About Barbatia barbata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Barbatia barbata, a common ark clam species, has an adult shell that reaches between 35 and 100 millimetres (1.4–3.9 inches) in size. The shape of its shell is quite variable. Most often, the shell is oblong and flattened, with numerous radial ribs cut across by concentric lines. On fresh or recently dead living individuals, the entire shell surface except the apical area is covered by a characteristic hairy dark periostracum. This trait gives the species its specific epithet barbata, which means "bearded" in Latin. This ark clam can be found along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, and is especially common in Greece, Italy, and Tunisia. It inhabits rocky or coralligenous (coral-bearing) seabeds.
