Biodiversity & Conservation

A razor shell - Phaxas pellucidus

Phaxas pellucidus

Image National Museum Wales - External view of Phaxas pellucidus valve. Image width ca 4 cm.
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Distribution map

Phaxas pellucidus 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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Phaxas pellucidus 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 (Pennant, 1777)
Recent synonyms Cultellus pellucidus
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Common off all British coasts
Habitat information icon Habitat information Phaxas pellucidus is found in fine mixed sands offshore to depths of around 100 m.
Text page icon Description A slender razor shell up to 4 cm long. The shell can be thin and brittle and coloured white or cream, sometimes with dark markings. The outermost, relatively thin layer of shell (periostracum), if present is a glossy light yellow-brown or olive layer. Where the shell is joined the margin is almost straight, whereas the other edge is curved giving the shell a pod shape. The anterior end is rounded and the posterior end slightly truncate.
Identifying features
  • Pod shaped razor shell up to 4cm long.
  • Dorsal margin almost straight.
  • Curved ventral margin.
  • Anterior end rounded and upturned.
  • White or cream in colour.
  • Glossy, light yellow-brown to olive periostracum.
  • Distinguished from other razor shells by the hinge teeth.
Additional information icon Additional information Phaxas pellucidus can be distinguished from other razor shells by the hinge teeth.

This review can be cited as follows:

Anna Neish 2008. Phaxas pellucidus. A razor shell. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 23/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4088>