Biodiversity & Conservation

A bivalve mollusc - Abra alba - General information

Abra alba

Image Peter Barfield - Abra alba. Image width ca 25 mm.
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Distribution map

Abra alba recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Abra alba is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Georgina Budd Text page icon Refereed by: Prof. Jean-Claude Dauvin

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Bivalvia Clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, and scallops
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Widespread around the British Isles.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Abra alba is a characteristic inhabitant of inshore muddy fine sand or mud substrates and may be found from the extreme low water-mark offshore to a depth of about 70 m. It is often particularly abundant at around 20 m depth (Tebble, 1976).
Text page icon Description A bivalve with a brittle shell that may grow up to 25 mm in length. The shell is roughly oval in outline, with a slight elongation to the right. Abra alba is white in colour with a glossy shell. The exterior surface of the valves are sculpted with fine concentric lines and growth stages are conspicuous within the overall pattern. The interior of the shell is also white. The periostracum (a flaky epidermis) if present, is light brown in colour.

This review can be cited as follows:

Georgina Budd 2007. Abra alba. A bivalve mollusc. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 24/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2307>