Seashells at Cairns 5

I seem to remember picking up this shell from the strand-line at Trinity Beach – which is just north along the coast from Cairns in Queensland. I photographed it against an improvised background of my black trousers – first showing the inside and then the outside of the shell. I think it is a shell of Anadara inaequivalvis (Bruguière) (see CIESM The Mediterranean Science Commission Atlas). This species is found along the coast from Northern Territory to central Queensland as well as being an accidentally introduced species in other parts of the world.

Apparently, when the mollusc is younger, the two hinged valves of the shell are different sizes (inequivalve) but as the mollusc matures the shells become equal in size (equivalve). The number of ribs is important for distinguishing between the different species of Anadara. A. inaequivalvis has between 31 and 34 radial ribs (I can count 31 in this particular specimen. A similar species, A. polii (Lamark) has only 26 – 28 radial ribs. The length of A. inaequivalvis ranges from 70 – 80 mm in mature specimens with a height of upto 61 mm. Unfortunately, I had no ruler to photograph with the shell to indicate scale but it was a fairly large shell.