Another bivalve with dreadlocks: living Rasta lamyi from Aqaba, Red Sea (Bivalvia: Lucinidae)

Live-collected specimens of the lucinid bivalve, Rasta lamyi, hitherto known only from dead shells, possess long periostracal pipes arranged radially around the valve margins. The bivalves were found in the northern Red Sea, mostly in muddy sand, with sparse seagrass cover, at depths between 10-48 m. The periostracal pipes and general anatomy are similar to those of the type species R. thiophila from Western Australia. Although the morphological features are unusual, a molecular phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that R. Iamyi groups within a major clade of shallow water lucinids.