Triangular astarte (Goodallia triangularis)
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| Researched by | Kelsey Lloyd | Refereed by | Admin |
| Authority | (Montagu, 1803) | ||
| Other common names | A bivalve mollusc | Synonyms | Astarte triangularis (Montagu, 1803) |
Summary
Description
A bivalve with a triangular shell up to 0.3 cm in length. Both valves are similar in size and shape. The beak is just behind the mid-line, pointing inwards and slightly forwards, so the shell is slightly asymmetrical. The inner and outer surfaces are white but the outside of the shell has a layer of yellowish to brown (periostracum). The outer surface bears fine concentric lines that are closely spaced. The shell can be thick or thin resulting in a variable hinge line width. In adult specimens, the inner margin is crenulate or smooth but in juveniles, it is always smooth.
Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland
Widespread around the coasts of Britain, but less common along the east coast of Scotland and western coast of Ireland.
Global distribution
Goodallia triangularis is distributed south to the Iberian Peninsula, into the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast of Morocco.
Habitat
Goodallia triangularis inhabits sandy mud, sandy gravel and shell-gravel offshore to about 600 m.
Depth range
Offshore to about 600 mIdentifying features
- Triangular in outline.
- Greatest dimension along its dorsoventral axis but shell rarely exceeds 3 mm in length.
- Both valves of the shell are similar in size and shape (equivalve).
- Beak is just behind the mid-line, directed inwards and slightly forwards (inequilateral).
- Shell bears fine, closely-spaced concentric lines.
- The periostracum is yellowish to brown.
- Both the right valve and left valve have two cardinal teeth.
Additional information
Goodallia triangularis is similar to Goodallia macandrewi, Goodallia micalii, and Goodallia pusilla but has a larger and more equilateral shell. Juveniles are similar in size to Goodallia gofasi but the inner margin is never crenulated, unlike Goodallia gofasi. Originally referred to as Astarte triangularis but differs from Astarte species by the shape of its gills (having only one inner demibranch).
Listed by
- none -
Bibliography
De Kluijver, M.J., Ingalsuo, S.S. & de Bruyne, R.H., 2021. Mollusca of the North Sea. Marine Species Information Portal. Leiden, The Netherlands: ETI Bioinformatics. Available from: http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=mollusca&menuentry=inleiding
Giribet, G. & Peñas, A., 1999. Revision of the genus Goodallia (Bivalvia: Astartidae) with the description of two new species. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 65 (2), 251-265. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/65.2.251
Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 1995b. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 2017. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Oliver, P.G., Holmes, A.M., Killeen, I.J. & Turner, J.A., 2016. Marine Bivalve Shells of the British Isles. Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales. Available from: http://naturalhistory.museumwales.ac.uk/britishbivalves [Cited: 3 July 2018].
Tebble, N., 1976. British Bivalve Seashells. A Handbook for Identification, 2nd ed. Edinburgh: British Museum (Natural History), Her Majesty's Stationary Office.
Datasets
NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.
OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System), 2025. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2025-05-02
Citation
This review can be cited as:
Last Updated: 21/09/2021
- Bivalve
- Mollusc
