Varicorbula gibba

Varicorbula gibba, the common basket-shell, is a species of bivalve in the family Corbulidae.

Varicorbula gibba
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Myida
Family:	Corbulidae
Genus:	Varicorbula
Species:	V. gibba
Binomial name
Varicorbula gibba (Olivi, 1792)
Synonyms[1]
Aloidis gibba (Olivi, 1792) Corbula (Varicorbula) gibba (Olivi, 1792) Corbula curta Locard, 1886 Corbula gibba (Olivi, 1792) Corbula gibba var. albida Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1896 Corbula gibba var. fusca Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1896 Corbula gibba var. maxima Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1896 Corbula gibba var. radiata Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1896 Corbula haastiana Hutton, 1878 Corbula mactriformis Biondi Giunti, 1859 Corbula nucleus Lamarck, 1818 Corbula ovata Forbes, 1838 Corbula rosea T. Brown, 1844 Corbula striata J. Fleming, 1828 Mya inaequivalvis Montagu, 1803 Tellina gibba Olivi, 1792 Tellina naticuta Brusina, 1870

Taxonomy

The species was originally described in 1792 by the Italian zoologist Giuseppe Olivi under the protonym of Tellina gibba.^[2] Some databases (e.g. SeaLifeBase) continue to classify it under the genus Corbula.^[3]

Description

The shell of Varicorbula gibba can measure up to 11 mm (0.43 in).^[3]

Right and left valve of the same specimen:

• 
  Right valve
• 
  Left valve

Distribution and habitat

Varicorbula gibba is a marine species which occurs in Europe in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. It has been introduced to Australia. The species occurs from sea level to a maximum depth of 25 m (82 ft) on sandbanks and areas rich with detritus.^[3]