Thracia villosiuscula

(MacGillivray, 1827)

Description (shell):
Shell thin, brittle, oblong-oval, umbones just posterior to midline; anterior margin rounded, posterior abruptly truncate. Sculpture of very fine concentric lines, growth stages clear; surface granular, the structure visible with a 10x lens. Chondrophore developed in each valve as a slender, triangular concavity in the hinge line, posterior to the umbo; lithodesma short, peg-like, fitting into a notch in front of the chondrophore in each valve. Adductor scars and pallial line distinct, pallial sinus U-shaped, extending anterio-dorsally to a point just below the chondrophore (T. villosiuscula-drawing).

Size:
Up to 30 mm long.

Colour:
Dull white, periostracum thin, yellowish brown. Inner surface white.

Habitat:
In coarse sand and gravel, from the lower shore to about 60 m.

Distribution:
Reported from various localities in the North Sea, but its distribution elsewhere is uncertain (Distr. T. villosiuscula).

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