Glycymeris modesta

Taxobox
name = "Glycymeris modesta"


image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Bivalvia
subclassis = Pteriomorpha
ordo = Arcoida
superfamilia =
familia = Glycymerididae
genus = "Glycymeris"
species = "G. modesta"
binomial = "Glycymeris modesta"
binomial_authority = (Angas, 1879)
synonyms = "Axinaea modesta" Angas, 1879

"Glycymeris modesta", or the small dog cockle, is a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Glycymerididae. Despite the name, it is not closely related to the common cockle.

Distribution

The small dog cockle is endemic to New Zealand including the Chatham Islands.

Habitat

The small dog cockle is found in fine sand at depths of up to 75 m.

Description

The solid shell is small, subtrigonal, moderately inflated, and sculptured with very fine, dense, and regular radial ribs.

Coloration varies from whitish to uniformly reddish-brown, often with a bold pattern of zigzag brown lines and radial streaks. The interior is white, occasionally with diffused brownish areas.

Height is up to 25.5 mm, width up to 28 mm, and thickness up to 14 mm.

References

* Powell A. W. B., William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1