| Cardites antiquatus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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Mediterranean & adjacent.
Intertidal, infralittoral, rarely circalittoral.
Original taxon: Chama antiquata.
Synonyms: laxa, pectinata, sulcata (furrowed).
5m deep, under stones on sand with gravel, Elafonisi, Kissamos area, western Crete. 14-17mm. |
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| Variants arita, elata, pallidior (paler than average), trapezoidea… 8m deep, in mud, Cagliari, S. Sardinia. 25-28mm. |
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« Shell rotundately heart-shaped, radiately ribbed ; ribs round, granulously serrated, interstices very narrow ; whitish, ribs vividly painted with obliquely transverse dark brown lines, each of which is daubed underneath with pale brown or orange-rose ; epidermis yellowish-brown ; interior of the shell white. » – L. A. Reeve: “35. Cardita sulcata” in Conchologia iconica vol. 1 London 1847, via BHL. |
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| Cardita antiquata in C. F. Schumacher: Essai d’un nouveau système des habitations des vers testacés plate XII, fig. 4. |
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| 1-4m deep, on muddy bottom, among stones and other shells, 100-500m north of the mills, along Spinalonga shore, Elounda lagoon, NW. of Kolpos Mirabellou, Lasithi, N. Crete. 15-18mm. |
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| Chama antiquata in G. S. Poli: Testacea utriusque Siciliae… vol. IV, plate XXIII. |
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| Rare pale orange shell, collected at 2m deep, in Posidonia meadows, Cabo de Palo, Murcia, S. Spain. 25mm. These animals live half-buried in the substract, like Cockles. |
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| 40m deep, in fisherman’s net, golfo di Napoli, Campania, SW. Italy. 36mm. |
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A specimen from near Atlantic.
In nets, Tarifa, western Cádiz, Andalucia, S. Spain. 28mm. |
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Pure white specimen from the depth limit of the known range.
50m deep, off Poetto, Cagliari. 18mm. |
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| Juvenile from 8m deep, Bozcaada island, Çanakkale, W. Marmara, NE. Aegean. 3,6mm. |
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Colour variations in specimens from Santa Gilla lagoon, Cagliari, S. Sardinia. 21,4-25,1mm.
Original pictures provided by A. Nappo (IT).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |