Abra aequalis

Abra aequalis was first scientifically described under the name Amphidesma aequalis by Thomas Say in 1822. In 1858, it was transferred to the genus Abra by Francis Simmons Holmes in an account of recent fossils from South Carolina. Abra is classified in the family Semelidae, in the same order (Cardiida) as the cockle shells. and the "common Atlantic furrow-shell". == Description ==

Abra aequalis is a small species with plain, white, mostly smooth shells which are slightly round, but triangular in outline. Due to their small size (about ), A. aequalis is one of several unremarkable, similar-looking species fondly called "little white clams" by amateur shell collectors. The shells are quite thin and fragile, and Robert Parr Whitfield summarized their appearance thus: "it is a very neat and pretty shell, and moderately abundant". == Distribution, habitat, and ecology ==

Abra aequalis is found along the southeastern coast of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the coast of southeastern Brazil. A. aequalis is usually found in shallow waters of depth less than . A. aequalis is the most significant food source for Luidia senegalensis in Florida. == Fossil record ==

The fossil record of Abra aequalis is reasonably well documented. It has been found as fossils abundantly in the Quaternary (current) period in many countries and in the Pliocene of several. It is also known from the Miocene. == References ==