Banded Carpet Shell - Tapes rhomboides

Characteristics:

The banded carpet shell may reach a diameter of 6-7 cm. The shell has numerous fine concentric ridges. It can be difficult to distinguish the different members of this family solely from pictures. The shell is usually pale beige with light brown bands radiating from the top of the shell. The interior is white, often with a pink tint.

Habitat:

It lives buried or partly buried in firm sand, usually on depths between 3 and 50 meters. Individuals have been registered as deep as 180 meters. The banded carpet shell prefers a relative high salinity.

Distribution:

It is distributed along the East Atlantic Ocean, from Norway to the Mediterranean and the north-west coast of Africa.