Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shell, Lamelliconcha concinna

Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shell, Lamelliconcha concinna. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2025. Size: 3.0 cm (1.2 inches) x 3.9 cm (1.5 inches) x 0.9 cm (0.4 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shell, Lamelliconcha concinna. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2025. Size: 3.0 cm (1.2 inches) x 3.9 cm (1.5 inches) x 1.1 cm (0.4 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shell, Lamelliconcha concinna. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2025. Size: 3.3 cm (1.3 inches) x 4.4 cm (1.7 inches) x 1.1 cm (0.4 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Phylogeny:  The Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shell Lamelliconcha concinna (G.B. Sowerby I, 1835) is a bivalve mollusk that is a member of the Veneridae Family of Venus Clam Shells the Callocardiinae subfamily. The Lamelliconcha Genus is one of twenty-seven genera in this subfamily, and there are eight species in the Lamelliconcha Genus. The genus name Lamelliconcha comes from the Latin words meaning roughly “thin, layered, flat scale, shell”, and refers to the outer sculpting of shells in this genus. The species name concinna also comes from Latin and means “neat”, “elegant”, “skillfully joined”, “well-proportioned”, or “harmonious”. This name refers to the pleasing appearance of this shell.

Description: Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shells are trigonal in outline and inflated in profile. The anterior end is broadly rounded and the posterior end is angled. These shells are fairly thick and strong in construction. The exterior is sculpted with commarginal ribs, with the spaces between ribs as wide as the ribs. These shells are white to light brown in color, usually with radial reddish-brown or brown lines. The interior is smooth and white, often with purple blush around the margins. The ventral interior margin is smooth. The pallial sinus is deep and narrow. These shells have a translucent, silky to dull, periostracum. Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shells are medium-sized, reaching a maximum of 5.2 cm (2.1 inches) in length.

Habitat and Distribution: Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shells are found buried in sand and muddy sand. They live from the intertidal zone to a depth of 73 m (239 feet). Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shells are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific species that are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the excpetion that they are absent from north of Bahía Santa María, Baja California Sur, along the central and northwest coasts of the Baja Peninsula.

Ecology and Behavior:  Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shells are suspension feeders that feed primarily on planktonic algae and suspended organic matter. They are prey for crabs, fish, sea stars, and gastropods. Concise Pitar Venus Clam Shells are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization. Their engagement in any type of commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationship has not been formally documented. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated. However, they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern.

Synonyms: Cytherea concinna, Cytherea suppositrix, Hysteroconcha concinna, Lamelliconcha concinnus, Pitar (Lamelliconcha) salanga, and Pitar salanga.