Electroma georgiana
Delicate wing shell
Distribution
Temperate Australasia
Description
Extremely thin bivalve that lives attached to marine plants. The shell is winged and translucent and is often marked by radiating brown or green stripes. The species grows very rapidly, causing population explosions in localised areas until the shells are eventually dislodged by wave action and washed in abundance onto local beaches. Despite its small size, E.georgiana is closely related to the giant pearl oysters of the tropics.
Information
Max Size: 4 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 13-19.6°C
Depth: 0-20m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Rare (0.5% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Many (11 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney