Gibbosa Crassatella Shell, Eurassatella gibbosa

Crassatella Shells of the Crassatellidae Family vary significantly in shape and habitat. They can be equivalve (both valves similar in size and shape) or inequivalve and can be triangular or quadrangular in shape. They tend to have thick valves with both values being shallow, giving the shell a compressed look, with smooth external margins and surfaces or concentric ribs.

The Crassatella Shells can bury in sand or mud substrate, or attach to substrate by means of a byssus. They are suspension feeders, filtering plankton and fine detritus from the surrounding water. In turn they are preyed upon by crabs, carnivorous mollusks, rays and sharks.

The Crassatella Shells have a global distribution in tropical and temperate seas and are found from shallow to deep waters. There are forty species in the Crassatellidae Family of which seven are found along the coastlines of the Baja Peninsula.