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NUCULIDAE |
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Nucula beachportensis Verco, 1907 Description: Shell average size for family, solid. Shape equivalve, inequilateral, approximately trigonal, with umbones situated behind midline, inflated; anterior end broadly truncate; posterior end short and markedly truncate. Hinge taxodont, with strong teeth, up to about 15 anterior and 9 posterior teeth. Chondrophore oblique. Interior nacreous, silvery, with crenulations at ventral margin. Exterior smooth, with obsolete concentric growth striae but no radial striae. Periostracum light olive-green. Exterior shell colour white. Size: Up to 6.2 mm in length. Distribution: Endemic to Australia: East of Twofold Bay, NSW, around southern Australia, to southwestern WA, including Tas. Habitat: Lives in sand down to 180 m (Lamprell & Healy, 1998). Synonymy: None. Comparison: This species differs from Nucula pusilla by being larger (maximum shell length 6.2 mm), thicker, more trigonal, with the anterior dorsal margin almost straight as against slightly raised in N. pusilla. The external surface is almost smooth, with only weak concentric sculpture. Fig. 1: 7603-1 South of Cape Wiles, SA. (C.322760)
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