Ensis ensis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Norway to Morocco, to Mediterranean.
In sand, from low intertidal to sublittoral.
Original taxon: Solen ensis.
Synonyms: europaea, phaxoides, sicula. One of the most curved Pharidae, with the shape of a katana – hence the name.
Above and below: 50cm deep, on sand, Almería, Andalucia, S. Spain. 100mm.
Posterior end truncated; interior purple lilac; two cardinal teeth on left valve, only one on right valve.
Castellaneta Marina, Taranto, Puglia, S. Italy. 78-80mm.
Shallow water, in sediments between Omiš and Duće, Split-Dalmatia Comitat, S. Croatia. 106mm. Original pictures provided by N. Lete (HR) – (CC BY-NC-SA).
Young specimen of the neighbouring species Ensis directus (Conrad, 1843) preparing to bury itself. – Intertidal, Pointe du Chevet, Saint-Jacut de la Mer, N. Brittany, NW. France. 80mm.
Solen ensis in L. A Reeve: Conchologia iconica vol. 19, London 1874, via BHL.
 
« The sword Solen: shell very narrow, curved, depressed, striped with pale rose or gray beneath the epidermis, straightly truncated at the posterior end ; a little rounded at the anterior end ; dorsal margin sloped out in a curve ; ventral margin convex in an arch. »
Solen ensis in T. Brown: Illustrations of the recent conchology of Great Britain and Ireland, London 1844.
A young specimen from Plérin, N. Brittany. 100mm.

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