Species Account

Pharus legumen (Linnaeus, 1758)

Solenoidea : Pharidae

Tebble name: Pharus legumen (Linnaeus)
Smith & Heppell name: Pharus legumen (Linnaeus,

To size: To 130mm. Shell Structure: Rather thin, brittle. Equivalve: Equivalve. Equilateral: Almost equilateral, beaks at or just in front of midline. Tumidity: Compressed. Outline: Ensiform, dorsal and ventral margins almost parallel, slightly deeper posteriorly; anterior and posterior margins rounded, gaping.

Sculpture: Of fine co-marginal lines. Margin: Inner margin smooth. Ligament: External a short dark brown band behind the beaks. Hinge: LV with two cardinals, a long anterior and a short posterior lateral; RV with a single cardinal, a long anterior and a short posterior lateral. Both valves with a short internal rib running from the beaks to behind the anterior adductor scar. Pallial Musculature: Anterior adductor scar long extending beneath the beaks, posterior adductor scar semicircular. Pallial sinus short. Periostracum: Shiny yellowish to greenish yellow. Colour: Shell white.

Distribution & Ecology

A burrower into clean sand. From the low intertidal and sublittoral. Restricted to the south west of England, Irish Sea and south and west of Ireland.

Depth Range
Intertidal
Continental Shelf (to 200m)

Additional Information & Related Species

References

Listed are literature citing Pharus legumen (Linnaeus, 1758). Reference containing the species Type Description is highlighted.

Linnaeus C 1758. Systema Naturae. Editio decima. 1. Regnum Animale Holmiae, Laurentii Salvii. 824pp.
von Cosel R 1993. The razor shells of the eastern Atlantic. Part 1: Solenidae and Pharidae I (Bivalvia: Solenacea). Archiv für Molluskenkunde. 122: 207-321.
Yonge C M 1959. On the structure, biology and systematic position of Pharus legumen (L.). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 38: 277-290.

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.

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Record last modified: 22/03/2016