|
|
VULSELLIDAE |
|
|
|
Electroma georgiana (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834) Description: Shell very lightweight, fragile; left valve more inflated than right. Shape oblique, dorsal margin straight, umbones at anterior quarter. Anterior margin with deep byssal notch in right valve. Interior slightly nacreous. Exterior smooth, thin and flaking at ventral margin. Shell semi-translucent or opaque; colour very variable, from green and reddish-brown to black, often with irregular radiating brown rays. Size: Up to 35 mm in length. Distribution: In Australia, from Sydney, NSW, southwards and around southern Australia, to Shark Bay, WA. Habitat: Lives in the subtidal and down to about 55 m, attached to seagrasses and algae. Synonymy: There has been a hypothesis by Huber (2010: 605) that this species should be called Electroma papilionacea (Lamarck, 1819), which would then suggest its distribution is Australia-wide. This suggestion is not adopted here because it seems unlikely biogeographically and remains to be tested genetically. Fig. 1: Off Twofold Bay, NSW, in 55 m (C.67988)
|
|
