Southwest Florida Shells

by José H. Leal

Family Veneridae

Macrocallista nimbosa

(Lightfoot, 1786)

Sunray Venus

Shell size to 170 mm; shell elongate, ovate. Surface glossy. Sculpture almost completely absent, except for weak growth lines and radial riblets. Lunule oval, purplish. Long external ligament. Color salmon to grayish-purple, with darker, brownish radial bands. On sandy bottoms.