Relevant Synonyms Venus roemeriana Issel, 1869 Chione roemeriana [Moazzo, 1939] Misidentification -  photos: C. Bogi / Coll. B. Galil

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell small, equivalve, almost equilateral. Outline ovate-subovate with beaks towards the front. Sculpture of many radial ribs (over 30) and a few concentric ridges (about four) which are thin and low in the anterior part and become more evident to the posterior part. Margin crenulated. color : cream with brown to maroon blotches. common size : 8 mm. Mediterranean findings have been juveniles (0.7-1.2 mm) or young (2.3 mm long) specimens. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Similar to the Mediterranean Timoclea ovata from which it differs in size (T. ovata is larger) and sculpture (concentric lines in T. ovata, ridges in T. roemeriana). Close resemblance to Timoclea fasciana, a Persian Gulf species from which it can be distinguished by its more round profile, a lower number of concentric ribs (13 in T. fasciana, four in T. roemeriana) and larger number of ribs. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Infaunal siphonate animals with a suspension feeding mode, which live unattached and have an active motion (Todd, 2002). habitat : sand, shallow water (Oliver, 1992). The Mediterranean records were in shell detritus at 15-25 m depth but at depths 75-100 m in the Suez (Barash and Danin, 1973).

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 1999 [1997]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: a Red Sea endemic; common in the Gulf of Suez; recorded in Suez Canal (Bavay, 1898) as Venus (Anaitis) roemeriana. Mediterranean: only known from Israel: recorded first in 1997 as Venus roemeriana Issel, Haifa (Bogi and Galil, 1999). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Besides the first record, based on three specimens only, the species has been found in 2001 (C. Bogi, pers. comm.). speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Barash and Danin Z., 1973. The Indo-Pacific species of mollusca in the Mediterranean and notes on a collection from the Suez Canal. Israel Journal of Zoology, 21(3-4): 301-374. Bavay M., 1898. Note sur les mollusques du Canal de Suez. Bull. Soc. Zool., France, 23: 161-165. Bogi C. and Galil S.B., 1999. Nuovi ritrovamenti di immigranti lessepsiani lungo le coste italiane. La Conchiglia, 292: 22-29, 63. Dekker H. and Orlin Z., 2000. Check-list of Red Sea Mollusca. Spirula, 47(suppl.): 1-46.   Oliver P.G., 1992. Bivalved seashells of the Red Sea. Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden and National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 330 p. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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