Arcopagia crassa (Pennant, 1777)
Norway to Sénégal, western Mediterranean. Lives in rough sand and gravel from infralittoral down to 150m deep.
Deposit feeder. Original taxon: Tellina crassa.
Above and below: Málaga, Andalucia, S. Spain. 68mm.
Synonyms: depressior da Costa, maculata Turton.
Uncommon in western Mediterranean.
“ Tellina crassa – T. with very thick, broad, and depressed shells marked with numerous concentric striae. Breadth, an inch and three quarters ; length, an inch and a quarter. » – T. Pennant: British zoologyvol. IV, London 1777, via BHL.
Sculpture made up of strong concentric ribs.
A shell from Al Hoceima, Rif province, NE. Morocco. 46,6mm.
Pure white specimens remain rare.
As its vernacular name suggests, the Blunt Tellin is massive and heavy – heavier than balaustina, for instance. 12m deep, on sand, Málaga. 46mm.
Tellina crassa in Pereira da Costa & al.: Mollusques tertiaires du Portugal — planches, Lisboa 1903-1904.
The genus is atlantic and reduced to three species: richardi in western Africa, crassa in Europe and NW. Africa, and fausta in tropical eastern Americas. Above: A. fausta (Pulteney, 1799) from 3m deep, Port-Louis, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe. 64mm.

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