Philobrya meleagrina
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| Philobrya meleagrina | ||||||||||||||||
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| Philobrya meleagrina (Bernard, 1896) |
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Hochstetteria meleagrina Bernard, 1896 |
Philobrya meleagrina is a small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Philobryidae.
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[edit] Distribution
This species is endemic to New Zealand, found around Stewart Island, The Snares, the Chatham Islands, and the southern part of the South Island.
[edit] Habitat
This species is found at depths of between 65 and 90 m.
[edit] Description
The shell is small and thin, about as high as it is wide. The surface is smooth except for weak radial ridges. The periostracum has been weathered away in all examples seen.
The maximum shell height is 2.5 mm, width 2.5 mm, and thickness 1.1 mm.
The species was first described without accompanying figures by Felix Bernard under the name Hochstetteria meleagrina Bernard, 1896. One year later the same author transferred it to the genus Philobrya and supplied drawings.
The type specimens were dredged by M. Filhol (1876) from sandy bottom at 35 fathoms (ca. 64 m) depth, in the vicinity of Stewart Island (around 46º50’S and 167º50’E). The types are housed at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, France.
[edit] References
- Bernard, F. 1896. Diagnoses de coquilles nouvelles de Lamellibranches (genre Condylocardia et Hochstetteria). Bulletin des Naturalistes du Muséum 2: [pp to come soon]
- Bernard, F. 1897. Études comparatives sur la coquille des Lamellibranches. Les genres Philobrya et Hochstetteria. Journal de Conchyliologie 1: 1-47.
- Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
