Pteria colymbus (Roding, 1798)
Pterioidea : Pteriidae | Non-native |
| Tebble name: | n/a |
| Smith & Heppell name: | n/a |
To size: To 9cm. Shell Structure: Solid but brittle, margins flaky. Equivalve: Inequivalve, LV more tumid than RV. Equilateral: Strongly inequilateral, beaks close to anterior margin. Tumidity: Much of shell compressed but inflated at anterior half. Outline: Alate or wing-shaped. Contour: Dorsal area extremely extended.
Sculpture: Concentric flaky lines. Margin: Smooth, but very fragile. Ligament: External, covering about one third of posterior dorsal area. Hinge: Right valve has a small pit below the beak and the left valve a corresponding tubercule. Pallial Musculature: Single adductor scar woth dorsal extension marking byssys retractor muscle. Periostracum: Thin, brown irregular. Colour: Brown with pink tinted nacreous internal, darker pruple at the margins.
Distribution & Ecology
In its native range population densities can be great. Native to the west Atlantic from North Carolina to southern Brazil.
St Ives, Cornwall (Turk, 1988).
Depth Range
Intertidal
Additional Information & Related Species
Related Species
Pterioidea : Pteriidae
References
Listed are literature citing Pteria colymbus (Roding, 1798). Reference containing the species Type Description is highlighted.
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Roding 1798. Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturae quae olim collegerat Joa. Fried. Bolten M. D. p. d. Pars secunda continens Conchylia sive Testacea univalvia, bivalvia et multivalvia. 199. |
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Turk S.M. 1988. Christopher Columbus and Pteria colymbus.. Conchologists’ Newsletter. 105: 93-96. |
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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