| Donacilla cornea (Poli, 1795) |
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S. Brittany to Morocco, Madeira to Mediterranean & Black Sea.
Mediolittoral in sand. Original taxon: Mactra cornea.
Synonyms: ellipticus, elongata, radiatula…
« Shell triangularly oblong, thick, smooth, yellowish-white, as though transparent, marked with two blackish rays; sides rounded, anterior very short. […] A rather solid though subtransparent-looking species, mostly rayed from the umboes with two grey-black bands. » – L. A. Reeve: “Monograph of the genus Mesodesma”, Conchologia Iconica vol. 8, London 1854, text of plate I of the Mesodesma.
3m deep, on sand, Baratti, south of Livorno, Toscana, NW. Italy. 13mm. |
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| Erycina cornea in M. E. Gray: Figures of molluscous animals, vol. 5, London 1857, plate 318, via BHL. |
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| Low tide, on sand, Málaga, Andalucia, S. Spain. 21-23mm. |
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| Beach drift, Teseira del Forat, Port-Vendres, Eastern Pyrenees, Occitania, S. France. 20-20,5mm. |
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50cm deep, on sand, Marina di Vecchiano, Pisa, Toscana.
21,5-23,5mm. |
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| Splash zone, half-buried in sand at the end of the day, western banks of Bouka beach, Aghios Konstantinos, Messini, west of Kalamata, SW. Peloponnese, S. Greece. 16-21mm. |
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| The animal is put up vertically in the sand, the anterior side upwards, the valves slightly open. Same spot. 15-21mm. |
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| A simple wave can delete the sand bank and wash the animals ashore. Same spot. 15-17mm. |
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A juvenile from La Franqui, Leucate, Occitania, S. France. 1,4mm. Original pictures provided by S. Clanzig (FR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |
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A specimen from Port-Leucate, Aude, Occitania, in fish tank.
Original picture provided by A. Bertrand (FR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |
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| The species in G. P. Deshayes: “Hist. Nat. Mollusques t. I”, Exploration scientifique de l’Algérie, Paris 1844-1867,
pl. 39. |
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| The cardinal teeeth, the posterior muscular print and the deeply impressed pallial sinus in a specimen from Cap Ras, Llançà, Girona, Catalunya, NE. Spain. |
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In sand along the shore, Saros Gulf, NE. Aegean.
Original picture provided by Y. Mollaoğlu (TR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |