Inside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Rhosilli. Length = 122mm.
Lutraria lutraria
<em>Lutraria lutraria</em> (Linnaeus, 1758)
Inside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Rhosilli. Length = 122mm.
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Rhosilli. Length = 122mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Celia Paine from Rhosilli. Length = 122mm.
Lutraria lutraria
Distribution and status
CommonDistributed from the Norwegian Sea to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.
Ecology and behaviour
Burrows in sand, sandy mud and gravel smetimes to a depth of a few feet. It has long siphons that allow it to continue to filter feed from this depth. It is particularly common in the muddy bottoms of estuaries.
Key identification features
- The lower margin of the pallial sinus is not confluent with the pallial line
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000176300]
Sort order
10450
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
Solid shell up to about 13cm in length. The shell gapes at each end. It is white, yellow or fawn in colour and the inside is white. The surface of the shell is sculptured with fine concentric rings and ridges. Pallial sinus is deep.