Noetia ponderosa

Noetia ponderosa

Secure (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Arcida
Family: Noetiidae
Genus: Noetia
Species:
N. ponderosa
Binomial name
Noetia ponderosa
(Say, 1822)

Noetia ponderosa, or the ponderous ark clam, is a marine clam in the family Noetiidae.[2]

Description

The shape of the shell is rounded trigonal, almost as high as long, with 27-31 squared radial ribs divided by fine incised lines, and a distinctive brown or black periostracum. The exterior and interior of the shell is a white color. Size approximately 50–60 mm.[3]

Right and left valve of the same specimen:

Distribution

Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Virginia to Florida, West Indies, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Central America.[4][3]

Habitat

Noetia ponderosa typically resides in shallow subtidal or tidal soft sandy substrates.[5]

References

  1. ^ NatureServe. "Noetia ponderosa". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  2. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Noetia ponderosa (Say, 1822)". marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
  3. ^ a b Mikkelsen, Paula M. (2008). Seashells of southern Florida : living marine mollusks of the Florida keys and adjacent regions, bivalves. Rüdiger Bieler. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-11606-8. OCLC 78071775.
  4. ^ Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 11.
  5. ^ Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard S. (1988). Seashore animals of the Southeast: a guide to common shallow-water invertebrates of the southeastern Atlantic coast. South Carolina: Univ. of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-87249-535-7.