Circumarctic to S. Korea, Japan, British Columbia, Virginia, Mediterranean. Intertidal and infralittoral, attached by a byssus in sheltered places such as under stones or in crevices; also epifaunal in mussel beds. Some byssal threads are modified, when needed, to host the egg-capsules (Ockelmann, 1964); each of these capsules contains some embryos, which will become complete shells without going through a larval stage.
Original taxon: Venus minuta. Synonyms: notoda, occidentalis, purpurea. Above and below: 3-5m deep, in shell grit at base of the rocky bank, around the caves near Kamára beach, SW. of Lavris, Arkadi, Rethymno, NW. Crete. 1,7-2,1mm.
« Shell ovate, slightly wrinkled transversely, and of a purple colour about the umbo, shaded to a white towards the margin. Umbo placed considerably to one side, and turning towards the shorter end. Inside paler, and the margin plain. » – G. Montagu: Testacea Britannica, London 1803, suppl. p.21.
