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PECTINIDAE |
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Scaeochlamys livida (Lamarck, 1819) Description: Shape nearly circular, slightly elongate, plus very inequal auricles, sometimes slightly prosocline, anterior auricle much larger than posterior, left valve often more convex than right. Exterior sculptured with unevenly spaced strongly scaled radial ribs with 1-4 secondary ribs between; left valve with 9-11 primaries, right valve more finely sculptured with 18-26 primaries. Interior white to brown, with exterior sculpture showing through. Hinge line long, straight, with elongate hinge teeth. Shell colour most commonly brown or purple, occasionally white, cream, yellow, orange, red, maculated with dots or streaks. Size: Up to 80 mm in height, usually less than 50 mm. Distribution: New Caledonia and throughout northern Australia. In Australia, from Yeppoon, Qld, southwards to Mallacoota, Vic. and south-western WA. It was introduced to south-western WA, probably by shipping, with the first record from there in the 1980s (Morrison and Wells, 2008). Since at least March 2023 it has become established in Port Adelaide - Barker Inlet, Outer Harbour and surrounds, on the central coast of South Australia. As at May 2024 it was growing prolifically on yacht club pontoons and other man-made structures (pers. comm. Janine Baker 2024). Habitat: Lives in the low intertidal zone and down to 70 m, attached to solid substrates by a byssus. Fig. 1: Ship Rock, Port Hacking at 12 m depth (C.083928) |
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