Morning star shell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Morning star shell |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Subclass: | Heterodonta |
| Order: | Veneroida |
| Family: | Veneridae |
| Genus: | Tawera |
| Species: |
T. spissa
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| Binomial name | |
| Tawera spissa (Deshayes, 1835)
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| Synonyms | |
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List
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The morning star shell, also known as Tawera spissa, is a type of shellfish that lives in the ocean. It belongs to a family called Veneridae. This special shell is found only in New Zealand.
What Does It Look Like?
The morning star shell is quite small, usually about 20 to 25 millimeters long. That's about the size of a small button!
It has a unique triangular shape. Like other shellfish, it has two parts to its shell, called valves. These valves are a bit long and oval-shaped.
If you look closely, you'll see rows of tiny ridges on each valve. The outside of the shell is often white with different brown patterns. But sometimes, you might find one that is all white or all brown. Inside, the shell is usually white. You can also see brown marks where the muscles used to be attached. These muscles help the shell open and close.
Where Does It Live?
Morning star shells live in the ocean, usually just below the surface of the sand or gravel. They like areas with fine to coarse sand and light gravel.
You can find them from just below the low tide mark all the way down to 200 meters deep. They prefer places where the water is moving a bit, not completely still.
In some parts of the ocean floor, Tawera spissa can be the most common type of shellfish. They often live alongside other species like Purpurocardia purpurata in open coastal areas. In more sheltered places, like bays in southern New Zealand, they might live with Zemysina globus.
