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PROPEAMUSSIIDAE |
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Propeamussium watsoni (E.A. Smith, 1885) Description: Shell lightweight, translucent, left valve much larger than right valve. Shape nearly circular plus auricles; auricles equal in size. Valves weakly inflated, left valve more convex than right. Byssal notch absent. Exterior of right valve with fine, regular, commarginal lirae; left valve with delicate radial lirae. Interior of both valves with 10 strong radial ribs. Shell colour white. Size: Up to 44 mm in height. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa to New Caledonia. In Australia, known from east of Cape York, Qld, and Broken Bay, NSW. Habitat: Subtidal. Live specimens in Australia known from 815-1053 m. Rare in NSW. Comparison: This species stands out in the NSW propeamussiid fauna because of its large size, equal sized auricles and lack of a byssal notch. Remarks: The very fine radial sculpture on the left valve is faintly visible in the well-lit section at the top left of the valve illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 1: ENE of Cape York, Qld, 815-825 m (C.165216).
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