Species Account

Gari costulata (Turton, 1822)

Tellinoidea : Psammobiidae

Tebble name: Gari (Psammobella) costulata (Turton)
Smith & Heppell name: Gari costulata (Turton, 1822)

To size: To 26mm. Shell Structure: Thin, brittle. Equivalve: Slightly inequivalve, RV more convex than LV. Equilateral: Inequilateral, beaks just behind midline. Tumidity: Not tumid. Outline: Narrowly ovate/elongate, dorsal margin straight, on reaching posterior margin curves/flares to ventral margin. Anterior narrowly curved. Contour: Small posterior gape.

Sculpture: Fine concentric ridges, with radiating ribs in posterior region giving a frilled appearance. Margin: Smooth. Ligament: Brown band extending a short distance behind beaks. Hinge: 2 cardinals in each valve; in LV anterior large, prominent, bifid, posterior tiny, thin; in RV anterior larger than posterior, both bifid. No laterals. Pallial Musculature: Deep pallial sinus to beneath umbones, confluent with pallial line for much of its length.Cruciform muscle barely visible. Periostracum: Thin. Colour: White/cream/pink sometimes with patches of orange/purple/pink/red or with reddish rays.

Distribution & Ecology

A burrower in clean coarse sand and shell gravel. At sublittoral and shallow shelf (to 100m) depths. Mostly recorded from the southwest but all along the western coasts, absent from the North Sea.

Depth Range
Continental Shelf (to 200m)

Additional Information & Related Species

Key Features & Similar Species

The posterior radial riblets are stronger than those in G. fervensis and the posterior area is not set off by a serrated carina (LV). Some shells have an outline more similar to G. tellinella but with strong posterior sculpture.

Related Species

References

Listed are literature citing Gari costulata (Turton, 1822). Reference containing the species Type Description is highlighted.

Turton W 1822. Conchylia dithyra Insularum britannicarum. The bivalve shells of the British Islands London. 279pp, 20pls.

Resources

  • Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland
    Provides resources for understanding, identifying, recording, and conserving molluscs
  • CLEMAM
    Check List of European Marine Mollusca
  • MarLIN
    The Marine Life Information Network for Britain and Ireland (MarLIN) provides information for marine environmental management, protection and education. It is a centre of excellence in spatially based and time-series marine biological information and supports good stewardship in the marine environment.
  • NBN Gateway
    National Biodiversity Network's Gateway. Use it to explore UK biodiversity data, as contributed by participating data providers.
  • BivAToL
  • MarBEF
  • Malacological Society
  • Unitas Malacologica
  • Census of Marine Life
  • MarBEF
    MarBEF, a network of excellence funded by the European Union and consisting of 94 European marine institutes, is a platform to integrate and disseminate knowledge and expertise on marine biodiversity, with links to researchers, industry, stakeholders and the general public.

Record last modified: 22/03/2016