Disk Dosinia (Dosinia discus Reeve, 1850): Lines Aplenty

Disk Dosinia is a hard-shell clam. The bivalve halves are compressed — that is to say, “ flattish” — rather than convex. It is white, with many fine, closely-spaced, concentric ridges on its orbicular surface. Traces of its thin, scaly, yellowish periostracum may remain on the surface of the bivalve. There is a prominent beak (the pointy part of the shell at the hinge). Disk Dosinia may reach a diameter of 3 inches.

It is found on the Southeastern coast of the United States, from Virginia to Florida and Texas, and the Bahamas.

Note: Dosinia elegans is a very similar-looking species, but that bivalve shell is a little less compressed, slightly smaller, and its concentric lines are not as closely spaced.

Notes

The specimens pictured here were found at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
For more information on the Disk Dosinia see:
- R. Tucker Abbott and Percy A. Morris, Peterson Field Guides: Shells of the Atlantic & Gulf Coasts & the West Indies.
- Percy A. Morris, A Field Guide to the Shells of Our Atlantic Coast.
- Harold A. Rehder, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashells.
- Carol M. Williams, Beach Bountiful: Southeast.
Classification: Family Veneridae; Superfamily Veneroidea; Order Veneroida; Subclass Heterodonta; Class Bivalvia.
Scientific nomenclature is subject to change, due to ongoing research. The above classification corresponds to that published by the Conchologists of America, Inc.
Digital formatting is by Jonathan Mitchell.

Disk Dosinia: Fine Etching

Notes

Disk Dosinia:
Fine Etching