Gomphina aequilatera (small pearl shell)

Japanese: コタマガイ(小玉貝) - コタマガイ（英語表記）Gomphina aequilatera

A bivalve of the Veneridae family that is commonly caught on the Kujukuri Coast. The shell is flat and thick, a rounded triangle with a rounded curved ventral edge. It is 8 cm long, 6 cm high, and bulges 2.5 cm. The shell surface is smooth and shiny, with a white, blue, or brown background and marked individual variation, with some having 3 to 4 dark blue radial bands and some with a broken line pattern. Although the shape is different from the Japanese clam, it is closely related, and like the Japanese clam, the pattern turns all brown when the shell is boiled. The inside is white. The interlocking teeth are located under the apex of the shell, and the attachment mark of the mantle is indented at the rear.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

九十九里浜で多くとれるマルスダレガイ科の二枚貝。殻は平たくて厚く，丸みのある三角形で腹縁は丸く湾曲する。長さ8cm，高さ6cm，膨らみ2.5cmに達する。殻表は平滑で光沢があり白色，青色，褐色などの地に3～4本の黒青色の放射帯があるもの，折線模様のものなど個体変異が著しい。アサリとは形は違うが，近縁で，アサリ同様殻を煮ると模様は全部褐色に変わる。内面は白色。かみ合せの歯は殻頂の下にあり，外套（がいとう）の付着痕は後方で湾入する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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