Interior of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 170mm.
Ensis siliqua
<em>Ensis siliqua</em> (Linnaeus, 1758)
Exterior of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 170mm.
Detail of inside of anterior end of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Sand flats at Portland Harbour. Length = 190mm.
Detail of inside of anterior end of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Sand flats at Portland Harbour. Length = 190mm.
Detail of inside of anterior end of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Sand flats at Portland Harbour. Length = 190mm.
Outside of left valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Sand flats at Portland Harbour. Length = 190mm.
Outside of right valve
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Jan Light from Sand flats at Portland Harbour. Length = 190mm.
Exterior and interior of left valve annotated to show pallial sinus and muscle scars
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Steve Wilkinson
Specimen collected by Steve Wilkinson from Rhossili Strand, Gower, Wales. Length = 170mm.
Ensis siliqua
Distribution and status
Recorded from the Norwegian Sea and Baltic, south to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.
Ecology and behaviour
Burrows in fine or silty sand. Remains close to the surface while submerged in water, retreating to a depth of up to half a metre when exposed.
Similar species
- Ensis minor has ventral scar much closer to edge than anterior scar
Key identification features
- Dorsal and ventral edges of the shell straight
- Distance of anterior scar from shell edge roughly equal to that for the ventral scar
- Posterior gape oval
- Anterior edge truncated
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000175136]
Sort order
10530
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
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Elngate shell up to about 21cm in length. Both dosal and ventral edges of the shell are straight. White or creamy white in colour with red-brown streaks streaks. Periostracum dark green to yellow-green. Shell sculptured with smooth horizontal and vertical lines with clear growth lines.