General Description
Shells of this species are solid, ovate and somewhat inflated. Exterior: cream with brown markings; these may be zigzag lines or blotches. Interior: white, often with splashes of purple. Exterior sculpture of strong even concentric ridges. Shell up to 4 cm across.
Biology
Stepped Venerids are one of three related species with similar shells. All three species have been commercially harvested since the early 1960s, initially for bait, then in the 1980s they began being sold and sold as clams in fish markets. They are suspension feeders.
Distribution
Southern Australia.
Habitat
Intertidal sand flats or in estuaries.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Brief Id
Ovate, cream-white with grey-brown patches, ridged growth lines.
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Colours
White, Brown
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Habitats
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Diet
Plankton or Particles
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Endemicity
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Commercial
No
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Depths
Shore (0-1 m), Shallow (1-30 m)
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Water Column Locations
On or near seafloor
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Taxon Name
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Scientific Author
(Lamarck, 1818)
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Common Name
Stepped Venerid
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Other Names
Enigma Venus , Ladder Venus , Sand Cockle , Mud Cockle
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Phylum
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Subphylum
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Class
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Subclass
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Order
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Superfamily
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Family
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Subfamily
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Genus
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Species Name
scalarina
