grey in colour, though often discoloured by bored rock attached to the surface. Periostracum pale yellow/brown. Surface is scupltured with concentric ridges and about 40 radiating ribs at the anterior end. Shrap spines are formed where the ridges and ribs intersect.
Assiminea grayana
Distribution and status
Abundant where it occurs.
The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.
Ecology and behaviour
Found in estuaries and saltmarshes around high-tide level either in brackish pools or on wet mud or sedges. Often found under stones or pieces of driftwood lying on marshy ground.
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000006617]
Sort order
1860
Taxonomic group
Marine snail
Size range, 4-6mm.
Paludinella littorina
Distribution and status
Rare
Ecology and behaviour
Sheltered places around high-tide usually out of water.Lives under stones and shingle, in rock crevices and sea caves and rarely among maritime plants and debris from saltmarsh vegetation.
Taxon version key
[NHMSYS0000343172]
1.7-2mm
Truncatella subcylindrica
Ecology and behaviour
Usually lives out of water, under stones and driftwood in muddy places at high-tide or in saltmarshes among seablite (Suaeda maritima) and sea purslane (Halimione portulacoides).
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000022324]
Sort order
1850
Taxonomic group
Marine snail
3.5-5mm
Heleobia stagnorum
Distribution and status
Only recorded from two sites in the UK
Ecology and behaviour
Lives in non-tidal lagoons and drainage ditches in slightly brackish water (2.5-8ppt).
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000182640]
Sort order
1830
Taxonomic group
Marine snail
3.5-5mm