Brooch clam

Neotrigonia margaritacea

Molluscs
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–34 m
Water temperature14–28 °C
Best monthsMarch
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) ttsquid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Neotrigonia margaritacea, common name the pearly brooch-shell, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Trigoniidae. This species is known from sandy substrates in shallow seas in southeastern and southwestern Australia. This species was the first member of the family to be discovered alive; previous to its discovery, trigoniids were only known from fossils.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Neotrigonia margaritacea”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 24 records
February: 35 records
March: 71 records
April: 26 records
May: 19 records
June: 20 records
July: 10 records
August: 37 records
September: 29 records
October: 31 records
November: 31 records
December: 17 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–34 m · Deepest record: 75 m

0–10 m: 56 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 4 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 14–28 °C

12–14 °C: 55 records
14–16 °C: 257 records
16–18 °C: 32 records
18–20 °C: 27 records
20–22 °C: 21 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 2 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Brooch clam, Australian Brooch Clam, brooch clam, Common Brooch Shell, Pearly Brooch Shell, Southern Brooch Shell

Names in 1 more languages

German: Australmuschel Australian

Other scientific names: Trigonia antarctica, Trigonia margaritacea, Trigonia nobilis, Trigonia pectinata

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
611 open-data records from 1880 to 2015.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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