Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 41mm.
Mactra stultorum
<em>Mactra stultorum</em> (Linnaeus, 1758)
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 41mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 38mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 42mm.
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 45mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 45mm.
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 45mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 44mm.
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 44mm.
Mactra stultorum
Distribution and status
Common
Distributed from the Norwegian Sea to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Ecology and behaviour
Burrows in clean sand where it filter feeds phytoplankton
Similar species
- Mactra glauca has the anterior cardinal tooth in right valve not parallel to hinge line
Key identification features
- Anterior cardinal tooth of the right valve is almost parallel to the hinge line
- Thin septum separates the two parts of the ligament
- Lateral teeth are not serrated
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000176334]
Sort order
10380
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
Brittle, glossy shell up to about 5cm in length. It is cream in colour with a purple tint and brown radiating rays. The inside is white or purple. The pallial sinus is relatively deep.