Biodiversity & Conservation

A bivalve mollusc - Abra nitida

Abra nitida

Image Hilmar Hinz - Abra nitida. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

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

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Abra nitida is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Bivalvia Clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, and scallops
Authority (O F Müller, 1776)
Recent synonyms Abra milashevichi
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Abra nitida is widespread on the coasts of Britain but less common on the western coast of Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Abra nitida inhabits self-made burrows in mud, sandy mud, silty sand and muddy gravel in the sublittoral zone to 183 metres.
Text page icon Description Abra nitida has an oval-shaped shell of two valves (halves) that are of the same shape and size and up to 2 cm in length and 1.2 cm in height. The valves are asymmetrical with the tip of the valves (beak) positioned behind the dorso-ventral mid-line and pointing inwards towards the valves and to the posterior. The shell is brittle to the touch and the surface bears microscopic concentric lines. The external shell surface is a glossy, pearly white, sometimes translucent and is scattered with minute flecks. The interior surface of the hinge is marked with a spoon-shaped pit (chondrophore) near the beak. An indentation is present towards the posterior of the inner hinge as well as adductor muscle scars that are longer and thinner in the anterior region than in the posterior region. The interior of each valve is glossy and translucent in appearance. The right valve bears 2 small, teeth projecting from the hinge and 2 more teeth that are either side of the hinge whereas the left valve bears 1 tooth from the hinge and 2 weaker teeth, again either side of the hinge. The body is simple, bearing a wedge-shaped foot and two very long siphons.
Identifying features
  • Oval-shaped shell consisting of two identically sized and shaped valves.
  • Valves asymmetrical.
  • Tip of valves point inwards towards the posterior and lies is behind the dorso-ventral mid-line.
  • Shell up to 2 cm in length and 1.2 cm in height.
  • Shell bears microscopic concentric lines.
  • Shell is usually coloured a glossy, pearly white but may be translucent.
  • Right valve with two teeth projecting from hinge, left valve with one tooth.
  • Body bears two very long siphons.
Additional information icon Additional information Abra nitida is similar to both Abra alba, that is larger and less elongate, and Abra prismatica, that is not quite as oval. Abra nitida mainly feeds on detritus.

This review can be cited as follows:

Saskiya Richards 2007. Abra nitida. 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 21/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2308>