The « Dilate Piddock » is a large burrowing pholadid with a rather wide distribution in the Indo-West Pacific, ranging from Japan to India to Australia. A comm.on filter-feeding bivalve with a much larger body than the shell, it lives deeply buried in sand or mud in shallow water from intertidal down to about 20m deep. Its very long siphon (up to four times shell length), which it uses to feed, is considered a delicacy in some places. For example in Ariake Sea, Japan it is a famous local speciality and is widely harvested to be eaten either fresh or dried; although its numbers in that area appears to be diminishing in the recent years. The shell is very fragile and has one calcified accessory plate, the protoplax. The apophysis, spoon-like appendage serving as a point of attachment for the foot musculature, is very long and narrow. Typical shell length around 80mm., very large specimens may exceed 120mm.

Finding Place: West Phuket Island, Thailand