Phaxas pellucidus (Pennant, 1777)
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Recorded UK distribution of Phaxas pellucidus
Includes data provided by:Marine Biological Association, Merseyside BioBank, Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Marine Conservation Society, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales & Scottish Natural Heritage
Description
Roughly rectangular shell with rounded corners up to about 4cm in length. White or cream in colour sometimes with red-brown streaks. Periostracum yellow-green. Surface sculptured with fine concentric lines and very fine, serrated, radiating lines in the anterior half. Growth stages clear.
Key identification features
- Shell has one straight side and one obviously curved side
- Posterior adductor muscle scar meets the pallial sinus
Habitat & ecology
Burrows in fine sand or muddy sand offshore or occasionally at extreme low water.
Similar species
(View comparison chart)- Pharus legumen has more cylindrical outline
European distribution
Distributed from northern Norway and the Baltic south to the Iberian Peninsula.