Atlantic Winged Oyster

The Atlantic winged oyster grows to about 7 centimetres (2.8 in) long and is a distinctive, asymmetric shape. It has a long straight hinge with one wing drawn out a long way and the other one much smaller. The upper valve is brownish, often mottled with paler markings. The lower valve is flatter and smaller and the interior of the shell is pearly grey. The posterior margin is rounded while the anterior margin is elongated and slopes at an acute angle to the hinge. There are a number of indistinct, irregular ribs that flare out from the umbo. These are sparsely covered with blunt spines and there is a fine sculpturing of concentric growth lines.

The Atlantic winged oyster is found in the Western Atlantic at depths between 3 and 30 metres (10 to 100 feet). The range extends from North Carolina and Florida, southwards through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico to Venezuela and northern Brazil.