Mactra stultorum
{{Short description|Species of bivalve}}
{{Speciesbox
| taxon = Mactra stultorum
| image = Mactra stultorum 02.jpg
| image_caption = Right valve of Mactra stultorum
| image2 = Mactra stultorum 01.jpg
| image2_caption = Left valve of Mactra stultorum
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)
| display_parents = 3
| synonyms =
- Cardium stultorum Linnaeus, 1758
- Cardium corallinum Linnaeus, 1758
- Mactra corallina (Linnaeus, 1758)
}}
The rayed trough shell (Mactra stultorum, previously sometimes known as Mactra corallina), is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae, the trough shells.
Distribution
File:Conchiglie Seashells 01.jpg, Spain; nearly all are single valves of bivalve mollusks, mostly of Mactra corallina]]
This species lives in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean coasts, and the west coast of Europe, from Norway to the Iberian Peninsula, and south to Senegal.
Habitat
This bivalve lives on sandy (rarely soft) bottoms at depths of between 5 and 30 m, although the shell is very often found on beaches, where it has been cast up by wave action.
Shell description
This species has a very thin and delicate shell, which has concentric growth lines and sometimes also has colored radiating bands, hence its common name, the rayed trough shell. The shell interior is white.
File:Mactra stultorum var. atlantica 01.jpg|var. atlantica
Right valve
File:Mactra stultorum var. atlantica 02.jpg|var. atlantica
Left valve
File:Mactra stultorum var. cinerea 01.jpg|var. cinerea
Right valve
File:Mactra stultorum var. cinerea 02.jpg|var. cinerea
Left valve
File:Mactra stultorum var lignaria 01.jpg|var. lignaria
Right valve
File:Mactra stultorum var lignaria 02.jpg|var. lignaria
Left valve
Human use
This species is sometimes sold in markets as a food item.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Edible molluscs}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3794405}}
Category:Molluscs described in 1758
Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{bivalve-stub}}