Biodiversity & Conservation

Banded wedge shell - Donax vittatus

Donax vittatus

Image David Fenwick - Assorted colours and shapes of banded wedge shells Image width ca XX cm
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Distribution map

Donax vittatus recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Donax vittatus 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 (da Costa, 1778)
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Common on all British and Irish coasts, although records are sparse for the north-west of England and much of Ireland and Scotland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Occurs intertidally, from mid-shore to depths of around 20 m, burrowing in sandy sediments. It is often abundant on moderately exposed sandy shores and bays.
Text page icon Description Donax vittatus has a roughly wedge-shaped shell up to 3.8 cm long with the umbones close to the posterior end. The outer shell is shiny and white, yellowish, brown or purple, with the colour often running in bands across the shell. The outer surface has numerous, fine concentric ridges and grooves, and fine lines radiating from the umbones. The inner surface is shiny and white, often with areas tinted pale yellow, orange or purple. The margin of the shell is strongly ridged (crenulate).
Identifying features
  • Slender wedge shaped shell.
  • Umbones posterior of the midline.
  • Two shells eqivalve; anterior side broadly rounded, posterior side more steeply rounded.
  • Ventral margin crenulate on its inner edge.
  • Each valve has two cardinal teeth.
  • Right valve has one anterior and two posterior lateral teeth.
  • Left valve has single, small anterior and posterior lateral teeth.
  • Outer shell surfaces with numerous, fine concentric ridges and grooves, and fine lines radiating from the umbones.
  • White, yellowish, light brown or purple, often lighter round the umbones, with pale radiating rays and often with pigmented bands along growth lines.
  • Inner surface smooth, white with purple or yellow areas.
  • Pallial sinus broadly oval, extending to the midline of the shell.
Additional information icon Additional information Donax variegatus occurs in similar habitats to Donax vittatus around the south and south-west coasts of Britain but is more regularly oval than Donax vittatus and is distinguished principally by the marginal crenulations which are much finer and feel smooth to the touch. Donax vittatus lives just under the surface of the sediment and is often dislodged by rough seas but the presence of a large, powerful foot enables it to reburrow as soon as disturbance is over and so reduce the dangers of desiccation and predation. If growth is rapid, Donax vittatus can live for two to three years but where growth is slow it may live for up to seven years (Fish & Fish, 1996).

This review can be cited as follows:

Caroline Farrell 2008. Donax vittatus. Banded wedge shell. 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/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3188>