Delesserti Bittersweet Shell, Axinactis delesserti

Delesserti Bittersweet Shell, Axinactis delesserti. Size: 2.8 cm (1.1 inches) x 2.7 cm (1.1 inches). Shell collected off the beach at Km 26, Cero Colorado, Baja California Sur, March 2010.

The Delesserti Bittersweet, Axinactis delesserti (Reeve, 1843), is bivalve mollusk that is a member of the Glycimeridae Family of Bittersweets. The shell is an inflated, equivalve shell with a round profile. The outside is marked with strong, wide, serrated ribs, separated by finer ribs. The exterior of the shell is white outside with brown, zigzagging, transverse bands. The interior is white with a brownish mark at the footprint of the posterior adductor muscle. The Delesserti’s Bittersweet Shell reach a maximum of 4.5 cm (1.8 inches) in length and 4.3 cm (1.7 inches) in height.

Delesserti’s Bittersweet shells are found over sand and mud bottoms at depths between 8 m (25 feet) and 34 m (110 feet). They are found along the southwest coast of Baja from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur to Panama. This species is not known form the Sea of Cortez.

A synonym is Pentunculus delessertii.