Edit

Cockle, Purple

Purpurocardia purpurata

Purimu

Cockle, Purple
Cockle, Purple Love
Purimu

Invertebrate

Mollusca

Bivalvia

Carditidae

Soft Bottom Subtidal
Soft Bottom Subtidal

Feeding:
Filter Feeder
Filter Feeder
Distribution:
New Zealand
New Zealand
Edibility:
Edible
Edible
Size:
Coin Sized
Coin Sized



Called the Purple Love Cockle because the closed valves resemble a heart when viewed from the side. has a purple blotch on the inside of each valve. A solid shell with distinctive ribs crossed by fine concentric ridges.


Lives in coarse gravelly sand, mainly in depths of 30 - 130 m. Often found associated with Dog Cockles or Morning Star Shells.


Filter feeder.



Not generally collected, no set limits.




Coastal Marine Inverts Vol 1