Common Name: Sydney Cockle

Distribution: Common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Recorded from south eastern and south western Australia. Known as a subfossil from eastern and northern Tasmania and Flinders Island.

Ecological Notes: Lives intertidally and subtidally on mud, may be abundant in estuaries. Depth to 2 m. 

Additional Notes: An estuarine filter feeding bivalve, the heavily ribbed calcareous shell may reach 75 mm across. Has been used as a bio-indicator species to study levels of the metals cadmium, copper and selenium.

References: Graham J. Edgar. Australian Marine Life, 2nd Edition, 2008. Reed New Holland Publishers. p 335.

Jolley, D. F., Maher, W. A. and Kyd, J. (2004) Selenium accumulation in the cockle ‘Anadara trapezia’. Environmental Pollution 132:2 203-212.