Relevant Synonyms Lioconcha arabica (Lamack) [Tillier and Bavay, 1905] Lioconcha arabica "Chemnitz" [Moazzo, 1939] Gafrarium callipygum (Born) [Barash and Danin, 1986] Misidentification -  drawing: Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell small to medium sized, equivalve, almost equilateral with umbones at the anterior part. Outline variable usually subovate, distinctly longer than high but many are shortened posteriorly, becoming rhomboidal with a rather straight high posterior margin. Sculpture of concentric lines and ridges which may be a little irregular at the posterior part. Hinge with 3 cardinals in each valve and prominent anterior laterals. Very small pallial sinus. Internal margin smooth. color : extremely variable; white, cream to yellow shell with patterns of zig-zag / radial rays, or two different tones of brown. Umbonal area usually pale orange. common size : to 35 mm in length; in the Arabian Sea to 50 mm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The absence of a flattened umbo, radial sculpture and the ovate rather than trigonal outline are diagnostic features for the species. It is the unique species of the genus in the Red Sea and has no congeneric in the Mediterranean. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Unknown. habitat : sands in shallow water; also in sandy mud at mid-tide level (Bosch et al., 1995).

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 2000 [1972]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: a Red Sea endemic, recorded in the Suez Canal by Tillier and Bavay (1905). Mediterranean: recorded only from Israel coasts, first in 1972 (Mienis, 2000d), then in 1980, as Gafrarium callipygum (Barash and Danin, 1986). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Rare; records based on three adult valves found at three different locations along the Israeli coast. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS Unknown.

KEY REFERENCES Barash A. and Danin Z., 1986. Further additions to the knowledge of Indo-Pacific mollusca in the Mediterranean Sea. Spixiana, 9(2): 117-141. Dekker H. and Orlin Z., 2000. Check-list of Red Sea Mollusca. Spirula, 47(suppl.): 1-46. Mienis H.K., 2000d. Additional finds of an Indo-Pacific bivalve species: Circenita callipyga, on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Triton, 1: 6-7.   Oliver P.G., 1992. Bivalved seashells of the Red Sea. Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden and National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 330 p. Tillier L. and Bavay A., 1905. Les mollusques testacés du Canal de Suez. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France, 30: 170-181. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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