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  • José H. Leal

Shell of the Week: The Glory of the Seas Venus

Callpita eucymata (Dall, 1890), is a member of the venus clam family Veneridae. The species reaches 27 mm in size, and its outer surface is sculptured with about 50 flattened commarginal (“concentric”) ribs. The color pattern has reddish-brown blotches that resemble tents, or “mountain ranges”, set against a cream-white background. The species has a broad distribution in the western Atlantic, living from the coast of New Jersey through northern Brazil, and also present in deeper water in the Gulf of Mexico. The species is not found, however, along the beaches of Southwest Florida.


The Glory of the Seas Venus, Callpita eucymata, from West Palm Beach, Florida. Photos by James F. Kelly.

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