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ARCIDAE |
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Destacar metella (Hedley, 1917) Description: Small, solid, inequilateral, not equivalve; left valve larger, overlapping right valve at posterior and ventral margin. Shape elongate, umbones in front of midline, elevated, widely separated. Hinge line straight. Posterior end extended, acutely rounded, anterior end broadly rounded. Ventral margin broadly rounded, sometimes weakly concave at byssal notch; byssal notch very narrow. Hinge with about 8 inclined teeth each side of umbo. Ligament external, short. Interior smooth, muscle scars well defined, white. Exterior sculpture of strong radial ribs beaded by concentric ribs of similar strength. Periostracum thin, fawn, extending as a sheet with spines from ventral edge. Shell colour white, in life obscured by periostracum. Size: Up to 13 m in length. Distribution: Known from Caloundra, Qld, southwards to Shellharbour, NSW. Habitat: Subtidal, 75-567 m depth. Common. Comparison: Similar in size and sculpture to Acar botanica, but that is an intertidal species whilst this is subtidal. Remarks: The shell illustrated by Lamprell & Healy (1998, sp. 66) does not match the type and appears to be a larger species with different hinge dentition. Fig. 1: East of Botany Bay, NSW, in 165 m (C.432962)
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