English
Scientific name: Callista chione
The smooth clam(fasolara or fasolaro) is a bivalve mollusc similar to clams belonging to the Veneridae family. Like all bivalves, the body of the mollusc is protected by a shell formed by two valves composed of calcium carbonate.
Features
The shell can reach a maximum width of about 10 cm, it is very robust and smooth. On the outside it is brown or pink brown with concentric dark radial bands while the inside is glossy white. Each streak on the shell represents a growth phase of the mollusc.
The most developed organ of molluscs is the foot, a large muscular apparatus in the form of a tongue which in this species is reddish in color and which allows the animal to move, anchor and, with simple movements, to hide in the sand.
Habitat
It lives on muddy or sandy bottoms from a few metres to about 30 m deep in the Adriatic Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea and in the Lazio area.
For smooth clam fishing, a system called rake or blower tube is used. Fishing takes place 4 or 5 miles from the coast, at a depth ranging from 10 to 30 meters, with this method the sand is sieved to find the molluscs, which are held by a grid, while the sediment is discarded.
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