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             SHORT 
            DESCRIPTION 
	         
			
				Shell almost equivalve with lv slightly flatter. Outline subovate - subtruncate. Inequilateral, umbo at the posterior 1/3 of the valve. Anterior margin rounded; posterior margin narrow, subtruncate, flexous. Sculpture of concentric lines and very faint radial striations most visible on rv. Ligament external but obsolete. Hinge with 2 cardinal teeth in each valve, left posterior becoming obsolete. No lateral teeth. Pallial sinus extending to the middle of the shell. 
			
		 
		
		color :
		white rather porcellanous, periostracum straw colored. 
		 
		
		common size :
		to 50 mm in length. 
		 
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            DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS 
            
			 
            
			Externally resembles Abra from which it differs in having more solid shell, different ornamentation of shell and distinctly different dentation. 
		 	
		 
			
            BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY 
			 
            
			Infaunal siphonate, unattached animals: the genus comprises surface deposit feeders, burrowing actively into the sediment in muddy and sandy substrata. 
		 
		
		 
		
		habitat :
		 muddy sands in shallow water; dredged from 120-180 m muddy substrata. 
		 
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