About Mactra corallina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Mactra corallina, commonly known as the rayed trough shell, has a very thin, delicate shell marked with concentric growth lines. It sometimes has colored radiating bands, which is how it got its common name. The interior of the shell is white. This species is distributed across the Black Sea, Mediterranean coasts, and the west coast of Europe, ranging from Norway to the Iberian Peninsula, and extends south to Senegal. This bivalve inhabits sandy bottoms, rarely soft bottoms, at depths between 5 and 30 meters. Empty shells of this species are very commonly found washed onto beaches by wave action. This species is sometimes sold as food in markets.
