Delesserti Venus Clam Shell, Tivela delesserti

Delesserti Venus Clam Shell, Tivela delesserti. Size: 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) x 2.8 cm (1.1 inches).  Shell collected in the greater San Diego area, San Diego, California, July 2016. Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Delesserti Venus Clam, Tivela delesserti (G.B. Sowerby II, 1832), is a bivalve mollusk of the Veneridae Family of Venus Clams. The shell has has a rounded triangle profile and is fairly thin in structure, and moderately inflated. The exterior of the shell is sculpted by very fine concentric ridges. The exterior is white to yellowish in color, with variable, light to dark brown, markings; the interior is white with variable amounts of purple blotching. They are covered with a thin and clear periostracum. The Delesserti Venus Shells reach 4.1 cm (1.6 inches) in length and 3.3 cm (1.3 inches) in height.

Delesserti Venus Clams reside intertidally and are found within sand substrate. They range from Mulege, Baja California Sur to Panama. They are not known to the Pacific Coast of the Baja Peninsula.

A synonym is Cytherea delessertii.