CHAMELEA GALLINA

Chamelea Gallina is a highly appreciated mollusk, especially as the star ingredient in many traditional recipes. Considered as a food for the poor, it has very old origins: just think that some Chamelea Gallina shells were found in a prehistoric village from the Late Bronze Age, near the Metauro Valley (Chiaruccia di Fano), about 5 km from the sea.

Morphological characteristics of Chamelea Gallina

Chamelea Gallina has a solid, sturdy shell, equivalve and inequilateral, with a nearly triangular shape that becomes:

• more rounded and shorter in the anterior part
• more or less rounded in the posterior part

The ligament is tight and not extended, reaching only one third of the posterior margin. Chamelea Gallina is characterized by:

• a small pit on the anterior margin
• numerous concentric striations on the outer surface of the valves, usually not overlapping;

both valves are free of wrinkled protrusions beneath the ligament.

Each valve has three cardinal teeth, while the hinge of the left valve lacks lateral teeth. The pallial sinus is small and shallow.

The maximum length is 5 cm, while the common size ranges from 2.5 to 3.5 cm.

Chamelea Gallina coloration, origin and habitat

The interior is white with a violet spot in the posterior part. The exterior is whitish with grayish tones,. and features brown streaks and broken lines arranged in radial bands.

This species is mainly found in the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and along the coasts of the Eastern Atlantic.

Chamelea Gallina prefers sandy and muddy seabeds and lives at depths between 5 and 20 meters. For this reason, the Adriatic Sea represents an ideal habitat.