Tumen’s Venus Clam, Chione tumens

Tumen’s Venus Clam Shell, Chione tumens. Shell collected from within the estuary of the Magdalena Bay complex, Baja California Sur, October 2018. Size: 2.3 cm (0.9 inches) x 2.0 cm (0.8 inches).

Tumen’s Venus Clam, Chione tumens (Verrill, 1870), is a bivalve mollusk of the Veneridae Family of Venus Clams. The shell is a broad, stout, and thick with a triangular profile. They, are equivalve (both values equal in size) with rounded concentric ridges, or undulations, covering the exterior. The exterior of the shell may be light brown, yellowish or white, with dark brown spots and/or radiating bands intermixed with narrow angular lines; the interior is white. The Tumen’s Venus Clam Shells reach a maximum of 4.7 cm (1.9 inches) in length and 4.0 cm (1.6 inches) in height.

Tumen’s Venus Clams are found within sand and mud substrate, intertidally to depths of 20 m (65 feet). They range from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur to Peru and are found throughout the Sea of Cortez.