Southwest Florida Shells

by José H. Leal

Family Cardiidae

Laevicardium serratum

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Egg Cockle

Shell size to 63 mm; shell thin, light, inflated, ovate. Surface smooth, sometimes polished. Umbones rounded. Palial line simple. Ventral margin finely crenulated. Color cream or light-yellow, with yellow, orange, or brownish marks. Interior cream. Previously in this guide as Laevicardium oviputamen (Reeve, 1844), which is a junior synonym of L. serratum. Do not confuse with Laevicardium laevigatum, which is an Indo-West Pacific species.