Type Material: Lectotype - BM(NH) 197010.
Type Locality: Not listed in description, but "Australian Seas" on bottom of labels (fide Dijkstra, 1998). Original Description: "Pect. testa orbiculari, ad latera subimpressa, crassa, aequilaterali, subaequivalvi, valvis undique tenuiliratis et denseminutissime serratis, costis grandibus octo ratiatis; valva sinistra carminea vel cinereo-grisea, albo promiscue maculata, valva dextra albida, carmineo punctata; auriculis aequalibus." (fide Reeve, 1853)
Additional Description: Shell solid, orbicular, equilateral and nearly equivalve. Both valves with 9 to 11 pronounced radial ribs, and covered by fine secondary riblets. Auricles nearly equal. Coloration quite variable from yellow to orange or mauve, uniform or mottled with spots or streaks, right valve paler. Size: Normal adult size range is 40 to 50 mm.
Distribution: From the western Pacific region, Philippines to Indonesia including New Caledonia. Habitat: Littoral zone, amongst grasses, seaweed and coral rubble on sandy or muddy sand. Remarks: In 1998, Dijkstra proposed B. georgei as a new name for Pectendistans G.B. Sowerby II, 1842 [non
Lamarck 1819], because G. B. Sowerby's name was preoccupied. However, it is now uncertain whether B. georgei is a separate species, a subspecies of B. vexillum, or only a geographic variation (Dijkstra, 1999: pers. comm.). Until additional information becomes available, we are not separating these species. Relevant Literature: G. B. Sowerby, 1842; Reeve, 1852-1853;Dautzenberg&Bavay, 1912; Waller, 1972; Waller, 1986; Dijkstra & Roussy, 1994; Dijkstra, 1998a; Dijkstra, 1998b.