Dear Jan,
thanks for the images you sent to me.
I am here replying to you on Conch-l so that other interested people can
read me.
I think Mediterranean Glycymerididae have to be studied better.
At present time three species are recognized and these may not fit all the
forms which are encountered, probably they just are variable species or
maybe some more species may be identified.
Regarding the images you sent to me, the bigger valve may be something like
Glycymeris glycymeris or its synonym (is it a real synonym?) G. pilosa.
The smaller valves may well fit in what I think to be Glycymeris insubrica
(=violascens) despite they seem a bit worn.
About this latter species (complex?), a friend of mine recently showed to
me two distinct "forms", both collected on Adriatic Italian coasts and
which I both probably have in my own collection.  One of these forms may be
the same of the specimens which are illustrated in the images you sent to me.
So I think that the problem is the systematic of Mediterranean
Glycymerididae more than the existence or not of a "living fossil", which
is in my opinion a strange name to be given to any mollusc species.
Many of the Mediterranean species were described on fossil specimens (like
the ones by Brocchi) and these species still live in the Mediterranean, but
this doesn't mean they are living fossils (what does this really mean?) but
just species which survived well and adapted themselves to the changes
which occured in the area during geological times.
Hoping this helps,
Paolo



Paolo Giulio ALBANO
Bologna, ITALY
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Homepage: http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/pgalbano/index.htm