Gari depressa (Pennant, 1777)
Norway to South Africa, Canarias to Mediterranean. In silty sand or shell gravel in sheltered areas, subtidal to 30m deep. Deposit feeder.
Original taxon: Tellina depressa.
2-5m deep, Duče, south-east of Split, S. Croatia. 60mm. Original pictures provided by N. Lete (HR) – CC BY-NC-SA.
Synonyms: florida, variabilis, vespertinalis, vespertinus, vesperus (refers to twilight, evening skies)…
In gravel at 3-5m deep, Frioul island, Marseille, Provence, S. France. 34-38mm.
Fresh dead shells collected in beachstormed grit among gravel, Cap d’Agde, S. France. 22-29mm. Mediterranean specimens seem thinner and darker than atlantic ones.
Variations in shapes and sunsets.
20m deep, off Almería, Andalucia. 46-47mm.
A specimen from English Channel: fished on coarse sand beds,1-2 feet below the low tide line, 300m off Bon Secours Beach, Saint-Malo, N. Brittany, NW. France. 48mm.
Extreme low tide, Les Moires, Saint-Malo. 50-53mm.
A specimen dredged off East London, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. 49mm.
Mediterranean specimens have a distinctive pattern. This pair was collected, trapped in some giant broken jars of an ancient warehouse, “Sunken City of Epidaur”, southern bay, Dimos Archaias Epidavrou, NE. Peloponnese, Greece. 33-35mm.
The original description of Tellina depressa by T. Pennant is quite odd: « Tellina with a very thick depressed oblong shell ; white ; with concentric striae. [Tab. xlvii. fig. 27] » – T. Pennant: British zoology vol. IV, London 1777, via BHL.
Lux vespertina in Chemnitz & Martini: Neues systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet VI, Nürnberg 1782: « Testa ovali, transversim striata, ex purpureo et albido radiata, intus violacea, cardine in altera valvula unidentato [bottom], in altera bidentato. » – Source: BHL.
Babies from La Franqui, Leucate, Occitania, S. France.
4,8-8,2mm. Original pictures provided by A. Bertrand (FR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –
Sunset Clams in J. G. Hidalgo: Moluscos marinos de España, Portugal y las Baleares Madrid 1870, via BHL.
6-8m deep, on black sand, La Garita, Telde, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. 27mm.
Psammobia vespertina in G. P. Deshayes: “Hist. Nat. Mollusques t. I”, Exploration scientifique de l’Algérie, Paris 1844-1867, via BHL.
A specimen collected at Brač island, Split-Dalmatia Comitat, S. Croatia. 38,3mm. Original picture provided by A. Wakefield (UK) – (CC BY-NC-SA).

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