Paphies ventricosa

Taxobox
name = "Paphies ventricosa"
status =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Bivalvia
ordo = Veneroida
superfamilia = Mactroidea
familia = Mesodesmatidae
genus = "Paphies"
species = "P. australis"
binomial = "Paphies australis"
binomial_authority = (Gmelin, 1790)

"Paphies ventricosa", or toheroa in the Māori language, is a large bivalve mollusc of the family Mesodesmatidae, endemic to New Zealand. It is found in both the North and South Islands, but the main habitat is the west coast of the North Island. The best grounds are wide fine-sand beaches where there are extensive sand-dunes, enclosing freshwater, which percolates to the sea, there promoting the growth of diatoms and plankton generally.

The toheroa is a very large shellfish with a solid white, elongated shell with the apex at the middle. There is a pronounced gape at each end of the shell. The toheroa has been an extremely popular seafood, often made into soup, for which it has an international reputation. However is was over-exploited in the 1950s and 1960s resulting in severe restrictions on gathering.

Maximum length is 117 mm, height 81 mm, and thickness 38 mm.

References

* [http://www.mollusca.co.nz/checklist/checklist_frameset.htm Checklist of New Zealand Mollusca]
* Powell A. W. B., "New Zealand Mollusca", William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1