New Zealand Seashore

DSC_4761 Horse mussel, or hururoa (Atrina zelandica) NZ's largest bivalve. A thin brittle shell with lines of hollow spines radiating out towards the posterior end of the shell, that help anchor it in the mud. Spring low intertidal to subtidal, lives buried for most of its length in mud or silty sand. Victory Beach, Otago Peninsula

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DSC_4761 Horse mussel, or hururoa (Atrina zelandica) NZ's largest bivalve. A thin brittle shell with lines of hollow spines radiating out towards the posterior end of the shell, that help anchor it in the mud. Spring low intertidal to subtidal, lives buried for most of its length in mud or silty sand. Victory Beach, Otago Peninsula

DSC 4761 Horse mussel Atrina zelandica hururoa empty shell beach drift largest bivalve Victory Beach Otago Peninsula