Mya papyracea Lichtenstein, 1794

Geiger, Daniel L., 2022, Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein’s (1794) Catalogus Rerum Naturalium Rarissimarum, pars secunda. Facsimile edition and annotated translation, Zootaxa 5127 (1), pp. 1-126 : 115

Mya papyracea Lichtenstein, 1794

The clam species was described in the genus Mya along with Mya truncata Linnaeus, 1758 ( Bivalvia: Myidae ). Lichtenstein noted its similarity with Mya membranacea Gmelin, 1791 . Gmelin’s species is a nomen dubium, which does not help in solving the identity of Lichtenstein’s taxon. The species is described as a white shell with gaping valves. No dimensions were given in the description though lot 9 below is given as 4.5 inches (= 11.75 cm) length. Typically, subsequent lots were of the same species, but lot 9 is not identified with an exclamation mark, which raises some doubts about the identification of that lot by Lichtenstein.

Geiger (2003) identified it as a Mya sp. However, Myidae are typically rather thick-shelled, as are Hiatellidae (e.g., Panopea sp. ). Thin-shelled, gaping white clams include Thraciidae , which are still not common today. The species cannot be identified and is considered a nomen dubium.